St Helier Constable Simon Crowcroft said that the parish was losing money by processing certificates, as the cost of processing each one exceeded the amount applicants were being charged.
Currently, the administrative costs to process each firearm certificate is approximately £125, while the amount Islanders are charged is £45, Mr Crowcroft said.
There are 10,000 privately-owned firearms currently held by more than 1,000 people in Jersey, with 175 licence holders registered in St Helier.
‘The estimated costs are based on the amount of time our part-time firearms officer spends processing one application, as well as overheads such as printing and postage,’ said Mr Crowcroft.
‘For example, a new five-year licence takes more than four hours to process, costing the parish approximately £125, for which we charge the parishioner £45 and £20 for a renewed licence, meaning the parish can lose as much as £80 per licence.
‘Apart from the fact that the parish is losing money, it also means that the vast majority of parishioners who do not own a licence are subsidising the activity,’ said Mr Crowcroft.
A potential solution to the issue could be to charge people based on the number of weapons instead, according to Mr Crowcroft.
He said: ‘It doesn’t seem fair for the owner of an air pistol to pay the same fee as someone with a considerably larger collection.
‘This is an issue which is unique to St Helier, as due to the amount of licences held here we have to hire someone part-time to process requests, whereas, in other parishes, an honorary policeman typically handles firearm certificates.’
Mr Crowcroft said he would review the various processes that the parish currently undertook, before discussing the cost with the Connstables’ Committee.
