Transforming the firearms license process for Hampshire and Isle of Wight

[Moose67]

I found this in my newsfeed this morning ... (not my company, not my force)

Breaking the silence. Fixing Firearms Licensing

We didn't wait for national reform. Together, we built something that works today but can adapt to tomorrow's requirements.

Building on digital foundations already in place,
It wasn't revolutionary technology:

- created pre-filled renewal forms
- added a save-and-return option
- allowing document uploads and electronic signatures
- introduced a status tracking system
- developed a dashboard for officers, giving them a clear view of their workload

 

[cjm1066]

Is it April 1st?

That's a huge outbreak of common sense!!

 

[Scuffy]

I submitted a renewal 2 weeks ago to Hampshire Firearms Licensing and the portal did not look anything like the one in the article, no upgrade from the system that's been in place for maybe 5 years.

 

[timbrayford]

I found this in my newsfeed this morning ... (not my company, not my force)

Breaking the silence. Fixing Firearms Licensing


Building on digital foundations already in place,
It wasn't revolutionary technology:

- created pre-filled renewal forms
- added a save-and-return option
- allowing document uploads and electronic signatures
- introduced a status tracking system
- developed a dashboard for officers, giving them a clear view of their workload

Is it April 1st already? BASC and Hants FLD? Parties in brewing establishments come to mind!

 

[timbrayford]

I submitted a renewal 2 weeks ago to Hampshire Firearms Licensing and the portal did not look anything like the one in the article, no upgrade from the system that's been in place for maybe 5 years.

Precisely, and they are sufficiently vague about the info that they require to make sufficient preparation in advance to answer the form impossible ,there's no save and come back later. After a couple of hours I gave up and did the paperwork instead. Based on past experience they could do with properly trained and knowledgeable office staff too. Some of them are just guessing at it.

 

[Donkey Basher]

Precisely, and they are sufficiently vague about the info that they require to make sufficient preparation in advance to answer the form impossible ,there's no save and come back later. After a couple of hours I gave up and did the paperwork instead. Based on past experience they could do with properly trained and knowledgeable office staff too. Some of them are just guessing at it.

My experience a year ago was exactly this, office staff who hadn’t got a clue what they were doing as far as both the process & technical details were concerned, didn’t read what they were sent & repeatedly asked the same questions before simply failing to process what they had in a timely manner. I have a jobs feed that sends me an email each week & they are regularly advertising for staff at FEO & below which suggests to me they have a high turnover over of admin staff.

 

[Donkey Basher]

I found this in my newsfeed this morning ... (not my company, not my force)

Breaking the silence. Fixing Firearms Licensing


Building on digital foundations already in place,
It wasn't revolutionary technology:

- created pre-filled renewal forms
- added a save-and-return option
- allowing document uploads and electronic signatures
- introduced a status tracking system
- developed a dashboard for officers, giving them a clear view of their workload

Great if it’s actually in place, but…

My brother is doing his renewal so I’ll ask him if they’ve actually started using this, or whether they’re still waiting for some committee or consultation to approve it!?

I reckon I can guess what the answer will be.

 

[Zephyrjim]

I would assume it's not live yet, and going through rigorous testing. It would be Interesting to get some official update on the status and if there are plans to roll out to other FLDs.
It's long overdue to have a proper system in place, the tools and proven technology have existed for years running processes orders of magnitude more large and complex than Firearms Licensing.

 

[Scuffy]

Agreed regarding admin staff, but my current and past FEOs have been great. Very helpful and efficient.

 

[Blaser243]

It’s a mixed bag. I can understand that the team want to do a great job, and the ones I have met are really decent people. I can see that the infrastructure does nothing to help them though, which results in lots of small errors being made. My latest renewal was turned around within 10 days which was amazing, but I’ve also received some incorrect advice since then which hints at poor training of junior staff. They really are under resourced and firefighting. I do wonder about their leadership, but doing something like this is very encouraging.

The sooner this gets out in the hands of an independent national body the better.

 

[timbrayford]

Agreed regarding admin staff, but my current and past FEOs have been great. Very helpful and efficient.

I've had very mixed experience of them , that said Bob Parkhouse was both knowledgeable and helpful with a recent variation.

 

[Moose67]

Reply from the company -

we’ll be going live with the solution in the next 6-8 weeks for 2 police forces. We’re really excited about the improved applicant experience this will deliver as well as operational efficiencies for both force firearms teams.

 

[timbrayford]

Reply from the company -

To be brutally frank this will need to be supported by office staff who have sufficient knowledge of both firearms laws, HO guidance and the civilian use of firearms if its going to bring about any useful improvement.