Police and Crime Commissioners (PCCs) hold Chief Constables to account on the performance of their forces, including for firearms licensing. If your local firearms licensing department is performing badly, use our contact platform below to write to your PCC. You can also get in touch with your MP using the platform.
Using the form
We have created a template email for your use. Within this, you can update the text to express your own personal concerns or experiences of firearms licensing in your area.
Below are some key stats from BASC’s recently published report into the performance of firearms licensing departments in England and Wales should you wish to include these in your correspondence:
- Around 30% of forces have managed to continue to provide an efficient and effective service, even over the period of the pandemic lockdown.
- There is a postcode lottery. A person applying today to the best performing force could expect to receive their certificate in six to eight weeks. In the worst performing forces, they might be lucky to receive it before the end of 2023.
- Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary (HMIC) has highlighted inefficiencies and inconsistencies in previous reports on firearms licensing departments, as well as other areas of policing (the police investigation into volume crime was the most recent of these). It seems nothing has improved, with Chief Constables apparently free to ignore recommendations.
- All policing should be intelligence led. There are, however, practices such as land assessments that are time consuming and would appear to contribute nothing to public safety. Police Scotland, a force with no backlogs, abandoned the practice of land assessments years ago. What is the justification for their continued use in most of England and Wales (it is believed that they were not used prior to the 1980s)?
- Delays in firearms licensing have a significant impact on the rural economy, particularly when new shooters are prevented from taking up the sport due to their inability to obtain a shotgun or firearms licence.
This applies not only to the purchase of firearms and ammunition, but to other associated items such as clothing and optical equipment. It also has a detrimental effect on wider businesses that rely on either directly or indirectly on shooting, such as clay pigeon shooting grounds, gundog training centres and hotels in shooting areas.
If you contact your PCC, please copy the response you receive and email it to us by clicking here so we can update our records.
