Forensics examinations of firearms

Freedom of information request reference no: 01.FOI.25.043570

I note you seek access to the following information:

1. Once a firearm is seized, how long would it take the Metropolitan Police to forensically examine it and determine what type of firearms it is.
2. Has the Metropolitan Police experienced a backlog of firearms forensics examinations in the last year.
3. If there is a backlog, how long is the delay.

Decision

I have today decided to disclose the located information to you in full. Please find below information pursuant to your request above.

Q1 - Once a firearm is seized, how long would it take the Metropolitan Police to forensically examine it and determine what type of firearms it is.

The determination of a firearm to establish its type is a separate activity from its forensic examination. When a firearm is received by the Forensic Firearm Unit (FFU) it will be assessed at that time for type, with particular attention to custody timescales, and then the priority of needs of its forensic examination will be determined.,

Q2 - Has the Metropolitan Police experienced a backlog of firearms forensics examinations in the last year.

As mentioned in our response to question 1, all firearms received into the FFU are assessed for examination, this is based on both the forensic potential and the case details including areas such as the level of offence, the circumstances of seizure, court dates, known/unknown suspect, suspect in custody etc. The firearm will then be forensically examined within the appropriate timescale.

Q3 - If there is a backlog, how long is the delay.

We do have low priority firearms awaiting allocation to an examiner from March 2024, were the circumstances of these to change they would be dealt with as a different priority.