BASC’s specialist firearms team have been busier than ever as some UK firearms licensing departments continue to struggle to cope with demand.
The six-strong team, which is the UK’s only full-time firearms team, dealt with more than 1,000 calls during the month of November.
This follows on from the previous two months where numbers were up by 60% on the previous year.
While the calls ran right across the spectrum of sports shooting, there were some clear trends – particularly one of delays in the process of granting or renewing firearm or shotgun certificates.
Mike Eveleigh, BASC Senior Firearms Officer, said: “The timeliness and quality of service across the UK firearms licensing departments is very patchy at best, with some forces providing an excellent, polite and efficient service, while others are apparently starved of the resources they need to provide even a basic service. We have been working with several of the latter in an attempt to help them to improve, and we're now having some success."
Peter Glenser BASC chairman and a barrister who specialises in firearms law, said: “The waiting times for certificates and renewals is still a concern in many areas of the UK and we advise our members to alert us to problems they are facing, so we can act on their part where possible.”
Due to the increase in calls the team are asking members to make sure they leave a message, if they struggle to get through, and the team will return their call at the first available opportunity.
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