Licence under review

[Darjohall]

I’m after some advice please. There was a recent incident with my partner which I won’t go in to detail about but resulted in my asking her to leave my house. Because of this emotions were running high I guess and allegations were made to the police and I was subsequently arrested but release with charged refused as obviously the claims couldn’t be substantiated plus the report was withdrawn. 
about a week later the police turned up unannounced and removed my guns. 
I emailed my local firearms team to say that a review is being undertaken as there are concerns about my suitability to have guns and once that is complete I will be notified. 
This all seems a little overboard considering the circumstances, is this normal? What can I expect from Kent police? 
 

Thanks in advance for any advice. 

[oowee]

47 minutes ago, Darjohall said:

I’m after some advice please. There was a recent incident with my partner which I won’t go in to detail about but resulted in my asking her to leave my house. Because of this emotions were running high I guess and allegations were made to the police and I was subsequently arrested but release with charged refused as obviously the claims couldn’t be substantiated plus the report was withdrawn. 
about a week later the police turned up unannounced and removed my guns. 
I emailed my local firearms team to say that a review is being undertaken as there are concerns about my suitability to have guns and once that is complete I will be notified. 
This all seems a little overboard considering the circumstances, is this normal? What can I expect from Kent police? 
 

Thanks in advance for any advice. 

Not unusual. Seek advice from your shooting membership organisation.

[clangerman]

having removed my firearms the WORST advice i ever had was from a certain shooting organisation made the situation a nightmare for mths on end two weeks doing it my way all returned 

[Westley]

Unfortunately ANY domestic 'incident' is classed as a 'gun seizing ' opportunity, probably because so many of these 'incidents' have resulted in serious injury or even fatality. I had a friend who after several years of separation, his 'Ex'  informed Police that he had previously had depression (some 15 years previous), as this was not on his shotgun certificate application (around 6 years previous) he was forced to give up his Certificate and sell his guns, or face prosecution for not declaring the fact. By all means seek advice, but be prepared to 'sit it out'.

[Gordon R]

It will depend on what the OP said or did. There may have not been enough evidence to charge him and the original allegation was withdrawn, but there may have been enough said or done to take the guns.

It might be seen, by the OP, as going overboard, but there are no facts declared, on which an opinion could be offered.

[bruno22rf]

So no charges were made - surely then you are innocent of any wrong doing, you are either guilty or not, there is no middle ground. It would seem to me that contacting the Chief Constable would be first port of call and ask why your guns have been illegally siezed and, whilst on the phone make it clear that you need his full contact details so you can issue a Summons for theft.

[ShootingEgg]

7 minutes ago, bruno22rf said:

So no charges were made - surely then you are innocent of any wrong doing, you are either guilty or not, there is no middle ground. It would seem to me that contacting the Chief Constable would be first port of call and ask why your guns have been illegally siezed and, whilst on the phone make it clear that you need his full contact details so you can issue a Summons for theft.

You say this but if they now have the guns then they will call the shots (excuse the pun). Unfortunately they have the upper hand being the licencing authority. 

 

If as the OP says, it all came to nothing I would request that the legally held firearms are returned and in the condition they were taken. Dont be surprised if they've been knocked about a little 

[clangerman]

6 minutes ago, ShootingEgg said:

if they now have the guns then they will call the shots (excuse the pun). Unfortunately they have the upper hand being the licencing authority. 

 

 

that is what the police want you to think once you make it clear to the chief constable and police commissioner your going to obtain explanations and your tickets back a whole new attitude appears 

[bruno22rf]

What the police have, in fact, is removed guns from a totally law abiding man - they have no right to remove legally held weapons. If we do not stand united against such heavy handed tactics and use the actual law, and not the police version of it, we are all doomed. I would have thought that BASC, wether the OP is a member or not, would have jumped at such an opportunity to put the Police in their place - upholding, and not making up, the law.

[DUNKS]

My FEO "a very nice chap" when doing my renewal and we were chatting about a neighbour who was an annoying drummer, sad for goodness sake dont go round shouting the odds, or the local police will be only too keen to remove my guns if the neighbour reports me, He said he would not even be involved. Not until the time came to return my guns  which would be his job and hr didn't want me blaming him for the damage which would have happened to them . "There always was"

[rbrowning2]

I hope it all works out well for you, the police are very risk adverse and will not return your guns if they consider their is the slightest risk to you or anybody else if the guns are in your possession and will be quite happy for it to go to court because then a judge decides and not the chief constable. Did not one of the shooting organisations discontinue insurance for its members regarding this matter, so you may get little help from that particular organisation, other than sympathetic words.
With hindsight, which is a wonderful thing after being released from arrest you should have put your guns into a sympathetic gun dealer for a few weeks, just in case, then at least they would not have ended up in the hands of the police, but they would have taken your gun licence so you could not get them back until the issue was resolved and your licence returned.
Don’t expect this to be resolved quickly, could be many months.

[rbrowning2]

13 minutes ago, bruno22rf said:

What the police have, in fact, is removed guns from a totally law abiding man - they have no right to remove legally held weapons. If we do not stand united against such heavy handed tactics and use the actual law, and not the police version of it, we are all doomed. I would have thought that BASC, wether the OP is a member or not, would have jumped at such an opportunity to put the Police in their place - upholding, and not making up, the law.

