State police said the fourth quarter of 2020 was the busiest in the history of the Pennsylvania Instant Check System, breaking the previous record that was set in the third quarter of 2020.

The system is used to determine if a person is legally allowed to obtain a gun and get a license to carry a gun. State police said 420,581 background checks were completed in the fourth quarter, surpassing the previous record of 406,151, set in the third quarter.

Police also released the number of firearms purchase denials, subsequent investigations, and arrests resulting from such investigations for the period of Oct. 1 through Dec. 31, 2020. The number of people denied increased from 4,106 in the fourth quarter of 2019 to 7,458 in the fourth quarter of last year.

The number of denials referred to law enforcement increased from 1,155 in the fourth quarter of 2019 to 1,317 in the fourth quarter last year. The number of people arrested on a warrant at the point of purchase increased from 42 to 52 in that time frame.