Questions over gun seizure rates in Northern Ireland

Almost 900 gun owners in Northern Ireland have had firearms taken away from them in the past two years due to concerns over their continued suitability to own them, according to police. 

Between May 2022 and May 2024, the Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) seized the firearms of 890 licence holders. Recently released figures show that 53,000 people currently hold firearm licences in Northern Ireland. 

Daniel Holder, director of the human rights organisation Committee on the Administration of Justice, said that the number of seizures seemed high in “such a small jurisdiction”, adding: “If such a pattern of the PSNI needing to seize over a gun a day is persistent, it does call into question whether the criteria for issuing licences should be further tightened.” 

Gary McCartney, director of Countryside Alliance Ireland, emphasised that owning a firearm was a responsibility, not a right. 

He commented: “Everybody who applies for a licence has to demonstrate why they want a firearm, and that is rightly scrutinised. 

“Any seizure is one too many and we will always acknowledge that public safety is paramount, so the public should be reassured about how seriously the matter is taken.”