grrclark Posted April 16, 2015 Report Share Posted April 16, 2015 I saw this depressing article this morning and thought I would share it here http://www.deadlinenews.co.uk/?p=70580 The service I have in my part of Scotland was brilliant, less than 3 weeks end to end to get a shotgun cert and those with FACs that I know also think that it is fantastic service here. Other parts of Scotland benefit from a good service too, although it was not universal. Unfortunately under the auspices of the unification of our regional forces into one large organisation it seem that the approach is to find the lowest common denominator and reduce everything to that level. I know quite a few serving bobbies and the general consensus is that Policing in Scotland has taken a backwards step, yes it has saved money and that is not a bad thing in itself, but unfortunately when it is the prime motivation and service is allowed to take a back seat then it is poor governance. It is absolutely possible to reduce costs and maintain service, but not the way they are going about things. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
J_Edwards Posted April 16, 2015 Report Share Posted April 16, 2015 A member of my family is a beat copper, and he says that the civilians are always the first to go, when it comes to police cuts. Whether they'll expect us to cope with longer waiting times, or simplify the procedure (such as phasing out closed tickets, removing land checks. Etc.) we don't know. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
panoma1 Posted April 16, 2015 Report Share Posted April 16, 2015 Ten year licences? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tedster Posted April 16, 2015 Report Share Posted April 16, 2015 It'll be great when they have to do air guns too! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
saddler Posted April 16, 2015 Report Share Posted April 16, 2015 (edited) ....if the SNP get any level of power in the elections, more like no year licences. Estate rifles only. If we're lucky. The current staff (some at least) seem to have lots of spare time on their hands aside from their paid admin tasks. Issuing permission letters to collect inert ammo. Attempting to ban pump action shotguns as S5 if they "slam fire" Spending many thousands of pounds on SGC 9mm carbines so they can attempt to get one to go semi auto/full auto. Assuring me that they "don't work to Home Office Guidelines. ..." etc. ....I could name a few more The shame is they'd vastly improved from being a region, as times went from months to days. Now they're a couple of weeks for most things. Hope they manage to carry out a change for the positive & we're/they're not left with the deadwood (peter principle & all that...) Edited April 16, 2015 by saddler Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Flashman Posted April 16, 2015 Report Share Posted April 16, 2015 Reap as you sow. Vote SNP, get left wing class politics and we all know that shooting is a Tory toff sport... Read this month's Field. It had a good article on which party is most pro-field sports and you will be unsurprised to hear that the Tory Party comes out best. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scully Posted April 16, 2015 Report Share Posted April 16, 2015 It frustrates and annoys me, and in some cases saddens, that matters regarding bureaucracy and administration of such, seem to worsen rather than improve, as time goes on, especially when introduced as a method of saving money. It remains to be seen if reducing the numbers of dedicated FEO's will transfer across as a reduced service when it becomes the onus of a regular copper with everything else that that entails, but it doesn't bode well for us firearms owners, nor indeed the general public in my opinion. Another serving copper taken from his normal duties to administer to yet more paperwork that he wont be dedicating his full time to? There'll surely be a knock on effect somewhere down the line wont there? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
grrclark Posted April 16, 2015 Author Report Share Posted April 16, 2015 It'll be great when they have to do air guns too! Isn't that the massive irony. Flashman and Scully, I agree. There is nothing wrong with prudent cost management, but it has to be done well and on the basis of sound fact and evidence and not desk driven. Unfortunately so many cost drive down exercises are desk driven Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
saddler Posted April 16, 2015 Report Share Posted April 16, 2015 Tedster: Police Scotland will NOT be doing air guns...they'll be doing air WEAPONS... The difference in terminology may be small but the long term impact will be massive. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mossy835 Posted April 16, 2015 Report Share Posted April 16, 2015 Ten year licences? life would be better Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
storm in a teacup Posted April 16, 2015 Report Share Posted April 16, 2015 Dumfries and galloway has now gone from 6 weeks in december 2014 to 6 months as I found out today when I called them about an inital application. All due to short staffing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scully Posted April 16, 2015 Report Share Posted April 16, 2015 Dumfries and galloway has now gone from 6 weeks in december 2014 to 6 months as I found out today when I called them about an inital application. All due to short staffing. License fee increase well worth it then, eh? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vince Green Posted April 16, 2015 Report Share Posted April 16, 2015 It seems strange to me that the part of the country that probably has the most use for firearms, not to mention the most potential earning power from firearms, should be so anti gun. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
grrclark Posted April 16, 2015 Author Report Share Posted April 16, 2015 It seems strange to me that the part of the country that probably has the most use for firearms, not to mention the most potential earning power from firearms, should be so anti gun. It is bizarre, but the current governing party are hugely anti sporting estates too, despite that being a huge chunk of our rural income, they are just fundamentally opposed to it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vince Green Posted April 17, 2015 Report Share Posted April 17, 2015 (edited) It is bizarre, but the current governing party are hugely anti sporting estates too, despite that being a huge chunk of our rural income, they are just fundamentally opposed to it. The underlying origins of the SNP is old school communism. Nicola S came from CND, and Alex Salmond was a member of the hard left 79 Group which was banned. The party was effectively hijacted years ago by members of the old Militant Tendency Edited April 17, 2015 by Vince Green Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
