markm Posted April 18, 2012 Report Share Posted April 18, 2012 Had this sent to me today. PLANNED SHOOT? Police are reminding outdoor enthusiasts to give them prior warning if they are taking part in shooting on land. Officers have seen an increase in the number of reports from members of the public about seeing people carrying guns in public - an issue which tends to happen around this time each year. The calls, although made out of genuine concern and in good faith, often relate to people hunting with air weapons or organised shoots that the police haven't been made aware of. Responding to these incidents takes up resources and time which could be avoided by those involved informing the police beforehand. Police are advising those taking part in preplanned or organised shoots to contact officers in their local area and let them know when and where the shoot will be taking place. They are reminded that they must have permission from the landowner for a shoot to take place. Any farmers or landowners that are planning to shoot on their land or organise a shoot should also contact police in advance. This allows officers to be aware of the event and respond to any members of the public who ring in concerned. Northumbria Police Superintendent Mick Pearson said: "The calls we get around this often turn out to be organised shoots where those taking part haven't thought to inform the police. We tend to see a rise in these kind of reports when the nights get lighter and more of these events are taking place. Anyone taking part in or organising a shoot where weapons will be present should let us know when and where it's happening. A phone call on the 101 number is enough to let officers know what's going on and can be a huge help when dealing with calls from the public." Officers are also warning anyone using weapons on private or public land without permission and the necessary legal authority they face arrest and possible prosecution. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beretta28g Posted April 18, 2012 Report Share Posted April 18, 2012 If everybody phoned in their phone lines would soon flood. Also i would have massive phone bills. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HDAV Posted April 18, 2012 Report Share Posted April 18, 2012 Forward it to BASC and see what they say, it has no basis in law and i don't see how they can not respond to a call of a "man with a gun" just because someone rang and said they would be shooting at XYZ location today. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CharlieT Posted April 18, 2012 Report Share Posted April 18, 2012 I would be horified if the police did not respond to a call from a member of the public reporting a man with a gun. Which is why Devon & Cornwall thought the idea of "advising the police when shooting" was a silly idea and do not wish people to do so. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
castletyne Posted April 18, 2012 Report Share Posted April 18, 2012 I'll do it when they make it law or have a proper system to deal with it at the moment if you phone you get asked stupid questions like what's lamping Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cockercas Posted April 18, 2012 Report Share Posted April 18, 2012 It dosent matter if you phone and tell them, if someone phones the police and reports a man with a gun/shots fired THEY HAVE TO RESPOND. Duty of care. And its from a police firearm officer's mouth. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Livefast123 Posted April 18, 2012 Report Share Posted April 18, 2012 It will make no difference, if a call comes in of a person / persons with guns then the police will attend whether you tell them or not. It's about time the public got a bit less guntastic with phoning the police. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
samh6 Posted April 18, 2012 Report Share Posted April 18, 2012 Hey guys, Dorset send a slip to me with my SGC with a dedicated phone line to call when going out shooting, I'm not sure the point of me calling as I have never had any issues on my permission for years but would hate to be warned over not calling in the future, but anyway I have attached a photo of this slip ATb Samuel Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kes Posted April 18, 2012 Report Share Posted April 18, 2012 Before long we will be expected to give them a weeks notice - perhaps they should put up notices in local villages advising that people with guns in fields may well be on organised shoots and legitimately going about their lawful business and whilst they will investigate all reports, anyone consistently wasting police time will be prosecuted. The tail is beginning to wag the dog - innocent until proved guilty. Its a lawful activity why should we give them advance notice - the police need to change policy or their approach to ensure they dont waste public money. My wildlife crime officer rang me when he had a problem (because he knew me) but 2 ARV's arrived 10 minutes later as well (after getting lost). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Livefast123 Posted April 18, 2012 Report Share Posted April 18, 2012 Problem is now that the average person in this country is scared of the gun and sees it as nothing more than a slaughtering machine. Doesn't matter whether it's a shotgun, rifle, airgun, or kids toy it's still a shootmemutha****** thing that Arnie would have. I remember back in the day when me and a mate would walk down the road with our Falcon FN's slung over the shoulder and nobody in the town gave a monkeys. It is a sad state of affairs, whats left of the UK. I certainly won't be calling in, whats next, GPS tracking on my gun :blink: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mossy835 Posted April 18, 2012 Report Share Posted April 18, 2012 nanny state comes to mind again. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
