"Too early" for gun licence changes

Police and crime commissioner won't "jump to conclusions"

The police and crime commissioner for Devon, Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly says it is too early to say whether there should be a change in gun licensing laws following the deaths of six people, including a gunman, in Plymouth last week.  

Alison Hernandez spoke after attending a church service to remember the victims of the tragedy in the Keyham area of the city last Thursday when Jake Davison shot dead five people before turning the gun on himself.  

Ms Hernandez is to assist the chief constable with a peer review of the force’s firearms licensing procedures but that they still need to gather full details of what happened. 

“I don’t want to jump to any conclusions yet, partly because I’m not full of all the facts and information, she said.

“So we’ve got the Independent Office of Police Conduct that haven’t even started their full investigation into what’s happened with the licence that Jake Davison had. And until I’ve seen that information, I don’t know. And at the moment we have got 50,000 firearms licences across Devon and Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly; Over 100,000 guns in our community, very responsible gun owners.

“We don’t have this problem with others. So this is an anomaly that we’ve got at the moment. But we do need to fully understand what has happened and if there is anything that we’re left wanting for.”

The commissioner, who accompanied home secretary Priti Patel on her visit to the city on Saturday, added that it was premature to suggest legislation to tighten existing gun laws, but that any consideration of such changes should be led by the UK’s police and crime commissioners, not just by politicians in Westminster. 

She said: “I will and I have already spoken to a number of the police and crime commissioners across the country about – if there is any change required…At the moment, we are the ones who oversee the police force. The police force are the ones who run the firearms licensing department. I think we’re probably in the best space to get the sort of sound and considered response that might be required.”

Ms Hernandez said she wanted to reassure residents and update them on activity. Since Friday her office has been with Victim Support providing practical and emotional support to people affected. She says such support will be ongoing. 

She said: “I think a really important point to say is that when all this media attention has gone away, when all the investigation is closed, I will not be walking away from the Keyham community. And neither will the leaders of Plymouth.

“We are here to help support. This is going to take years. We’ve got children that are going to grow up who have suffered from witnessing this and losing people that they love. So we need to make sure that we don’t leave them abandoned.”

The Office of the Police and Crime Commissioner’s van has been based at the Co-op supermarket in Wolesley Road, Keyham, since Friday and will be at the Lidl supermarket on Wednesday and Thursday.