The psychological test for applicants for a firearms license will no longer be used for the time being. Minister Dilan Yesilgöz (Justice and Security, VVD) announced this in a letter to parliament. As a result, the police cannot process new applications.
The so-called e-screener is a computer-controlled psychological test that is used to determine whether a permit can be safely granted. Applicants must answer 100 questions. About 5,000 people apply for a new permit every year.
With her decision, the minister follows experts who concluded earlier this year that the e-screener has defects and that it is better not to use it, unless psychological or psychiatric experts are involved in the assessment process.
Also read: The critical report on the weapons licenses that did not come
Recommendation
Administrative judges are also critical of the e-screener: its technical operation is difficult or impossible to explain in legal proceedings.
The e-screener was introduced following the shooting in Alphen aan den Rijn in 2011, in which 24-year-old Tristan van der Vlis shot and killed six people in a shopping center. Van der Vlis had a firearms license, while he suffered from a mental disorder. At the time, the Dutch Safety Board made recommendations. One of these was to have applicants take a psychological test.
The minister writes that a form will be used in which the applicant must declare “truthfully” that he does not pose a risk. The form is already being used for renewing firearms licences.
A version of this article also appeared in the newspaper of 19 July 2022