PFD report

Jason Geoffrey PALMER · Prevention of Future Deaths report

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Issued 12 Dec 2014•Exeter and Greater Devon

Report record

Published report and response evidence

This page connects the concerns raised in this report with statements found in recipients’ published responses. A link shows a clear evidence connection; it does not assign responsibility.

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Concerns
1

Raised in this report

Recipients
1

Named on the report

Responses found
1

Of 1 recipient

Stated actions
3

Described in responses

Recipients and published responses

Source document

Full report text

This is the full text from the original published report.

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Concerns and recipient responses

Select any concern, action or position to view the source wording.

Concerns raised1

  1. Failure to make relevant police incident information available to the Firearms Unit for firearms suitability assessment
    Part of recurring concern: Failure of police operational communications to reliably share safety-critical informationPart of recurring concern: Unreliable firearms licensing risk assessment and information sharing
Responses linked to these concerns

Each statement is shown once, even when linked to more than one concern.

Actions described in response An action is something a recipient says it has done, is doing, or plans to do in response to a concern raised.3

  1. Action

    Review firearms licensing procedures and policies to address restricted incident-log information concerns.

    Stated by Devon & Cornwall PoliceStated completedThe respondent said that this action was complete when they made their response on 12 December 2014.
  2. Action

    Use an electronic system to scan police incident logs every ten minutes and immediately alert the Firearms Licensing Unit about logs concerning existing certificate holders.

    Stated by Devon & Cornwall PoliceStated completedThe respondent said that this action was complete when they made their response on 12 December 2014.
  3. Action

    Develop a written working practice formally recording how Firearms Enquiry Officers obtain and use information from restricted incident logs.

    Stated by Devon & Cornwall PoliceStated in progressThe respondent said that this action was in progress when they made their response on 12 December 2014.

Respondent positions A position is what a recipient says about a concern when it does not describe a specific action.1

  1. Position

    Existing firearms licensing procedures adequately address restricted incident information when assessing applicants’ suitability to possess firearms.

    Stated by Devon & Cornwall PoliceExisting arrangements considered sufficientThe respondent said that existing arrangements were sufficient, so no further action was needed.

Source evidence

How this individual concern was interpreted

PFD Monitor created a concise, searchable interpretation from the report wording shown below. Response links show a clear evidence connection; they do not assign responsibility.

PFD Monitor interpretation

Failure to make relevant police incident information available to the Firearms Unit for firearms suitability assessment

Wider context from the report

“(1) Mr Palmer applied for a shotgun certificate in December 2004. His licence was granted in January 2005. The licence was for renewal in 2009 and the Firearms Officers were aware there had been certain domestic incidents involving Mr Palmer and his wife but were assured by Mr Palmer these were no longer of significance. Mr Palmer's licence was renewed on 19 January 2010. The Firearms Licensing Operations Officer ████████ commented in a Statement at the Inquest that if he and his colleagues had been aware the number of police incidents relating to Mr Palmer's domestic situation, then they would have made more robust enquiries into the suitability of Mr Palmer to possess shotguns at the time of his renewal. That information was contained within secure Police Logs for the protection of Officers. Whilst it is understandable for confidentiality reasons and the protection of Officers in circumstances where personal incidents had occurred, if Mr Palmer had been a member of the public, as opposed to a serving Police Officer, then the Firearms Unit would have been aware of these incidents from the Police logs. It may be prudent for such information to be made available to the Firearms Unit and the restricted logs reviewed perhaps at Senior Officer level and if appropriate that information passed to the Firearms Unit for assessment. ”

Is this part of a recurring concern?

Yes — Failure of police operational communications to reliably share safety-critical information; Unreliable firearms licensing risk assessment and information sharing.

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Source evidence

How this respondent action was interpreted

PFD Monitor created a concise, searchable interpretation from the published response wording shown below.

PFD Monitor interpretation

Review firearms licensing procedures and policies to address restricted incident-log information concerns.

Verbatim wording from the response

“A thorough review has been undertaken of the procedures and policies in place to ensure that this concern is addressed.”

Source location

2014-0534-Response-by-Devon-Cornwall-Police
Page 1 · response
Published 12 December 2014

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Source evidence

How this respondent action was interpreted

PFD Monitor created a concise, searchable interpretation from the published response wording shown below.

PFD Monitor interpretation

Use an electronic system to scan police incident logs every ten minutes and immediately alert the Firearms Licensing Unit about logs concerning existing certificate holders.

Verbatim wording from the response

“In addition, a significant change has been made to the method by which the Firearms Licensing Unit are alerted to any incident log which relate to an existing certificate holder. An electronic system has now been introduced which “sweeps” all police incident logs every ten minutes. In the event that any log relates to an existing certificate holder, an immediate alert is sent to the Firearms Licensing Unit, where the log content will be checked to identify whether any concern arises as a result of that individual’s suitability to possess a firearm. In the event that the log is restricted, a request can be made to the control room for the log to be reviewed and any relevant information provided.”

Source location

2014-0534-Response-by-Devon-Cornwall-Police
Page 2 · response
Published 12 December 2014

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Source evidence

How this respondent action was interpreted

PFD Monitor created a concise, searchable interpretation from the published response wording shown below.

PFD Monitor interpretation

Develop a written working practice formally recording how Firearms Enquiry Officers obtain and use information from restricted incident logs.

Verbatim wording from the response

“The process which is followed upon receipt of an application for the granting or renewal of a certificate is that a Firearms Enquiry Officer (FEO) will interrogate the relevant police systems for any incidents of concern, as part of their investigation into the applicant’s suitability to possess firearms. As part of this process, all logs relating to the applicant will be seen by the FEO. This includes the presence of any restricted logs, albeit that the content can only be viewed by an officer of the rank of Inspector or above. The FEO is required to make contact with the Control Room in order that the content of any restricted log is viewed, and any relevant information contained therein is communicated to the FEO for the purposes of any decision regarding the application.”

Source location

2014-0534-Response-by-Devon-Cornwall-Police
Page 1 · response
Published 12 December 2014

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Source evidence

How this respondent position was interpreted

PFD Monitor created a concise, searchable interpretation from the published response wording shown below.

PFD Monitor interpretation

Existing firearms licensing procedures adequately address restricted incident information when assessing applicants’ suitability to possess firearms.

Verbatim wording from the response

“The process which is followed upon receipt of an application for the granting or renewal of a certificate is that a Firearms Enquiry Officer (FEO) will interrogate the relevant police systems for any incidents of concern, as part of their investigation into the applicant’s suitability to possess firearms. As part of this process, all logs relating to the applicant will be seen by the FEO. This includes the presence of any restricted logs, albeit that the content can only be viewed by an officer of the rank of Inspector or above. The FEO is required to make contact with the Control Room in order that the content of any restricted log is viewed, and any relevant information contained therein is communicated to the FEO for the purposes of any decision regarding the application.”

Source location

2014-0534-Response-by-Devon-Cornwall-Police
Page 1 · response
Published 12 December 2014

Open published response
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Information checked against the published report and official responses · Data reviewed 7 Sep 2026 · About data quality and limitations

Data last updated 7 September 2026