NRA email : homeoffice guidlines change random home checks

[Demonic69]

Seems to be an unnecessary waste of everyone's time. Police are gonna look, and feel, like tw@s when they repeatedly get turned away, it serves to protect nobody and just costs money for the sake of it.

[Gaz]

The Countryside Alliance have organised an email campaign to get MPs to overturn this silliness: http://www.countryside-alliance.org/ca/ ... s-campaign

zanes - that is a very good point about cost of a certificate.

[Polchraine]

I wonder what proportion of these unannounced visits will result in "we knocked and there was no one in" or "we knocked, and the holder's partner opened the door, and then explained that they couldn't open any of the cabinets".

The cynic in me wonders if this is a desperate attempt to get the "cost of a certificate" nice and high before the review process continues. Nice little bump up of the spend per certificate if it takes multiple visits on the off chance someone is actually home.

I see your point. However, it is not part of the application or certification process, so how they would justify that, I do not know.

[zanes]

Considering ACPO never actually produced their "£188 certificate" (or whatever the price was) workings, I think it's fair to conclude that that figure was heavily fudged- probably to the point of "total cost of FAC admin last year/5 /number of certificates on issue". That would firmly put the cost of these repeated visits in the picture for another fudged working.

[joe]

They should just let gun control network write the sodding home office gardiance !

Does NI and Scotland come under the home office since firearms law is a central government area and not a state law ?

[DL.]

I believe a game keeper in Scotland had his FAC revoked when a spot check was done, and one round of .22lr was found in his garden shed. It was a tied house on an estate, and the previous keeper that had lived there had left the round behind.
Where's the crime in that? And how on earth did that man deserve to have his licence revoked, effectively making him unemployed.

[Daryll]

I believe a game keeper in Scotland had his FAC revoked when a spot check was done, and one round of .22lr was found in his garden shed. It was a tied house on an estate, and the previous keeper that had lived there had left the round behind.
Where's the crime in that? And how on earth did that man deserve to have his licence revoked, effectively making him unemployed.

So we all need to check our reloading benches for that one duff round that we put aside intending to dismantle but forgot about......bummer of a way to lose your FAC....

[joe]

I believe a game keeper in Scotland had his FAC revoked when a spot check was done, and one round of .22lr was found in his garden shed. It was a tied house on an estate, and the previous keeper that had lived there had left the round behind.
Where's the crime in that? And how on earth did that man deserve to have his licence revoked, effectively making him unemployed.

so a spot check turn out to be search of the property and they find one round of .22lr and dont belive the the keeper he says it was the perious keeper ! then again scotland is a socialist paradise

[Charlie Muggins]

I believe a game keeper in Scotland had his FAC revoked when a spot check was done, and one round of .22lr was found in his garden shed. It was a tied house on an estate, and the previous keeper that had lived there had left the round behind.
Where's the crime in that? And how on earth did that man deserve to have his licence revoked, effectively making him unemployed.

So was he storing his own ammo or guns in the shed? If not, why were Plod in there if they were simply inspecting that his guns were secured? Where was this errant rimfire round -- sitting out in the open or found wedged down the back of a unit under some old newspapers and a dozen cobwebs? If in the open why hadn't Gamekeeper noticed it and locked it away? If the latter, why were they inspecting so intensively?

Sounds less to me like a "Hello Mr Smith, mind if I cross-check your serial numbers with your ticket" and more like a complete house-search.

[PaulR]

On the South Today news tonight, it was stated that Hampshire Police have now adopted this policy. They went on to say that the visits would only be carried out if they were 'led to believe' there was a problem.

Sounds like a blank cheque to me.