Recommendation 29

We have heard suggestions that the referee system could be made more robust, if certain people close to applicants could provide information about their suitability to own firearms. For example, in Canada, firearms licence applicants must provide details of their conjugal partners, over a period of two years, and they are required to countersign the application forms. If this does not happen, the Chief Firearms Officer will tell applicants’ conjugal partners about the application.94 In the UK, statutory guidance only suggests that “a request from a partner or family member that the applicant should not hold a certificate should be taken into account”.95 However, this may not be an appropriate solution to the issue. As with canvassing for references, Assistant Chief Constable Alan Spiers, Strategic Firearms Commander for Police Scotland, stated that “[y]ou could have matters of coercion around domestic violence”96 if the UK were to introduce this step into the licensing process.97