Weapon handover criticised

[19th March 2008]

An internal police report has revealed failings in how weapons were handled when they were handed-in to North Wales Police.

The report stated that they were unable to determine how many weapons had been destroyed. It also highlighted that there is no national policy on how the police should handle weapons once they are handed-in.

The firearms registry in Denbighshire is where weapons handed-in to police stations across North Wales are sent to for safe disposal. An investigation into how weapons are handled began in 2006, when a police officer found weapons in drawers at the registry.

The force said it regretted the poor record-keeping in the past and that new procedures were in place for registering and disposing of weapons.

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