joe1978 Posted April 18, 2012 Report Share Posted April 18, 2012 I've not had this email yet. Then again they may know how bad I am and present no danger to anyone! :good: Joe Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
malkiserow Posted April 18, 2012 Report Share Posted April 18, 2012 Can someone explain what organised shooting parties on farms are going on when the "nights get lighter" around early April time? I think the number of land shooters vastly outweighs the calls from the worried public. I bet they would quickly reverse this idea. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Imperfection Posted April 18, 2012 Report Share Posted April 18, 2012 Anyone taking part in or organising a shoot where weapons will be present should let us know when and where it's happening. I dont own any weapons-only guns.A weapon far as im concerned is something to inflict injury or death on another human being and i dont plan on doing either.I know its splitting hairs,but they really should word this better. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HDAV Posted April 18, 2012 Report Share Posted April 18, 2012 Hey guys, Dorset send a slip to me with my SGC with a dedicated phone line to call when going out shooting, I'm not sure the point of me calling as I have never had any issues on my permission for years but would hate to be warned over not calling in the future, but anyway I have attached a photo of this slip ATb Samuel LOL love to see the reaction when there is a big comp art southern counties 300 people from all over the country phoning to say the are going to be shooting in small area! That would no doubt get the full chopper treatment! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pegasus bridge Posted April 18, 2012 Report Share Posted April 18, 2012 (edited) to be honest, I do call when i am lamping - but seeing a formalised letter in black and white is the start of us being forced to call in. I know that others put this point forwards when these schemes came up, and I think in hindsight they were correct in this fear (to be honest i didnt think it would). my experience with notts and leics police is that no two call ins are the same - its dependent upon the call handler. I think the way forwards with this is better training in the incident room - its almost us having to accomodate someone not being able to make a judgement over the 'risk' of a call. ie: man with handgun in a **** area of the city vs man with rifle in a field - fairly simple stuff I would think Edited April 18, 2012 by pegasus bridge Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vulpicide Posted April 18, 2012 Report Share Posted April 18, 2012 I would like to find out if this was a general email sent out to all cert holders and you wonder why the "shooting parties" are not going out in the "shooting season" or is this just another admin "cost" to justify a price hike that ACPOS want. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bedwards1966 Posted April 18, 2012 Report Share Posted April 18, 2012 Well at the moment it looks like it's a reasonable request to avoid wasted resources - but who know if they'll push for it to become compulsory? The sad thing is that with the public knowing nothing about firearms (with some not even aware that they can be held legally) they don't see the difference between the gangs carrying pistols and someone in a field with a rifle slung over his shoulder - if anything they think that the telescopic sight makes it into a 'sniper' rifle to be feared. I accept that the police must investigate every call they receive - but I don't see how that needs to be a visit to the area IF they know who's shooting there. If you've rung up to tell them you'll be there, and they later get a call from the public, I'd have thought that calling you to confirm that it's you and nobody else on that land should suffice. It could save resources. However it does require organisation on their part, and also phoning them up needs to be free and quick - name, vehicle and the land to be covered, with a rough idea of times if possible. It should be done in a 2 minute call, instead of waiting on the phone for ages then to be asked loads of questions. Still a pain to do, and it should never be made compulsory, but the system could be there to make life easier if you want to ring in. Perhaps they could also have the number of the landowner and ring them, they might be able to confirm if someone is on their land with a gun. