Report details failures in Durham firearms licensing

Durham Constabulary’s Firearms Licensing Unit failed to conduct adequate checks and reviews when granting and returning Michael Atherton’s shotgun and firearms licences before he shot dead three people and himself, according to the Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC).

Michael Atherton used a registered weapon to kill Susan McGoldrick, Alison Turnbull, Tanya Turnbull and himself on January 1, 2012, but there were a number of incidents known to Durham Constabulary which should have cast doubt upon his suitability to hold firearms, the IPCC determined.

Before being granted a shotgun certificate in 2006, Atherton had come to the notice of the police following four domestic violence reports, receiving a caution as a result. In all these incidents he was known to have been drinking.

He was arrested for affray in 2008, again intoxicated, but was successful in an application for a firearms certificate just months later.

Armed officers attended an incident at Atherton’s home in September 2008 and seized his firearms, and consideration was given to the revocation of his certificate and licence. A decision was taken to return his weapons but Durham Constabulary failed to interview Atherton, pay a home visit or speak to his wife about his suitability, despite the record of domestic incidents.

IPCC investigators were unable to interview the former PC and Firearms Enquiry Officer after he refused to speak to them or provide a witness statement. A check on records showed that the initial enquiries and assessment conducted into Atherton’s suitability “do not appear to have been particularly robust” and “the enquiry form lacks significant content given Mr Atherton’s previous domestic background”.

The IPCC concluded that “had the complete information of each of the domestic incidents been obtained from the Domestic Violence Unit then this may have alerted those within the whole decision-making chain to a possible or emerging pattern of behaviour and prompted further enquiries around his claims to be alcohol free”.

The IPCC said there was poor record-keeping and decisions taken in the absence of all available information.

When Atherton applied for a firearms licence in 2008, a decision, which the report says was unacceptable, was taken not to re-assess the previous 2006 permission, despite his arrest for affray.

Following armed police attendance at the home of Michael Atherton in September 2008, the decision to temporarily remove Atherton’s shotguns and firearms, and the subsequent review of his licences, was deemed good practice and wholly appropriate given the circumstances. However, regarding a review of Mr Atherton’s continued suitability to hold both his shotgun certificate and firearm licence, the IPCC found an absence of any further or intrusive enquiries, which subsequently led to an ill-considered assessment of Atherton’s suitability.

He was again found to be heavily intoxicated at the time of his arrest for the September 2008 incident yet no attempt was made to re-interview him or to direct an officer to make a further home visit.

Michael Banks, deputy chief constable of Durham Constabulary, said the force has acted on the findings of the report and accepted that as an organisation it missed opportunities to get further information and make further enquiries, which may have had an impact on its decision-making about Atherton’s suitability to hold firearms.

“Since that tragic day we have reviewed our systems and procedures for firearms licensing and we have also reviewed a number of existing licence holders,” he said.

“It is our sincere belief that this robust approach will reduce the risk of granting licences to unsuitable people. However, we can never legislate for the fact that at some point someone may do harm to others with weapons they lawfully hold. What the police can do is seek to minimise the risks to public safety and that is what we are doing.”