rnixartillery Posted July 11, 2012 Share Posted July 11, 2012 What started out to be a normal sort of day ended quite different ! Just As I was about to pop out this afternoon a Police car pulled in at the gate followed by two unmarked cars a Riot van and several other police vehicles all laden with Police officers. My first thought was what did I have that wasn't the right side of the law and as a law abiding Artillery collector I came to a quick conclusion that everything was correct and in place. With this in mind I openly invited the police officers into my buildings and produced all necessary de-ac paperwork and licences and even put them on the telephone to my Firearms officer who pleasingly informed them that my collection was all in order. Several officers remarked that they had not come across anything like it before This is the second time this year I have been spot inspected my the police but never in the numbers today,I have spent years monitoring firearms legislation to keep my collection 100% legal but it would seem things are becoming harder. My point to this thread is that no matter if its a firearm or an Artillery piece these weapons must be kept legally and untampered because no doubt the few will spoil it for the many ! Rob..........................rnixartillery. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
private mw Posted July 11, 2012 Share Posted July 11, 2012 pity they wasnt so quick off the mark when people kept reporting a canabis factory near where i live .if was reported for nearly a year and never got raided because they said the drug squad had to do its homework on the place ! the factory has now gone and never got raided in the end. we just lived in hell for a year ! thank you police , :police: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jack Posted July 11, 2012 Share Posted July 11, 2012 Thats sounds like a horrid time Rob :cry: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ashley Posted July 11, 2012 Share Posted July 11, 2012 When we travelled to France this year in June, at Poole all the questions from the customs/Police officers were regarding firearms we had= none Were we re-enactors = no Did we know any re-enactors going to France and liable to come through Poole Port= no were we meeting up with any re-enactors in France = no all questions pointed towards firearms and obviouly gathering data. Ashley Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bonnie_scott Posted July 11, 2012 Share Posted July 11, 2012 Rob, congratulations on the clean bill of health :yay: being a cynic myself I would have laid money on them finding something to justify the trip....... Did you by any chance inquire what had caused them to turn up in such numbers???? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gordon_M Posted July 11, 2012 Share Posted July 11, 2012 If things were relatively cordial, and you had half the Police population of the area in for a visit ( wonder if there were any ghosts in there ? ) if you offered them a cuppa you probably got a tick next to your name which will probably avoid more grief down the road... Doesn't do any harm to keep the local Police informed of this stuff - you are basically just telling them before someone else does. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AndyFowler Posted July 11, 2012 Share Posted July 11, 2012 I'm afraid the authorities are very worried about terrorism at the moment ( some say paranoid) and they are trying to prevent worse case scenarios from occuring every day also it appears we have some very unhappy people living in this green and pleasant land and when they try to carry out attacks on the countries infrastruture using any means available they may well cause some sad changes for the law abiding collectors ! Its quite a sad old state of affairs in my opinion ! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marmite!! Posted July 11, 2012 Share Posted July 11, 2012 May be a good time to remind members of this part of the rules.. VOSA/DVLA/DfT & other Government Departments & the Emergency Services Any derogatory/inflammatory remarks made about any of the above or their staff will be removed without notice if we feel that it brings HMVF in to disrepute. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Garrison Posted July 12, 2012 Share Posted July 12, 2012 Obviously a very untrained officer leading that raid then. It is common practice to do some ummm.... "homework" on the target before storming the residence. If the OiC had have been doing his job properly he would have checked with the relevant local authorities and especially the local firearms officer before making any such decision to effect a search. Whilst i agree they have a job to do, there is also a way to do that job.. this was NOT it. Screams to me they were bored and just decided to go cruising really. I have organised a number of 'busts' in my time and this would rate very poorly if i had been overseeing it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
poppypiesdad Posted July 12, 2012 Share Posted July 12, 2012 With the run up to the olympics chaps im affraid that this is going to happen more often to people with legally held firearms active or deactive,its almost as if they are certin that something will happen , just had a visit after buying fertiliser for the paddocks , although i would rather see the police every now and again than knowing that stuff might have gone missing and used to hurt innocent people. Jamie Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marmite!! Posted July 12, 2012 Share Posted July 12, 2012 Obviously a very untrained officer leading that raid then. It is common practice to do some ummm.... "homework" on the target before storming the residence. If the OiC had have been doing his job properly he would have checked with the relevant local authorities and especially the local firearms officer before making any such decision to effect a search. Whilst i agree they have a job to do, there is also a way to do that job.. this was NOT it. Screams to me they were bored and just decided to go cruising really. I have organised a number of 'busts' in my time and this would rate very poorly if i had been overseeing it. Please lets not speculate on the reason for the Visit, I'm sure if Rob has reasons to complain he will. We have many Police officers, serving & retired, who are members of HMVF, please don't insult them with comments like these.