PSNI declares ‘critical incident’ with firearms licensing backlog at 3,000 applications and rising

A critical incident is defined as “any incident where the effectiveness of the police response is likely to have a significant impact on the confidence of the victim, their family or the community”.

The announcement came during a recent meeting between PSNI Chief Superintendent, Sam Donaldson, Dr Jonathan Howarth, Head of PSNI Firearms and Explosives Branch (FEB), and members of the Northern Ireland Firearms Representative Group (NIFRG).

The NIFRG, formed in May 2021, is an umbrella group which brings together all the national and local shooting and countryside organisations.

The meeting was held at PSNI Headquarters in Belfast, during which the PSNI advised that the backlog was sitting at approximately 3,000 applications and rising.

The influencing factors for the backlog given by PSNI include a lack of resources and a requirement for IT system upgrades.

As a result, the PSNI has introduced a Gold Command strategy to deal with the situation.

A NIFRG spokesperson said: “The NIFRG took the opportunity to convey our deep dissatisfaction with the current situation within firearms licensing and we committed to work with PSNI to effect immediate and sustained improvements in performance.

“The introduction of a Gold Command strategy is good news, as it means the crisis has been highlighted at Chief Constable level, and that a strategy has been introduced to resolve the situation.

“Processing timescales of up to a year are wholly unacceptable.

“However, this meeting offered a glimmer of hope in, what is, a desperate situation.”

They added: “This direct intervention by PSNI is a much-needed move and the NIFRG will be assisting FEB with a review of its current processes in a bid to make them more efficient.

“We will also be providing feedback to PSNI on its new complaints procedure which will help monitor performance and ensure the accountability of FEB staff,” the spokesperson concluded.