Police?

MarkMas

Chief pedant
Messages
8,948
Afternoon. Possibly my most left field question to date, but do we have any serving police officers on the forum? I need some advice, very specifically about firearm law.
Do we have any up to date police officers around?

C

No help, but two stories:

Our elderly former Churchwarden ran a shaving brush business started by his grandfather. One day (about 10 years ago) 20 cops showed up "looking for illegal ivory". They were thrilled to find a bag of ivory at the back of an old cupboard, but furious when it was pointed out that it had very clearly been lying there from well before the ban on trading in ivory came into effect. So they keep searching, and eventually found a single round of .38 ammunition, in a drawer of his late grandfather's office desk. They arrested him on suspicion of firearms offences, and searched the rest of the factory and his house top to bottom, while he was held in custody, looking for a firearm. They found no weapon (presumably his late grandfather's WW1 Webley), but still charged him with illicit possession of ammunition. The magistrate threw it out within ten minutes.

The elderly American mother-in-law of a colleague of MrsMM travelled from Florida to London (via Heathrow) to see her daughter, a little while after her husband had died. After a few days in the UK, mother and daughter set off to Paris, again via Heathrow. Departure security went berserk on finding a loaded handgun in her hand baggage. She was arrested. Fortunately son-in-law is a barrister and turned up at the nick pretty sharpish with a solicitor he knew. Turns out the late father-in-law had loads of handguns, and had left one in the bag at some point, which she then used for her trip. Not spotted at MIA due to TSA being useless, or LHR as there are basically no inbound checks. The handgun was confiscated, but she was not charged (despite clear evidence of 'possession', and a mandatory minimum sentence of 5 years for possession).
 

joered

Member
Messages
440
I could give an example in the UK all guns have to be kept locked in a steel cabinet.
One day as per usual the police came to check the gun cabinet and asked the wife (The licence holder her husband was out at the time) to open the gun cabinet so she got the key and opend it.....
The police took away the guns and his licence because the wife knew where the key to the gun cabinet was.
 

MarkMas

Chief pedant
Messages
8,948
I could give an example in the UK all guns have to be kept locked in a steel cabinet.
One day as per usual the police came to check the gun cabinet and asked the wife (The licence holder her husband was out at the time) to open the gun cabinet so she got the key and opend it.....
The police took away the guns and his licence because the wife knew where the key to the gun cabinet was.

Yes this happens quite a lot. Only a licenced person can know how to access the guns.
 

2b1ask1

Special case
Messages
20,279
I could give an example in the UK all guns have to be kept locked in a steel cabinet.
One day as per usual the police came to check the gun cabinet and asked the wife (The licence holder her husband was out at the time) to open the gun cabinet so she got the key and opend it.....
The police took away the guns and his licence because the wife knew where the key to the gun cabinet was.
I would think that to be entrapment but hardly unexpected these days. One of the old boys on our first shoot, died suddenly and unexpectedly. There was quite a scramble to get the guns away before the authorities came to visit. Their first option these days seems to be to ‘dispose’ of them rather than work with you to rehome them. Given they were all worth upwards of £5k each, the family were keen to see the right return.
 

lozcb

Member
Messages
12,584
You
I would think that to be entrapment but hardly unexpected these days. One of the old boys on our first shoot, died suddenly and unexpectedly. There was quite a scramble to get the guns away before the authorities came to visit. Their first option these days seems to be to ‘dispose’ of them rather than work with you to rehome them. Given they were all worth upwards of £5k each, the family were keen to see the right return.
Yeah you just need to know another person with a gun licence who can add them to there licence and care for them alongside there own until the appropriate disposal takes place
 

joered

Member
Messages
440
You

Yeah you just need to know another person with a gun licence who can add them to there licence and care for them alongside there own until the appropriate disposal takes place

But you can get caught up in the gun law without realising it this happened in my case.

My brother was in charge of clearing out his Brother in laws house after he died.

Among the contents was a beautiful flintlock pistol in its case with all the accoutrements.

He asked me what he should do with it and I immediately said bring it to me and I will take it to my gun-shop so it could be put in a safe.

Sever weeks later i was contacted by the police and was told they were considering prosecuting me for handling the gun, even though I had a shotgun licence but not a black powder licence as that what the flintlock was.

But nothing came of it. thank goodness.
 

Gazcw

Member
Messages
7,785
I am humming “de do do do, de daa daa daa” reading that heading. I had to get a firearms certificate and shotgun licence relatively quickly recently, so might be of help.
Yeah but buying them down the local gin bar doesn't count!
 

Harry

Member
Messages
1,177
You

Yeah you just need to know another person with a gun licence who can add them to there licence and care for them alongside there own until the appropriate disposal takes place
…for a shotgun licence, yes. But a firearms licence/rifles is another kettle of fish.
 

budgie

Junior Member
Messages
46
CatmanV2 .. not quite sure what you trying to do or find out ..but a have both a Firearms Certificate and a Shot Gun Certificate and I am a member of the NRA and have good relationship with our Area Firearms Officer(s) both past and current and very good relationship with several Firearms Dealers .. if that's any help
 

CatmanV2

Member
Messages
48,806
CatmanV2 .. not quite sure what you trying to do or find out ..but a have both a Firearms Certificate and a Shot Gun Certificate and I am a member of the NRA and have good relationship with our Area Firearms Officer(s) both past and current and very good relationship with several Firearms Dealers .. if that's any help

Very kind, but all sorted now :)

C
 

lozcb

Member
Messages
12,584
Im guessing ( as I reckon I have been through similar ) getting rid of a loved ones belongings once they have passed is daunting enough , but then chancing across in the loft an ex naval chest, where one finds inside wrapped in what appears to be waxy oil skin a 1943 naval revolver not loaded but complete with a golden virginia tin full of rounds ) this was 1992 , I disposed of said item by means of an angle grinder into little pieces , and the rounds disposed of on a fishing trip out in the channel . Things werent as hot then as they are now and faced with the same situation i would leave well alone and ask the powers that be to come and remove it , glad its sorted