Finnish police to revoke record number of gun licenses this year | Yle News

For example, a gun license can be revoked due to health issues or unruly behavior.

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The Police Commission estimates more than 6,200 gun licenses will be revoked this year.

The estimate is based on data from the first four months of this year, when authorities revoked more than 2,000 licenses. That is significantly higher than the more than 1,500 licenses revoked in the same period last year.

The number of licenses revoked has increased each year, but the annual total has remained below 5,000 so far.

Officials say there are four main reasons for revoking a gun license: health problems, criminal behavior, serious impaired driving and general misconduct, such as being drunk and disorderly, Chief Insp. Visa Koponen Staff at the Eastern Finland Police told Yle.

Finland has one of the highest rates of gun ownership in Europe. About 1.5 million people in the country of 5.6 million own guns. According to the Police Commission, nearly a quarter of all guns are owned by people over 70.

Aging increases the risk of disease, and certain illnesses are grounds for revoking a gun license.

Doctors are being asked to ask patients for their gun licences. They are obliged to report patients with conditions such as memory problems to the police.

Police consider cancelling about 1,000 gun licenses each year for health reasons.

Violence, severe drunk driving, disturbing the peace

One way to have a gun license revoked is by committing a crime, especially a lawbreaking or violent crime, Koponen said.

There is no direct correlation between operating a motor vehicle while intoxicated and having a gun license, but authorities say there is an indirect connection.

“Severe impaired driving is the type of situation where police would initiate revocation proceedings,” Koponen explained, adding that it’s usually a sign that someone has lost control of their life.

Law enforcement officials may also consider revoking a person’s gun permit if they are caught driving under the influence multiple times, even if their blood alcohol content is below the aggravated DUI limit.

Koponen said the most common reason for gun license revocation is misconduct, one of which is repeated arrests for being drunk and disorderly.

According to police department guidelines, a prerequisite for consideration of a driver’s license revocation is two stints in a DUI jail within two years — but Koponen noted that aggressive behavior could also be grounds for a license revocation.