| FIREARMS
LICENSING |
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This
Home Office leaflet gives advice
on the levels of security required for section
1 firearms, section 1 ammunition, and shot guns.
| “FIREARMS”
MEANS BOTH SECTION 1 FIREARMS AND SHOT GUNS |
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1. What does the law Require?
Under
the Firearms Rules 1989, a prescribed safekeeping
condition is attached to all firearm and shot gun
certificates. It is an offence not to meet a condition
of a certificate. The maximum penalty for this offence
can be up to 6 months in prison, or a fine, or both.
The
safekeeping condition attached to a firearms certificate
requires that the firearms(s) and ammunition that
the certificate is for must be stored securely
to prevent, as far as is reasonably practicable, unauthorised
people taking or using them. When a firearm
or ammunition is being used, or the holder has the
firearm with him while it is being cleaned, repaired,
or tested, or for some other purpose connected with
its use, transfer or sale, or if the firearms or ammunition
is being transported, or for any other such purpose,
the condition requires that reasonable precautions
must be taken for the safe custody of the firearms(s)
and the ammunition.
The
same condition applies to shot, gun certificates.
The only difference is that the condition
does not apply to the ammunition for a shot gun.
However, as a matter of common sense, shot gun ammunition
should also be stored securely and you should take
reasonable precautions for its safe custody.
YOUR
LOCAL POLICE CAN GIVE YOU ADVICE ON SECURITY ARRANGEMENTS.
2. What is ‘Secure Storage’?
The
Firearms Rules do not prescribe how firearms must
be kept securely. The Home Departments’ guidance
recommends that you store them in a locked gun cabinet
or other similarly secure container. In some cases,
if you don’t have a gun cabinet, it may be acceptable
to remove the firing mechanism from a firearm and
store it in a secure container, for example in a safe.
In these cases you should then lock away the rest
of the firearm. A securely built gun room or cellar
with a steel door that locks can also be an acceptable
form of secure storage. Store section 1 ammunition
in a separate secure compartment within a gun cabinet
or in its own secure container. When considering whether
storage arrangements are secure enough, a
chief officer must look at the circumstances of each
case and at the overall security arrangements, including
the security of the premises where the firearms and
ammunition are kept and the vehicle in which the are
transported.
3.
What Types of Security are available?
Perhaps
the most important time when both you and the police
will need to consider your plans for security arrangements
is when you first apply for a firearm or shot gun
certificate. A police officer may ask you about your
security or your storage arrangements before you are
granted a certificate. The officer will be able to
give you advice about security and crime prevention.
More information about the various types of security
which may be needed to meet three safe keeping condition,
and what these involve, is given below. You can choose
the security arrangements which suit your circumstances
best. But remember that the question of whether
you arrangements are satisfactory may depend not only
what the firearms are stored in, but also on the overall
security of the property where the firearms are kept.
Gun Cabinets
As
manufactured firearm cabinets are widely available,
this will probably be the preferred method of security
for most people.
There
is now as British Standard for gun cabinets. The Standard
recommends that before you buy a cabinet, you should
ask the manufacturer to show you a test certificate
from an independent testing organisation to confirm
that the cabinet has been tested to an approved standard
for resistance to attack. But it is not compulsory
to have a cabinet which meets the British Standard,
and having such a cabinet does not necessarily guarantee
that you are meeting the safekeeping condition.
The
Home Departments recommend that a cabinet should have
the following features:
- It
should be made from sheet steel at least 14 swg
(2mm) thick. All seams need to be continuously
welded, or the seams should be of bend construction.
- All
hinges should be fixed inside the cabinet, or
hinge bolts or bars should be provided.
- Lock
mechanisms should be on the inside of the cabinet.
The lock should contain at lease 5 levers to BS3621
standard. Alternatively quality hardened padlocks
and staples should be fitted to the cabinet.
- Because
of their height, rifle cabinets should have two
locks at points one-third and two-thirds the height
of the cabinet.
- The
cabinet may contain, or have attached, a separate
lockable container which you can use to store
hand guns or firing mechanisms that have been
removed from other firearms.
Gun
Clamps
If
you have one firearm, an alternative option to a cabinet
may be a device called a gun clamp. These should:
- be
made out of steel that is at least 14 swg (2mm)
thick;
- have
seam-welded joints, or joints that are of bend construction;
- have
a 5 lever mortice lock that meets BS 3621 standard
Steel Cables
For
certain firearms kept for display purposes only, a
high tensile steel cable secured with a hardened padlock
may be an appropriate security method.
ADVICE ON WHERE TO PLACE AND HOW TO INSTALL
GUN CABINETS, GUN CLAMPS AND STEEL CABLES
A
gun cabinet, container for section 1 ammunition, gun
clamp or steel cable should be securely fixed to the
fabric of the building where it is situated.
The
Home Departments advise that:
- It
should be in a room or area that does not have
direct access to the outside of a building. It
should not be in a garage, shed, or other outside
building.
- Wherever
possible, it should be fixed to a wall that is
built from bricks, concrete blocks or reinforced
concrete.
- The
container should be out of sight (unless the firearm
is held for display purposes). If it is in a corner,
it is more difficult for a thief to attack it.
- You
should not put the container near central heading
ducts or chimney stacks; heat or fire can affect
materials, particularly ammunition.
Barrel Blocks and Trigger Guards
Devices
such as barrel blocks and trigger guards may provide
extra security but never use them Instead of the types
of security mentioned in section 2 above.
4. Transporting Firearms
When
firearms are being transported, the certificate holder
must take reasonable precautions to make sure that
the firearm, ammunition or shot gun is kept safe.
When you are making arrangements you should look at
the circumstances in which the firearms are being
transported.
If
you do not transport firearms and ammunition very
often, you should not normally need to have a security
device fitted in the vehicle. If your vehicle is left
unattended at any time, it is normally safe enough
to remove some essential component of the firearm
and keep it in your personal possession; for example
the bolt from a rife or the fore-end from a shot gun.
Where
practicable, firearms and ammunition should be placed
where they cannot be seen, inside the locked vehicle.
If
you frequently transport large quantities of firearms
by car and they are often left in circumstances where
they are often left in circumstances where they may
be vulnerable to thieves, you need a higher level
of security. You could, for example, keep them in
a secured metal container in the boot. A car alarm
may provide extra security.
If
firearms are transported on public transport they
should be covered in a suitable slip case and remain
with the holder at all times, except, for example,
when carried as cargo in the hold of an aircraft.
5. Other Important Points
The
security measures you take should be reasonable, realistic,
and appropriate considering the risk involved. But
you should not take these measures on their own. The
security of the house and vehicle in which the firearms
will be kept or transported is just as important.
You can get advice on how to protect buildings and
vehicles and on how to fit alarms from your local
police station.
This
page only offers general advice and it is important
to remember that your local chief officer of police
must consider each case individually, and must look
at overall suitability of the security in the light
of the circumstances in each case.
Published
by Home Office Public Relations Branch 1992 for the
Home Departments
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