norfolk dumpling Posted April 17, 2015 Report Share Posted April 17, 2015 Should have let them have independence! Worries me sick that little ginger weasel, who sounds a bit like a fish - not the other one- may have a major influence on our country. SNP plus Labour and I would start to sell my guns at once. I noticed in our poll of likely outcomes we have two Green supporters - in their manifesto they want us all to go veggie. No guns and no meat eating - did someone tick the wrong box?? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scully Posted April 17, 2015 Report Share Posted April 17, 2015 (edited) Should have let them have independence! Worries me sick that little ginger weasel, who sounds a bit like a fish - not the other one- may have a major influence on our country. SNP plus Labour and I would start to sell my guns at once. I noticed in our poll of likely outcomes we have two Green supporters - in their manifesto they want us all to go veggie. No guns and no meat eating - did someone tick the wrong box?? The Greens scare the hell out of me. I heard a comment the other day on BBC radio about various Green policies, and the reporter mentioned one policy in particular regarding climate change being for 'the common good'. All comments such as 'for the common good' and the 'greater good' concern me greatly, as they are all encompassing and smack of dictatorship or communism, which I believe the Greens to be, but coming from the opposite direction. I believe their agenda is to dictate and implement their version of a particular lifestyle, for 'the common good', with little or no choice of interpretation. Disappointingly I could find no online reference to attribute the comment to a particular individual, nor any mention of it at all for some reason, but forewarned is forearmed as they say. Quoted myself instead of editing. It's been a long night. Edited April 17, 2015 by Scully Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
grrclark Posted April 17, 2015 Author Report Share Posted April 17, 2015 The underlying origins of the SNP is old school communism. Nicola S came from CND, and Alex Salmond was a member of the hard left 79 Group which was banned. The party was effectively hijacted years ago by members of the old Militant Tendency The underlying origins of new SNP are very much left I agree, traditionally they were a right wing party which is what you would expect being nationalist. Should have let them have independence! Worries me sick that little ginger weasel, who sounds a bit like a fish - not the other one- may have a major influence on our country. SNP plus Labour and I would start to sell my guns at once. I noticed in our poll of likely outcomes we have two Green supporters - in their manifesto they want us all to go veggie. No guns and no meat eating - did someone tick the wrong box?? I really don't want to get into a slanging match, but the comment such as that highlighted above really gets my goat, the people of Scotland chose to reject independence, it is not in the gift of the other nations to decide what happens. Comments such as that which imply some sort of superiority are just ill judged. The Greens scare the hell out of me. I heard a comment the other day on BBC radio about various Green policies, and the reporter mentioned one policy in particular regarding climate change being for 'the common good'. All comments such as 'for the common good' and the 'greater good' concern me greatly, as they are all encompassing and smack of dictatorship or communism, which I believe the Greens to be, but coming from the opposite direction. I believe their agenda is to dictate and implement their version of a particular lifestyle, for 'the common good', with little or no choice of interpretation. Disappointingly I could find no online reference to attribute the comment to a particular individual, nor any mention of it at all for some reason, but forewarned is forearmed as they say. Quoted myself instead of editing. It's been a long night. The greens worry me too, they actually advocate a policy of no economic growth as growth is a contributor to pollution and environmental harm. I don't mind conviction politics and in some respects we need people who take a polarised view to make sure we consider the wider picture, but in general they are just mental. The Green's truly are zealots. So fanatical in their beliefs that anything that does not conform to their vision is dismissed out of hand. The alarming thing is that people vote for that extreme ideology. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scully Posted April 17, 2015 Report Share Posted April 17, 2015 The Green's truly are zealots. So fanatical in their beliefs that anything that does not conform to their vision is dismissed out of hand. The alarming thing is that people vote for that extreme ideology. Agreed. Very scary. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LeadWasp Posted April 19, 2015 Report Share Posted April 19, 2015 The underlying origins of the SNP is old school communism. Nicola S came from CND, and Alex Salmond was a member of the hard left 79 Group which was banned. The party was effectively hijacted years ago by members of the old Militant Tendency Glad somebody else remembers Salmond and the '79 Group - back then he was dead keen on obeying democratic will wasn't he - NOT! Prior to the Independence Ref most the '79 Group online info strangely started to disappear........... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LeadWasp Posted April 19, 2015 Report Share Posted April 19, 2015 Should have let them have independence! Worries me sick that little ginger weasel, who sounds a bit like a fish - not the other one- may have a major influence on our country. SNP plus Labour and I would start to sell my guns at once. I noticed in our poll of likely outcomes we have two Green supporters - in their manifesto they want us all to go veggie. No guns and no meat eating - did someone tick the wrong box?? Yeah but I managed to get a York Green Party candidate to confess to using gas to heat his home AND getting him to agree that fracking wasn't bad per se. It's on Facebook but the little *** has edited the bit about him using has out! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lister22 Posted April 20, 2015 Report Share Posted April 20, 2015 Scotland wecome to the brave new world the oil will pay for all sorry but in wales we wait months for sgcs facs one for ones Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
grrclark Posted April 20, 2015 Author Report Share Posted April 20, 2015 Scotland wecome to the brave new world the oil will pay for all sorry but in wales we wait months for sgcs facs one for ones That is the essence of my point, there are forces across the country that can offer an efficient service and this has little to do with funding, but the approach they choose to adopt. Instead of learning from best practice and improving the poor performers they drop everything down to the lowest level. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Penelope Posted April 21, 2015 Report Share Posted April 21, 2015 Cynical ploy driven by the SNP paymasters, given their standpoint of field sports? That is the essence of my point, there are forces across the country that can offer an efficient service and this has little to do with funding, but the approach they choose to adopt.Instead of learning from best practice and improving the poor performers they drop everything down to the lowest level. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mossy835 Posted April 22, 2015 Report Share Posted April 22, 2015 dont know why they started with flo,new it wouldnt last long, Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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