Rifles seized by police!

.243 t3

Well-Known Member
Hi all,

I was out lamping sat night and got pulled over by west Mercia police in a random check, the checked my truck over and was all ok, they saw the rifles in the back and decided to do a check on them , I am currently in prosser of a renewal and the turned around and said I have no licence and said they are going to take rifles off me and take back to Hereford police station!
Can they do that ? Ie : should they of sent someone to collect them who had a licence to carry firearms?
also I thought you can still use rifles whilst going through a renewal?

Any my help be great

thanks

matt
 
Hi all,

I was out lamping sat night and got pulled over by west Mercia police in a random check, the checked my truck over and was all ok, they saw the rifles in the back and decided to do a check on them , I am currently in prosser of a renewal and the turned around and said I have no licence and said they are going to take rifles off me and take back to Hereford police station!
Can they do that ? Ie : should they of sent someone to collect them who had a licence to carry firearms?
also I thought you can still use rifles whilst going through a renewal?

Any my help be great

thanks

matt


This is serious so a forum is not really the place ,call BASC or what ever organization you are in and get professional advice , out of interest were you charged?
 
not they cant,,do they say when you renew your ticket to hand them in or not use them ,,nope..so get on to them and inform basc,,, also i would not trust a normal policeman with any firearms and would have demanded that you seen his fac before handing over to him......
 
If you don't own, or have in your possession your FAC then I would say the police do have the right to remove, if they have not sorted your renewal in time it is up to you to request a temporary certificate to cover your arse (they can't refuse to give this) so I would say, by the letter of the law, they are entitled to do as they have.
 
Police don't need an FAC to seize, otherwise how would they ever seize automatic firearms or illegal hand guns..... Apart from getting their armed response unit involved.
 
Sorry to hear of your troubles. Whilst I'm sure you will get some sound advice and support on here I suggest it is proper professional advice you need and a call to BASC firearms department tomorrow morning would be your best bet.
 
Hi all,

I was out lamping sat night and got pulled over by west Mercia police in a random check, the checked my truck over and was all ok, they saw the rifles in the back and decided to do a check on them , I am currently in prosser of a renewal and the turned around and said I have no licence and said they are going to take rifles off me and take back to Hereford police station!
Can they do that ? Ie : should they of sent someone to collect them who had a licence to carry firearms?
also I thought you can still use rifles whilst going through a renewal?

Any my help be great

thanks
matt
A big no no to that the rifle,s are classed as un Licensed and should be stored with an RFD until the renewal goes though I would get some advise on this ASAP try David from BASC
 
No they never charged me with anything, and I thought they should of arrested me for being in charge of a firearm with out a licence!

will get on to BASC in morning .
 
I assume your old license had'nt expired ( you had put in the renewal
well before expiry date) ! In which case you would still have a valid cert,
just unable to produce. Don't quote me on this but when acting on hehalf
of the Crown does a constable need a licence ? (perhaps someone could enlighten)

Rgds, Buck.
 
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I assume your old license had'nt expired ( you had put in the renewal
well before expiry date) ! I which case you would still have a valid cert,
just unable to produce. Don't quote me on this but when acting on hehalf
of the Crown do they need a licence ? (perhaps someone could enlighten)

Rgds, Buck.

Yep , if his FAC has not expired then theres no case surely , dont BASC say NOT to send your old one in on a renewal ?
 
Speak to your FLO he is in the know on your constabulary relating to temporary "expired" or not carrying your original FAC normally a full copy is passable if stopped, but it is up to the police officer IC to decide on action required and circumstances.

There is a general statement somewhere relating to it specific to not carrying or the original cert

If your licence has expired due to having to wait for the licensing dept to renew, applying for( the onus is on you to apply) ( I believe) a section 7 temporary cert will produce a statement from the FLO regarding your certificate, this will cover you but your new certificate could turn up before that is issued.

speak to the FLO and get some advice from him. Best option - real pity they took the rifles though.

someone on here should be able to give you the full rundown on it and procedures

good luck

ps when I renew, I keep my original until it's ready to print off and take it over to them and they post it back within a couple of days, means I can still get ammo as well

phil
 
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I had a letter off west Mercia police saying I was due a renewal so I sent it in 4-5 weeks before it expired as they requested that you do that, they even say to stock up on ammo to see you through the renewal as you won't be able to purchase any. definitely going to contact BASC.
 
In the situation stated it sounds like a mis understanding on police part. Surely they could call you feo and ask if the story you told them is true? Could have been sorted out at side of the road there and then.

Or in the situation would a photo copy of cert cover you?? Coz its not your fault u have too send a valid license away for a renewal. I am in this situation with me being in possesion of firearms and shotguns but with no paper work too prove i am allowed them. But mine is well in date does not run out til apr and already had feo roynd for interview and all away too be processed. So what if i got pulled how can i produce cert if the same police that pulled me have it in the possesion?? Very grey area where i feel it would just be a misunderstanding but at same time police just doing there job.
 
I had a letter off west Mercia police saying I was due a renewal so I sent it in 4-5 weeks before it expired as they requested that you do that, they even say to stock up on ammo to see you through the renewal as you won't be able to purchase any. definitely going to contact BASC.

Up here we generally don't have to hand in our cert on renewal until
visited by the FLO, which in turn this gives you a little leeway with rgds.
to ammo ( our firearms dept. are on the ball ) which I do commend them for. :tiphat:

Rgds, Buck.

PS. Remember a photocopy is not a valid cert !
 
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Download from the BASC website

'When sending renewal forms back do not under any circumstances return your expiring
certificates.
You need them to a) buy ammunition and b) to prove lawful possession of your guns if
challenged by a police officer while using them. The Firearms Act allows police to seize your
firearms if you are unable to produce a certificate on demand. This could mean loss of a day’s
shooting as well as a trip to the local police station to collect your guns later. (NOTE: It’s always
advisable to carry original certificates with you when out shooting. Although a sensible officer should
accept the evidence of a copy, the right to seize and detain your guns remains unless you produce
the original.)'


Search Results renewal | BASC
 
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Hi all,

I was out lamping sat night and got pulled over by west Mercia police in a random check, the checked my truck over and was all ok, they saw the rifles in the back and decided to do a check on them , I am currently in prosser of a renewal and the turned around and said I have no licence and said they are going to take rifles off me and take back to Hereford police station!
Can they do that ? Ie : should they of sent someone to collect them who had a licence to carry firearms?
also I thought you can still use rifles whilst going through a renewal?

Any my help be great

thanks

matt


You say this happened Sat night? Have you contacted your flo today? If not why not? If I was in your shoes I would have had his phone ringing bang on 9 this morn. If your ticket is out of date due to the length of the renewel process you should have got a temp ticket issued.

I hope all works out well for you.

Nutty
 
Hi nutty ,

yes contacted him him sunday morning and left message on answer phone , spoke with him today he has checked and I do have a valid ticket and has had a email off the female officer(PW) stating shy they took them off me. Will contact BASC tomorrow see what they say, what made me laugh was she asked me to break the barrels on the rifles. Haha also when gave her the mags she asked what was they.
 
As said already they do have the authority to seize if a certificate cannot be produced. It shouldn't happen in this day and age but it is a very good example of why you should carry it with you (they can be replaced if it gets damaged or destroyed).

I currently have my old one and the renewed one as I do not send it in when renewing for this very reason. I'll be sending the old one back tomorrow.

Will be interested to hear how this gets sorted.
 
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