UK Inquiry Tracker

Jason Palmer

PFD Report All Responded Ref: 2014-0534

Date of Report 12 December 2014

Coroner John Tomlin

Coroner Area Exeter and Greater Devon

Response Deadline est. 6 February 2015

Police related deaths

Judiciary.uk Report PDF

All 1 response received · Deadline: 6 Feb 2015

Sent To

Devon and Cornwall Constabulary

Response Status

Responses 1 of 1

56-Day Deadline 6 Feb 2015

All responses received

About PFD responses

Organisations named in PFD reports must respond within 56 days explaining what actions they are taking.

Source: Courts and Tribunals Judiciary

Coroner's Concerns

_ 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 Licencing Operations Officer Jcommented in a Statement at the Inquest that if he and his colleagues has been aware the number of police incidents relating to Mr Palmer's domestic situation, then 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_ they

Whilst it is understandable for confidentiality reasons and the protection of Officers in circumstances where personal incidents had occurred, if Mr Palmer had been member of the public, as opposed to 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:

Responses

Devon Cornwall Police

1 Feb 2015

Response received

View full response

Dear Mr Tomalin RE: JASON GEOFFREY PALMER (DECEASED 13 JULY 2013) write further to your letter of 12 December 2014 and the attached Regulation 28 report addressed to the Chief Constable, in respect of which hereby provide substantive response on behalf of the organisation: understand the Regulation 28 report to have been prepared arising from the Inquest into the death of Mr Jason Palmer, which concluded on 6 November 2014. As understand it, the issue which has 'caused VOU concern in_relation to Mr Palmer's death is that you had before you evidence from stating that when he had been considering Mr Palmer's application for the renewal of his shotgun certificate, he had not been aware of a number of police incident logs relating to Mr Palmer's domestic situation as were restricted_ and that had he been aware of their content, further enquiries would have been undertaken as to his suitability to possess shotguns at the time of the renewal in 2009. A thorough review has been undertaken of procedures and policies in place to ensure that this concern is addressed. 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 a 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 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 the purposes of any decision regarding the application. UK NOTE: We are not prepared to accept service of documents by electronic mail H 0J 004384 354788 101

WneoirmmiatitntUd SF615 Your they the

Whilst this process is already followed within the Firearms Licensing Unit; written working practice is currently being developed which formally captures this detail. In addition, 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 as to that individual's suitability to possess a firearm. In the event that the log is restricted, request can be made to the control room for the log to be reviewed and any relevant information provided. trust that this adequately deals with the concern raised within your Regulation 28 report; however in the event that you have any questions or require any further information, please do not hesitate to contact me_

Action Should Be Taken

In my opinion action should be taken to prevent future deaths and believe you and your organisation have the power to take such action.

Report Sections

Investigation and Inquest

On 18 July 2013 commenced an investigation into the death of Jason Geoffrey

Circumstances of the Death

Mr Palmer died from shotgun injury to the head. The shotgun used was his own shotgun: At the time; Mr Palmer had consumed a large quantity of alcohol. He and his wife had also separated