Think you will find the police have every right to remove and or temporarily suspend a gun licence or fully revoke it, especially if they perceive any risk to life, no matter how small that risk may be. BASC will probably do very little other than words, after all they ended/terminated the insurance cover for such situations,

[Gordon R]

The OP has said very, very little, but some jump to his defence. He might or might not have committed any criminal offence, but no proceedings are being taken. That said, whilst his behaviour might not have crossed the threshold for a charge, it might well have questioned his fitness to hold an SGC. Who knows?

If the OP wants a genuine opinion, he needs to explain what has transpired. If he has nothing to add, I can't see any brief taking on his case.

[southeastpete]

If an allegation is made about a policeman, say that he was violent outside of his work hours for instance, do they get suspended or anything? What happens if/when the allegation is found to be false?

it would be interesting to see if the rules apply equally to the common man as to these police ‘officers’.

Im guessing if you made a false allegation against a cop you’d be done for it somehow, yet women regularly make these sorts of false allegations about exes with no comeback... makes me mad

[GingerCat]

1 minute ago, southeastpete said:

If an allegation is made about a policeman, say that he was violent outside of his work hours for instance, do they get suspended or anything? What happens if/when the allegation is found to be false?

it would be interesting to see if the rules apply equally to the common man as to these police ‘officers’.

Im guessing if you made a false allegation against a cop you’d be done for it somehow, yet women regularly make these sorts of false allegations about exes with no comeback... makes me mad

Happens all the time, not only a criminal investigation but also another one, with a lower burden of evidence(balance of probabilities vs beyond doubt)  takes place to make sure "professional standards" that apply both on and off duty apply. The officer cannot move, transfer or change jobs, often they are suspended from contact with the public. A year or so later when its found out to be total bs and proved as such everywhich way from Sunday as such the matter is closed and the cop told to suck it up. Should they be in the wrong you can go to the tribunal and watch them be sacked. 

Seldom if ever are the liars prosecuted. 

[southeastpete]

28 minutes ago, GingerCat said:

Happens all the time, not only a criminal investigation but also another one, with a lower burden of evidence(balance of probabilities vs beyond doubt)  takes place to make sure "professional standards" that apply both on and off duty apply. The officer cannot move, transfer or change jobs, often they are suspended from contact with the public. A year or so later when its found out to be total bs and proved as such everywhich way from Sunday as such the matter is closed and the cop told to suck it up. Should they be in the wrong you can go to the tribunal and watch them be sacked. 

Seldom if ever are the liars prosecuted. 

Well then perhaps when people lose guns due to a false allegation a false allegation against those who took the guns would make them appreciate the absurdity of it all.

[GingerCat]

1 hour ago, southeastpete said:

Well then perhaps when people lose guns due to a false allegation a false allegation against those who took the guns would make them appreciate the absurdity of it all.

What a ridiculous comment. 

[Gordon R]

Quote

Well then perhaps when people lose guns due to a false allegation a false allegation against those who took the guns would make them appreciate the absurdity of it all.

A daft suggestion. The wrongly accused person could always sue for slander, but as Mungler has previously said, not as easy or certain as you might think.

[southeastpete]

2 hours ago, GingerCat said:

What a ridiculous comment. 

Have you ever had serious false allegations levelled against you?

1 hour ago, Gordon R said:

A daft suggestion. The wrongly accused person could always sue for slander, but as Mungler has previously said, not as easy or certain as you might think.

Well I’d hope you’d realise it’s not an entirely serious suggestion, hence just put on an internet forum...

however, do the police who sign the order to remove guns, knock on the door to remove guns, damage said guns in their care etc etc, care that the allegations are likely false? Would they care if the allegations were against them?

[Darjohall]

A after some advice please. There was a recent incident with my partner which I won’t go in to detail about but resulted in my asking her to leave my house. Because of this emotions were running high I guess and allegations were made to the police and I was subsequently arrested but release with charged refused as obviously the claims couldn’t be substantiated plus the report was withdrawn. 
about a week later the police turned up unannounced and removed my guns. 
I emailed my local firearms team to say that a review is being undertaken as there are concerns about my suitability to have guns and once that is complete I will be notified. 
This all seems a little overboard considering the circumstances, is this normal? What can I expect from Kent police? 
 

Thanks in advance for any advice. 

[WalkedUp]

Deja vu 

[Windswept]

12 minutes ago, Darjohall said:

A after some advice please.

@Darjohall in case you can't find your previous post it is here with several replies:

 

[Darjohall]

So sorry I went to have a look at my replies and for some reason seems to have posted again 

[Darjohall]

Well to give a bit more detail, this year has been pretty turbulent with my partner. She made similar claims of domestic violence some months ago saying I dragged her down the street which led then to my arrest but the properly is covered fully by CCTV so I was able to completely disprove the claims and they were dropped then too and charge was refused. Since then she was diagnosed with bipolar and is generally better now she’s on right medication but can still have the occasional blip which is what happened a few weeks ago where similar claims were made - apparently I threw her down the stairs which of course was totally untrue and she can be seen leaving the house calmly and on her own on my cctv system. 
I do get the police need to be sure I’m suitable to hold guns but it’s upsetting that they aren’t looking at all the facts. 

[Gordon R]

Quote

I do get the police need to be sure I’m suitable to hold guns but it’s upsetting that they aren’t looking at all the facts. 

Perhaps they are in the same boat as members on here. Drip fed half a tale and expected to come up with a definitive answer.

Two instances of alleged domestic violence. You do not say if she is still in the same household. If she is, or you are still in the relationship, you can say goodbye to your licence.