by Deborah Hadfield and Charlie Jacoby
Stories are piling up of legal shooters in Devon, Cornwall and Dorset, with decades of blameless firearms ownership behind them, getting a knock on the door in darkness from armed police who have come to revoke their certificates and seize their guns. Most shooters agree to surrender their certificates and hand over their guns. They are afraid that any fuss will make it less likely they will be granted a certificate in future.
One shooter refused to hand over his guns. He tells his story in the film above. Chris Hart from Plymtree had his guns seized in the past because of a police error. When the police came calling again, he knew what to say and to do, not to let them in, and to record the whole encounter on video and audio.
Others are not so confident. Fieldsports News knows of a dozen people in the Devon & Cornwall Constabulary area, which includes Dorset, who have had their guns seized in the last few weeks. The number of gun certificates revoked in the southwest is nine times higher than normal. These figures were revealed through a freedom of information request from BASC. During the last three months of 2021 Devon & Cornwall police revoked 54 shotgun licenses.
More of our Devon & Cornwall police gun grab coverage:
Police prise open gun safe – the full story
It was going to be an ordinary day for Phil Waymouth, picking up his son from school, spending time with him. Within 24 hours, he
Firearms licensing: the police view – FieldsportsChannel Podcast, episode 78
Three firearms licensing officers came to the stage of the Carter Jonas Game Fair Theatre in July 2023 to make the case to Charlie Jacoby
Breakdown in Devon & Cornwall gun licensing puts businesses at risk
youtu.be/c-VlnQpCK0Q With police firearms licensing across Devon, Cornwall and Dorset in meltdown, local country and gun shops are having to diversify. Martin and Chris Lamb
Firearms licensing crisis warning
youtu.be/EjbfeeA0utk With the firearms licensing system in crisis, barrister Nick Doherty fears there’s an increased risk of a tragic incident. Nick, who wrote The Firearms
BASC firearms licensing overhaul
youtu.be/GCi5JQRX0Sc by Deborah Hadfield It’s time to scrap the existing gun certificate system across England and Wales and replace it with another. That’s the conclusion
The Metropolitan Police’s head of firearms licensing – FieldsportsChannel Podcast, episode 62
www.youtube.com/watch?v=RfCT4_dvQQ4 There are 30,000 legal gun-owners in London. Chris Downs, head of SCO 19 at the Met, and Daryn Hufton-Rees from Medcert, which provides medical
Police delay firearms licensing as livestock and wildlife suffer
by Deborah Hadfield Daniel Holmes from Bodmin Moor in Cornwall submitted his gun certificates renewal applications on January 2022. His firearms and shotguns certificates were
Gun grab and gun surrender: two extremes of British police gun policy
by Charlie Jacoby You can see the relief on Gary Ivey’s face. Until eight months ago, he had been a firearm certificate holder. He was
Gun licensing shambles in England
www.youtube.com/watch?v=fyR1vxdXE6U by Deborah Hadfield The firearms licensing system in England and Wales is in crisis. Shooters claim the fiasco has made getting a grant, renewal,
Police gun grabs: a former Met detective advises…
by Deborah Hadfield and Charlie Jacoby Former Metropolitan police detective Ian Jensen says police have limited legal rights to take a gun. He says: “The
Gun grab victim: a serving police officer writes…
A serving police officer wrote this for Fieldsports News on condition of anonymity I, too, have been duped into coercively handing over my legally and
Police offer compensation to gun grab victim
www.youtube.com/watch?v=q4xkgjLhVB4 by Deborah Hadfield and Charlie Jacoby Many shooters have lost their guns to police in the South-West of England since the shooting in Plymouth
