Recommendation 38

We have, however, also heard calls for a dedicated hotline to augment these existing ways to contact the police, which people could use to report concerns about firearms owners anonymously. Dr Michael North, a founding member of the Gun Control Network, stated that “it is sometimes very difficult”112 to contact the police using existing helplines. For this reason, Dr North told us that the Gun Control Network has advocated for “a separate hotline for concerns about a gun owner”.113 Assistant Chief Constable Alan Spiers, Strategic Firearms Commander for Police Scotland, corroborated this, saying that “there are challenges and strains put on that system [the 101 service]”114, so “Police Scotland would be open to” a hotline which would “enhance firearms licence reporting”.115