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rnixartillery Posted July 12, 2012 Author Share Posted July 12, 2012 Thats sounds like a horrid time Rob :cry: Fortunately I am use to it now and prepared , I go through the same process with the police making sure they see everything and check all relevant paper work so there is no doubt when they leave. There is a real lack of communication for sure and if they had made contact with my firearms officer it probably would not have gone so far, I actually rang my FA officer when the mob left and he had a right laugh about it and as he has said before on a number of occasions 'this will happen from time to time when people see your Arsenal of weapons and dont quite understand ' One of the other things I collect is inert unfired projectiles in various forms and these to the untrained eye would be seen as Ammunition but one of the things I confirmed several years ago that to be Ammunition you have to be in possesion of the four componants,primer,propellant,projectile and case when they are placed together then you have ammunition ! For now my collection will continue to grow ,still plenty on the wish list and the Police are welcome anytime .................. Rob......................rnixartillery. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
.303fan Posted July 12, 2012 Share Posted July 12, 2012 i have a retired policeman as a friend. he told me he did specialice in another field then guns, so he rather have the guns separate, and called in help from a firearms officer who came and checked out the guns. sometimes it took a day but if they where legal you get them back personally. a lot of police officers just don't have the experiance we have on this forum, and i don't blame them. they are people too, who do their job to the best of their abilities. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Snapper Posted July 12, 2012 Share Posted July 12, 2012 I live in an Edwardian semi in a seaside town. My road is Mr Average but backs on to the posh people. Our rear neighbours sold out and their 150 foot garden - a paradise - was developed into a block of flats despite two appeals to a minister of state who now sits in the Lords and rejoices in being a man of the people. My son, who shall remain blameless took up an interest in airsoft wargaming and, being underage at the time, had acquired one of those dayglo weapons for newbies. He was cleaning/fiddling with it while dossing in his room while one of our delightful new neighbours was out on his balcony having a Marlboro moment. The chap called in the police, who sent round a most excellently informed constable who was not from any firearms background but had done his homework and knew the meaning of the word 'tact'. He inspected the lethal weapon and was invited by my wife to inspect the other rooms in our house including the one where I keep a small number of wooden or metal/plastic film props and one deact. He declined to do so. I was out at the time. In actual fact the officer was more concerned about the nosiness of the man who had been peering through my son's bedroom window and said he would speak to him about it. We took this to be a gentle warning to us and my son to be realistic about things. The policeman did say that the local firearms team had been busy elsewhere and would have come themselves otherwise. How much of this is pertinent? I do not know. All I know is this officer showed the kind of restraint that has to be appreciated. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Big ray Posted July 12, 2012 Share Posted July 12, 2012 I suppose in fairness to the authorities its something of a no win situation, if they do not respond to a complaint from the public, then if something should be wrong and someone suffers from a gun crime because they did not respond, well, like I say, really a no win situation for them. I would never advertise the fact that I might own (Legally) deactivated firearms for display to the general public, including my neighbours. I feel that it will create the wrong impression and invite a visit from the Police, and thats only to be expected, we must take responsibility for our own actions. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Snapper Posted July 12, 2012 Share Posted July 12, 2012 Absolutely right, Ray. It was an unfortunate situation handled with complete tact by a fantastic copper. Before the flats were built we were not overlooked and my son had not got used to the new regime. I don't blame my neighbour at all. I may well have done the same. I like to "think" that having a degree of knowledge about guns I would react differently. But situations are all different. I just wanted to report an example of what I see as excellent policing. It happens all the time, we only notice the stuff that the media tells us has gone wrong. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tony B Posted July 12, 2012 Share Posted July 12, 2012 Quite simple really we play with stuff that makes some paranoid individuals highly nervous. I agree with Big Ray, what ever the Police or security agencies do, there wrong!!! One only has to look at the case of the flats in London. Police officers have to take on board everything from Murder to what to do with a dead Badger. (Three months for a Badger Carcasse with out good reason) As Rob says, what's the point of getting narky? I try to have good relationship with my local Coppers, much better to have them with you than against. I'd rather they know me, and my kit, and have good reputation with them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Snapper Posted July 12, 2012 Share Posted July 12, 2012 Entirely sensible. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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