FOI 458/25

REQUEST 

1. The number of instances in which holders of a firearm or shotgun certificate have refused to surrender their firearm(s) and/or shotgun(s) when voluntarily requested to do so by your constabulary.
2. In relation to (1), the subsequent action taken by your constabulary in each instance.
3. The number of instances in which your constabulary has had to force entry (either with a warrant or under existing statutory powers) into the dwelling of a firearm or shotgun holder.
4. The number of instances in which your constabulary has had to force entry (either with a warrant or under existing statutory powers) to a dwelling where it was suspected (reasonably or otherwise) that illegal firearms were present.

We would appreciate data covering the longest period for which records are available. If the information is not available in the format requested, we would be grateful if you could provide any relevant alternative data.

RESPONSE

We consulted with our JFU (Joint Firearms Unit) who have provided the below response to your request.

Questions 1 & 2

This information is not collated by our JFU therefore, South Wales Police hold no information to answer this part of your request.

Questions 3 & 4

This information is not collated by our JFU therefore, South Wales Police hold no information to answer this part of your request.

Under S.16 our duty to advise and assist we can confirm that our longest serving member of staff (30 years) with FELD (Firearms & explosives licensing department) is not aware of any occasion where we have forced entry.

Please note that this information has been supplied outside of the Freedom of Information Act as under the FOI Act (2000) we are not obliged to create information in order to comply with a request. We are only able to provide information that is held in a recorded form.