Police renewal query

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old keeper

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I'm in the process of renewing my coterminous licence, and have just had a call from a friend in the village. He had just had a call from the FLO saying that he had spotted that in the past my friend had acted as a referee but wasn't on this latest renewal application.

What he wanted to know was: had we fallen out? Considering I had given the names of two referees, both shooting men who had been contacted by licensing, it seemed rather extreme to go back years to question past referees. My friend assured them we were still on excellent terms.

Has anyone else had this?
 
My, How things have changed.
In the UK, the Firearms Act 1968 (which consolidated 1960s legislation) requires shotgun and firearm certificate applicants to provide referees who are of "good character," know the applicant personally, and can vouch for their suitability. Referees must satisfy specific criteria: [1, 2, 3]
Who Can Be a Referee:
  • Nationality/Residency: Must be a British citizen resident in the UK (exceptions can be made for family members if they meet other criteria, though it is not recommended). [1, 2, 3]
  • Profession:Historically (and in current practice), referees often hold trusted professional standing. Acceptable figures typically include:
    • Doctors or Registered Nurses
    • Serving Police Officers or Police Staff and Publicans.
    • Ministers of Religion
    • Magistrates, Lawyers, or Solicitors
    • Established professionals such as teachers, bank officials, or civil servants [1, 2]
  • Relationship: They must have known the applicant personally for at least two years. They cannot be a family member, a registered firearms dealer, or a serving police officer/police employee. [1, 2, 3]
 
Phishing for an excuse.... maybe!

My first referee, many moons ago, as a school lad, was a magistrate... the copper who came around to check my cabinet said, "Better to have a referee who actually knows you, lad." The fact that I spoke to him every week on his farm was missed by that Constable...
Edit: At 89, I reckon they are worried about you having firearms.
 
It is not uncommon. I advise new applicants to think carefully about referees. Business associates, close friends or the associates of your love interest are unlikely to be favourable referees if things go sour in future. It is safest to choose old friends that you do not see all too frequently apart from an odd pint etc.
 
Yep
On my recent co term renewal I put my normal reference wife down instead of Mr, got the phone call why had I put mrs down instead of mr for the reference, I just answered - he wife answered the phone and he was out at the time I gave her all the required info required by the police and she agreed. Nothing sinister 😆. Long silence then thank you that’s fine. End of call
 
Yes I have heard of similar situations. I swap my referees around. May be a land owner or shooting friends all I know well and in most cases shoot with them so they all know the score. Also some of my previous referees are v busy so not easy to pin down. On my last renewal neither of my referees were contacted.
D
 
I am about to do mine and one referee will be the same as last time but the second won’t, purely on account that I no longer shoot with him for various reasons, one being questionable safety.
So that will be an interesting convo if it comes up!!
 
Since posting this, I had a call from the FLO, who was extremely helpful and explained that they now check details far more carefully than before. I come under Devon and Cornwall, so since the Plymouth shooting, things have tightened up.

We had a long chat, and everything is fine; my renewal should be through shortly. I got the feeling that licensing is under substantial pressure to "weed out" those who are unsuitable to own firearms. Reading between the lines, I think there may be more of those than us regular, responsible, shooters imagine.
 
Current HO guidance says that they expect people to use the same referees for renewals and if it changes then they need to ask why.

I assume that's in case your referee changes their view on your safety/suitability/character, to stop you switching to someone else. The longer they've known you supposedly the better they should know you I guess.
 
NullMac said:
Yes I have heard of that. Not a biggie. You are allowed to go off people or have arguments and still have a Cert
Click to expand...
Likely you can , though your FEO will ask why though and the FEO will be able to investigate . Trick is to use people who are long term friends , personally use a married couple one is a retired copper and the other a retired Chemist who spent a time as a special constable .
Its real important to pick the right Referees . Ok not everyone has the bank of ideal persons to ask but get the best you can , it effects things so think hard who you ask and also how long you have known them . The whole profile matters and dare I say another shooting mate might not be the top of the pile
 
Someone I know was asked about change of one referee on his last coterminous renewal. His answer was that his ex wife is now the referees wife, so didn't ask him.
Seems the FEO was ok with that,both tickets arrived no problems.
 
As I mentioned earlier, I tend to use different referees at each renewal. This has never been questioned by any FEO.
However, after reading a thread (similar to this one) on here, I said to my FEO at my last renewal visit "Just in case you're wondering why I didn't use the same referee as last time, it's because she's dead".
His response was that it makes absolutely no difference whether you use the same or different referees each time. It's not something they're even interested in. If they're concerned about your suitability to own firearms they'll speak to other people known to you, in addition to the referees you have named because, let's face it, you're hardly going to name a referee who's likely to speak against you, are you?
 
old keeper said:
Since posting this, I had a call from the FLO, who was extremely helpful and explained that they now check details far more carefully than before. I come under Devon and Cornwall, so since the Plymouth shooting, things have tightened up.

We had a long chat, and everything is fine; my renewal should be through shortly. I got the feeling that licensing is under substantial pressure to "weed out" those who are unsuitable to own firearms. Reading between the lines, I think there may be more of those than us regular, responsible, shooters imagine.
Click to expand...
Personally I think you should do more writing than shooting.
Im waiting for your next book to be released 😂
 
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