Many readers will no doubt be aware of their local licensing department making redundancies and/or merging with the licensing department of the adjoining force. An inevitable consequence of these cutbacks in staffing levels is that long delays in processing shotgun and firearm certificate applications – and also renewals – are fast becoming the norm. I have heard accounts from members that police in some parts of the country are advising certificate holders that their usual timescale for processing even routine renewals is now six months.
What is all the more troubling is that some licensing departments seem to be taking an overly relaxed approach and assuring shooters they need not worry if they do not receive their new certificate before their current one expires; they can continue to store their guns at home and even continue to go shooting. Interestingly, requests for confirmation in writing of such advice have generally been met with a certain reluctance.
In any event, I could not recommend that you follow such advice. In strict legal terms, from the day you cease to have a valid shotgun certificate you will then be in unlawful possession of your guns – which amounts to a criminal offence. Any verbal assurances you may have been given by your Firearms Enquiry Officer (FEO) that they would not seek to prosecute you in those circumstances may be cold comfort if you find yourself languishing in the cells of a police station, having been stopped and had your vehicle searched by a police constable on your way to a shoot. That officer may be unable to verify what you say immediately with your local licensing department or even that you submitted your renewal application some time ago. The chances of your protests falling on deaf ears are all the greater if you happen to be stopped outside the county or licensing area in which you live. You simply cannot count on the police or their lawyers to exercise their discretion sensibly not to prosecute you and, even if they do, you will probably have spent several hours at least in police custody before the issue is resolved and you are released.
A further practical difficulty with continuing to shoot after your certificate has expired is that, while you can legitimately possess shotgun cartridges without being the holder of a shotgun certificate, you will need to produce a valid certificate to purchase any more. So, even if you do decide you can safely rely on the assurances of your FEO, it is likely that a point will come when you will run out of ammunition.
So what can be done to avoid getting yourself into such potentially risky situations and ensure you can carry on shooting without interruption? First, make a diary entry six months before the expiry of your current certificate to contact your FEO. Find out from them what current local timescales for processing of applications are and also ask other certificate holders you know in the same area of their recent experiences. Be guided by what you find out and put your application in suitably early. Your FEO should thank you for your forward planning and so reciprocate by doing their best to process your renewal before your current certificate expires. Send your renewal application by recorded delivery so you have firm proof as to when it was submitted. If you are going to hand-deliver the paperwork to the licensing department or local police station, make sure you get a receipt from whomever you hand it to.
Once you have lodged your application, do not simply leave it and hope for the best. I’m not suggesting you make a nuisance of yourself, but it is worth following up your application periodically (once a month, say) to check on progress and whether there is any further information the police require from you. It is preferable to do this by email or letter rather than by telephone, so that you have a record of all further contact with your licensing department.
If there is still no sign of your new certificate two to three weeks before the expiry of your current one, send a letter or email to the head of your licensing department pointing out how long ago you submitted your renewal forms and asking them to issue you with a temporary Section 7 permit if they really can’t process your renewal before the due date. A Section 7 permit will not authorise you to acquire shotguns or ammunition, but you can lawfully continue to possess those you already have. You may therefore want to consider stocking up on ammunition while you still have a valid certificate enabling you to purchase it (obviously ensuring you do not exceed the quantities authorised on your certificate).
The police may decide it is just as easy to process your renewal and issue you with a new certificate rather than a temporary permit. But, in case you still have neither by a few days before your certificate expiry date, ensure you have arrangements in place to either put your guns into storage with a dealer or, ideally, to transfer them to a friend who has sufficient space for your guns in their cabinet. You should obviously notify your FEO of any temporary transfer and, in the case of a friend, enter your guns on their certificate. If you are going shooting on private land with a friend who has been granted shooting rights over it by the owner of the land or you are attending an organised clay shoot where the organisers have been granted a Section 11(6) exemption by their licensing department, you can legitimately shoot without holding a certificate. Check with the shoot organisers if you are in any doubt as to whether they have the relevant exemption.
In an ideal world such long delays ought to be treated as unacceptable, but these are not ideal times. In the current economic climate, the government is bound to look for savings wherever it can find them. Perhaps it is better to recognise that and adapt accordingly, rather than being hopelessly optimistic.
For readers who have been following my series of articles on the issue of extending the members’ insurance to cover legal costs in the event of certificate revocation, research by the CPSA is ongoing and I hope to be able to return to this topic early in the New Year.
