Lincolnshire police poor service

[fenboy]

It has been almost nine weeks since I sent my certificate off for renewal and I have still not received it despite the cheque being cashed eight weeks ago .

I rang them the other day to find out where it was and they said there was still a check to do on it , I mentioned to them that it had run out that day and i was now holding guns illegally and requested they send a temp certificate out, I have just got that four days after my certificate expired , it runs till the end of august but only allows me to hold guns I already have not to buy any more.

Anyone else having these difficulties

[deershooter]

Join the que mine took 15 weeks I know some who have had 2 temp tickets

 

Deershooter

Edited June 15, 2012 by deershooter

[Mick Shaw]

Me Too, it seems to take a long time!!! :blink: :o

[evo]

its only gonna get worse what with all the cutbacks,,total joke but its still quicker than merseyside :angry:

[fenboy]

Seems I am not alone then , just as well I am not looking for a new gun at the moment.

[Whitebridges]

Maybe the delay might be attributed to Lincolnshire police outsourcing gun licensing to GS4?

 

Clicky thing

[fenboy]

Quite possibly , I like the bit where it says the priority will remain giving good service to certificate holders LOL.

When they sent my renewal letter they also managed to include someone else's renewal reminder in the same envelope,I had to post it back to them !!

[shakin stevens]

Nottinghamshire Police take six months to get a renewal through at the moment, my mate sent his through in December and

still has not got his licence through yet, ive rang through and did mine 6 months in advance.

[Bloke]

when I rang them last wednesday to inquire about my FAC application (20 weeks+ now! )They said they are not even looking at any new applications, just concentrating on renewals. That is of course how it should be, but totally short sighted, the number of renewals means that new applications might never be looked at, I think that while the FEO's have got their house in order, the admin side are completely overwhelmed, That, combined with the number of mistakes they are making, makes Lincolnshire's record look appalling!

Edited June 15, 2012 by Bloke

[shooternick]

7 months now and still waiting got a temp permit when my cert was 2 months expired, Ridiculous

[pboro shot]

thats crazy hopefully when the price goes up the service will get better but i doubt it :blink:

[SakoQuad]

The complaints about delays in every aspect of SGC & FAC provision are legion with a handful of Forces who are apparently the exceptions and on top of the workload.

 

Like most people I simply don't know what is involved that could take the time. My SGC referees were never contacted so presume that leaves computerised CRB checks and the entry of personal details onto a data base which I imagine can then be used to print off the certificate. FAC similar though references are provided, both involve a FEO doing a visit to check house / cabinet / applicant (why do they need to do that again if the setup has been seen already?).

 

Is there anyone on here who knows what else makes the Admin process SO long? Is it really just the sheer numbers involved or is the process more complex than it seems to the casual observer??

[mark35gun]

I am an RFD and I deal with feos and licencing depts countrywide on a weekly basis, there is I'm afraid no simple answer to your question what I can tell you is that in some authorities the admin staff only work part time, and have more holidays than MPs, I kid you not,

If I took as long as some of them to do my notifications as they take I would have my licence revoked quicker than you could whistle Dixie,

Politely but persistently complain you are paying for a service after all.

[Bloke]

I downloaded this from an archive copy (2006) of Lincolnshire's protocol for FAC assessment, which I think is the same for renewals, maybe a bit old, but I bet little has changed:

 

ACTIVITIES FOR GRANT OF A FIREARM CERTIFICATE & GRADE OF

PERSON RESPONSIBLE

Check stock of application forms etc. G

2. Write out order for reprint. E

3. Update stock levels for department and stores to ensure available supply to

divisions.E

4. Receive request for application in office. E

5. Receive request for application at division. E

6. Receive application and fee in accounts for fee stripping. THIS WORK IS CARRIED OUT BY THE FINANCE DEPARTMENT

7. Collection of applications from accounts. E

8. Supervision of workload G

9. Conduct all police checks PNC, LPC, USI, AS, FAD and endorse file accordingly

and print out any trace.E

10. Make up file cover. E

11. Create new nominal on computer. E

12. Check completeness of application. E

13. Produce letters re incomplete application. E

14. Request doctors letter. E

15. Prepare FEO report. See section 3 CRITERIA FOR VISITS E

16. Produce FEO file ie attach all relevant papers. Keep copy for file and update file cover.

E

17. Place file cover in grant pending drawer in alphabetical order. E

18. Firearm enquiry officer visits applicant. F

19. Firearm enquiry officer carried out other enquiries. F

20. Firearm enquiry officer prepares report. F

21. Receive FEO report and prioritise workloads. G

22. Retrieve file from pender. E

23. Assess application in view of information provided by FEO E

24. Update grant nominal on computer and approve printing of certificate and produce

any letter/report.E

25. Unable to approve - pass to supervisor with recommendation. E

26. Prepare report or letter. G

27. Request certificates for printing and update register. G

28. Print certificates E

29. Authenticate certificate with security register. G

30. Attach certificate to file and place in laminating tray. E

31. Prepare photo. Attach photo to certificate and laminate. E

32. Sort file and pass for signing. E

33. Check accuracy and approve and sign and update file cover. MANAGEMENT GRADE

34. Write instructions for amendments. MANAGEMENT GRADE

35. Amend details and reprint. E

36. Check accuracy and approve and sign and update file cover. MANAGEMENT GRADE

37. Fold and envelope certificates and post. E

38. File away file in system. E

 

Now, taking away the FEO visit and report, which is apparently about 30-45 mins of written stuff on average, the main work is by the admin officers. A lot of these points are just 'look & check' stuff, that takes very little time, but the main stuff is points 9-14 and 23 onwards, but it looks like about an hour's work+ maybe a few minutes.

 

However, with about 4,000 FAC's and about 15,000 SGC's, that is a lot of work, even spread over 5 years (not inc variations/land approvals/Home Office certs for clubs etc), and from what I can gather there are only two part-time admin officers to deal with it - seems fairly obvious where the bottle neck is, long term cuts and underfunding, as for all depts which don't have a good newspaper headline every week...

Edited June 16, 2012 by Bloke