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Firearms

Volume 458: debated on Tuesday 13 March 2007

To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many firearms certificate applications were made in each Police Service of Northern Ireland district command unit area in each of the past three years; and how many of those applications were (a) successful and (b) unsuccessful. (123488)

The chief constable has provided, in the following table, details of firearms applications from 1 February 2005 (when a new computer system was introduced) to December 2006. The figures cannot be disaggregated by district command unit.

Granted

Refused

2005

11,984

270

2006

27,690

147

The figures include certificates granted to both first time applicants and to persons whose previous certificate had expired. The figures for 2006 were inflated by a backlog of applications carried forward from 2005.