Devon and Cornwall PCC splits police gun licensing with Dorset

Jake Davison killed five people, including his mother Maxine, in the Keyham area of Plymouth

A police firearms licensing unit that issued a shotgun licence to a man who killed five people is being split up.

Devon and Cornwall Police formed a shared unit with Dorset Police that will be separated after a review.

The unit was heavily criticised for its failures in issuing a shotgun licence to Jake Davison who killed five people in Plymouth in August 2021.

During the five-week inquest, the firearms licensing unit was described as "a shambles".

Police apologised to victims' families for a catalogue of mistakes during the hearing into the five deaths.

When Davison was first issued a shotgun licence in 2020, licensing staff were aware of possible mental health issues, his self-declaration of autism and physical assaults he had carried out.

Davison's licence and pump-action shotgun were removed when he assaulted two teenagers in September 2020 but then returned to him in July 2021 - the month before the shootings.

Davison, 22, killed his mother Maxine, 51; three-year-old Sophie Martyn; her father, Lee, 43; Stephen Washington, 59; and Kate Shepherd, 66, in the Keyham area, before turning the gun on himself.

Analysis: Ben Woolvin, BBC Spotlight Home Affairs Correspondent

The inquest into the Plymouth shootings heard how staff in the gun licensing department were under a lot of pressure and how, at the time the gunman applied for his licence, there had only been one supervisor across Devon, Cornwall and Dorset, when there should have been two.

But there was no evidence to suggest the alliance between the two forces contributed to the failings in the department which led to the licence being granted.

The inquest heard the total number of staff in the department, which is in the middle of a review of existing licences prompted by the tragedy, was doubled after the shootings

There is also still a huge backlog of new applications - some people in Devon and Cornwall say they have been waiting more than three years for their application to be processed.

The shared department was part of the ongoing alliance between the two forces - first formed when the two forces were working towards a complete merger.

The merger was strongly opposed by the Devon and Cornwall PCC who argued any efficiencies were outweighed by the greater accountability of a smaller force.

Alison Hernandez, Police and Crime Commissioner (PCC) for Devon and Cornwall Police, said the shared unit faced "numerous challenges" since it was formed in 2015.

It will be split following an "extensive review" and public survey.

Ms Hernandez said the Covid pandemic, changes to statutory guidance and the Keyham shootings were among the challenges that had created a backlog in the issuing of some firearms licences and shotgun certificates.

She said splitting the unit was aimed at "driving a better service".

The police firearms licensing unit was criticised for issuing a licence to Jake Davison whose attack began in Biddick Drive

Ms Hernandez added: "I would like to thank all those who took the time to give us their views via the survey.

"It gave us a clear indication there was a desire for dedicated firearms licensing units for each force."

The process of obtaining or renewing a firearms licence has become more lengthy after extra checks were introduced in the wake of the Plymouth shootings.

A police review of gun licences ordered by a coroner is still under way and may not be completed until October, forces have warned.

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