The new commissioner of Connecticut’s Department of Emergency Services and Public Protection discovered a backlog of 18,000 entries for gun purchases in the state database.
Commissioner James Rovella found the backlog in the State Police Special Licensing and Firearms Unit system shortly after starting his job this year.
The backlog means police officers don’t have up-to-date information on whether or not a suspect is potentially armed.
Rovella said budget constraints are to blame for the logjam and that he assigned more people to work on reducing it. It’s now down to 5,000 entries.
Rovella said he’s hiring 10 staff to address this and other backlogs, including 18 months of Freedom of Information requests.