Firearm Policies, Procedures & Guidelines (Office of the Attorney General - New Hampshire)

Caroline Curtis filed this request with the Office of the Attorney General of New Hampshire.
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Communications

From: Caroline Curtis

To Whom It May Concern:

Pursuant to the New Hampshire "Access to Government Records and Meetings" Statute (RSA Ch. 91-A), I hereby request the following records:

Any and all policies, procedures, directives, memorandums, and any other guiding materials regarding matters pertaining to firearm acquisition, licensure, use, and transfer, including, but not limited to, the following:
• policies and procedures on the issuance of firearms permits and licenses. (Please note that this point is not a request for the identities of individual permit or license holders, but, rather, is a request for governmental policies and parameters regarding the process and regulations by which one may obtain either a permit or a license. If separate strictures exist for each, provision of both would be greatly appreciated.)
• policies and procedures on the revocation of firearms permits and licenses.
• any and all available policies and procedures regarding local firearms policies. Please provide all such materials that alter or supplement departmental procedures.
• policies and procedures regarding the sale and purchase of firearms. Please include all materials regarding the appropriate qualifications for the sale or purchase of firearms. Please include materials for particular venues, if available, including but not limited to the sale and purchase of firearms at gun shows.
• policies and procedures regarding the transfer, either out-of-state or between individuals, of firearms.
Please include all available segregable data.
Please also provide all available data, statistics, or reports regarding matters pertaining to gun acquisition, licensure, use, and transfer, including, but not limited to, the following:
• the issuance of firearms permits and licenses.
• the revocation of firearms permits and licenses.
• incidents involving the use of a firearm.
• the sale and purchase of firearms.
• the transfer, either out-of-state or between individuals, of firearms.
If various policies or reports exist dependent on the type of firearm, provision of all applicable materials would be greatly appreciated. Should they be voluminous, provision of materials on rolling basis would be greatly appreciated.
Should your agency believe that any additional policies, procedures, reports or other analysis pertaining to firearm acquisition, licensure, use, transfer, deaths, incidents, or any related issues may reside with another agency or agencies, indication of such agencies would be greatly appreciated.
Please notify us if further clarification is necessary.

The requested documents will be made available to the general public, and this request is not being made for commercial purposes.

In the event that there are fees, I would be grateful if you would inform me of the total charges in advance of fulfilling my request. I would prefer the request filled electronically, by e-mail attachment if available or CD-ROM if not.

Thank you in advance for your anticipated cooperation in this matter. I look forward to receiving your response to this request within 5 business days, as the statute requires.

Sincerely,

Caroline Curtis

From: Rice, Ann

Good afternoon Ms. Curtis,
We have received your request dated June 17, 2016, concerning policies, etc. involving gun acquisition, licensure, permitting, etc. The NH Attorney General's Office has no involvement with the issuing or revocation of gun permits in New Hampshire or the regulation of gun sales. Thus, we do not generate any policies, directives, protocols, etc... related to that. Nor do we maintain statistics on incidents involving the use of a firearm, with one exception - we compile statistics about the use of firearms in homicides. If you are looking for something in particular, it would be helpful if you could be a little more specific with your request.

Ann M. Rice
Deputy Attorney General
33 Capitol Street
Concord, NH 03301
(603) 271-4900
fax: (603) 223-6213
ann.rice@doj.nh.gov<mailto:ann.rice@doj.nh.gov>

Statement of Confidentiality
The information contained in this electronic message and any attachments to this message may contain confidential or privileged information and is intended for the exclusive use of the addressee(s). Please notify the Attorney General's Office immediately at (603) 271-3658 or reply to justice@doj.nh.gov<mailto:justice@doj.nh.gov> if you are not the intended recipient and destroy all copies of this electronic message and any attachments.

From: Caroline Curtis

Hello Ms. Rice,
In that case, I would like to request whatever statistics you may have concerning the use of firearms in homicides. If you need a time frame I am looking for within the past 10 years. I understand that my request is fairly broad, but would it be possible to direct me to agencies that might be able to help regardless? I appreciate it!

Thank you,
Caroline Curtis

From: Rice, Ann

Good afternoon,
Attached please find the data on the number of homicides in the past 10 years that involved firearms.
The issuance of gun permits to New Hampshire residents is done by the local police chief or select board. Here is a link to the statute: http://www.gencourt.state.nh.us/rsa/html/XII/159/159-6.htm.

To my knowledge, there is no statewide compilation of statistics regarding issuance or revocation of permits. The NH Department of Safety is responsible for issuing permits to non-residents. You can find the rules and policies on the Department website at http://www.nh.gov/safety/divisions/nhsp/ssb/permitslicensing/index.html.

Local municipalities are responsible for issuing permits to sell firearms at retail, pursuant to RSA 159:8, http://www.gencourt.state.nh.us/rsa/html/XII/159/159-8.htm. Again, I don’t believe there is any single source for statistics regarding sales. Firearms dealers also have to be licensed federally, so you may want to contact the local ATF office for information.

Although not all NH localities report to NIBRS, you may find that system to have the most accessible data regarding crime in NH involving firearms. Here’s the link to the website: http://www.icpsr.umich.edu/icpsrweb/NACJD/NIBRS/.

I hope this information is helpful.
Ann M. Rice
Deputy Attorney General
33 Capitol Street
Concord, NH 03301
(603) 271-4900
fax: (603) 223-6213
ann.rice@doj.nh.gov<mailto:ann.rice@doj.nh.gov>

Statement of Confidentiality
The information contained in this electronic message and any attachments to this message may contain confidential or privileged information and is intended for the exclusive use of the addressee(s). Please notify the Attorney General's Office immediately at (603) 271-3658 or reply to justice@doj.nh.gov<mailto:justice@doj.nh.gov> if you are not the intended recipient and destroy all copies of this electronic message and any attachments.

From: Caroline Curtis

Hi Ms. Rice,
This is all extremely helpful, thank you so much, I really appreciate it!

Best,
Caroline Curtis

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