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cockercas Posted April 18, 2012 Report Share Posted April 18, 2012 Well at the moment it looks like it's a reasonable request to avoid wasted resources - but who know if they'll push for it to become compulsory? The sad thing is that with the public knowing nothing about firearms (with some not even aware that they can be held legally) they don't see the difference between the gangs carrying pistols and someone in a field with a rifle slung over his shoulder - if anything they think that the telescopic sight makes it into a 'sniper' rifle to be feared. I accept that the police must investigate every call they receive - but I don't see how that needs to be a visit to the area IF they know who's shooting there. If you've rung up to tell them you'll be there, and they later get a call from the public, I'd have thought that calling you to confirm that it's you and nobody else on that land should suffice. It could save resources. However it does require organisation on their part, and also phoning them up needs to be free and quick - name, vehicle and the land to be covered, with a rough idea of times if possible. It should be done in a 2 minute call, instead of waiting on the phone for ages then to be asked loads of questions. Still a pain to do, and it should never be made compulsory, but the system could be there to make life easier if you want to ring in. Perhaps they could also have the number of the landowner and ring them, they might be able to confirm if someone is on their land with a gun. because there could be some nutter on the otherside of the farm shooting at trains ect. so they have to come out. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CharlieT Posted April 18, 2012 Report Share Posted April 18, 2012 Well at the moment it looks like it's a reasonable request to avoid wasted resources - but who know if they'll push for it to become compulsory? The sad thing is that with the public knowing nothing about firearms (with some not even aware that they can be held legally) they don't see the difference between the gangs carrying pistols and someone in a field with a rifle slung over his shoulder - if anything they think that the telescopic sight makes it into a 'sniper' rifle to be feared. I accept that the police must investigate every call they receive - but I don't see how that needs to be a visit to the area IF they know who's shooting there. If you've rung up to tell them you'll be there, and they later get a call from the public, I'd have thought that calling you to confirm that it's you and nobody else on that land should suffice. It could save resources. However it does require organisation on their part, and also phoning them up needs to be free and quick - name, vehicle and the land to be covered, with a rough idea of times if possible. It should be done in a 2 minute call, instead of waiting on the phone for ages then to be asked loads of questions. Still a pain to do, and it should never be made compulsory, but the system could be there to make life easier if you want to ring in. Perhaps they could also have the number of the landowner and ring them, they might be able to confirm if someone is on their land with a gun. And of course that presumes that everyone has a mobile phone and more importantly has a signal. I have neither. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wymberley Posted April 18, 2012 Report Share Posted April 18, 2012 And of course that presumes that everyone has a mobile phone and more importantly has a signal. I have neither. Dunkery Beacon + semaphore (lit up by the 170 at night) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
leeds chimp Posted April 18, 2012 Report Share Posted April 18, 2012 think also its more the area you live. Near built up towns it would cause concern but in the small villages round here dont think many bat an eyelid Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CharlieT Posted April 18, 2012 Report Share Posted April 18, 2012 Dunkery Beacon + semaphore (lit up by the 170 at night) I'll order my flags now !! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paul T Posted April 18, 2012 Report Share Posted April 18, 2012 because there could be some nutter on the otherside of the farm shooting at trains ect. so they have to come out. Exactly Joe. Just because someone phones it in doesn't mean that shooting's legit either. It could be done by some other nutter wanting to do in his wife and her lover... "Don't worry about the shooting at the back of Church Lane officers - it's just some vermin control" :blink: Actually, I wonder if the same would apply with burglar alarms . If I phoned in about 2 in the morning and said "Don't worry about the alarm going off at the big house on Church Lane - I'm just about to test it." I reckon that should give me a few hours before anyone responded :yp: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
drut Posted April 18, 2012 Report Share Posted April 18, 2012 "Exactly Joe. Just because someone phones it in doesn't mean that shooting's legit either. It could be done by some other nutter wanting to do in his wife and her lover... "Don't worry about the shooting at the back of Church Lane officers - it's just some vermin control" :blink: Actually, I wonder if the same would apply with burglar alarms . If I phoned in about 2 in the morning and said "Don't worry about the alarm going off at the big house on Church Lane - I'm just about to test it." I reckon that should give me a few hours before anyone responded :yp: " Good points Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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