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Kent’s Police and Crime Commissioner Ann Barnes has spoken out again about the amount of money Kent Police is having to spend processing gun licences.
70,000 licensed guns in Kent
At her Governance Board meeting this month, Mrs Barnes was informed there are more than 70,000 licensed guns in Kent. This includes 50,971 shotguns and 20,905 other firearms.
She said: ‘Having these guns kept here in Kent does pose a real public safety risk so it’s entirely right that they are properly accounted for, licensed to sensible people and locked away when not in use – it’s a matter of public safety.
‘What concerns me is the fact Kent Police is having to spend more than £300,000 subsidising the licencing of them.’
Applying for a five-year firearms licence costs the applicant £88, or £79.50 for a shotgun licence. Renewals cost £62, or £49 for a shotgun. The amounts paid fall far short of the amount Kent Police spends on processing each application and doing background checks.
Mrs Barnes said: ‘Last financial year, even after collecting the licence fees, firearms licencing cost the force an extra £338,556 and it’s on course to cost about the same again this year. Frankly, I’d rather that money was spent putting an extra eight police officers on our streets.
‘Kent is predominately a rural county so it is inevitable that we have more firearms applications to deal with than some other areas. If you’re a farmer and you need a gun to do your job, you can claim the cost of the application back through our tax system, and rightly so.
‘What I take issue with is Kent Police money - taxpayers’ money - being used to subsidise someone’s hobby. No-one subsidises a gym membership, a fishing licence or a season ticket to watch the Gills.’
This is not the first time Mrs Barnes has spoken out on the issue.
She added: ‘I first wrote to the Prime Minister about this in 2014 and I was pleased when the cost of applying for a licence went up last year, but Kent Police is still out of pocket and I’d much rather the Chief Constable was able to recruit extra police officers to keep us safe.’
