Another Firearms Licensing Related Post

Today I decided to face the local police station and get the rifle (blogged about here) put on my licence.

It was only an addition of a category A firearm - which means that the local police station can process it and it doesn't have to go to the Firearms Branch for prior approval so it should have been a simple matter.

I went into the Police Station yesterday to make an appointment with the Firearms Officer. I initially made the appointment for Thursday but my day off was changed so I rang the Station at 8.30am this morning to change the appointment to today and check the requirements for transportation of the firearm etc.

The (Acting) Firearms Officer wasn't in yet (he was supposed to get in at 9am) so I left a message for him to ring me. An hour and a half later I had heard nothing so I rang again to be told that he had called in sick.

Now I could have just decided to wait until another day off coincided with a firearm licensing day (Wednesday or Thursday at my local Police Station) and hope that the Firearms Officer wasn't sick that day. However, I thought I would try and see if I could get this processed today. So I rang the Firearms Branch to see what they suggested.

They didn't really have any ideas but they agreed with my suggestion that I try the District HQ Station. I rang that station and asked to be put through to the Firearms Officer there and after being cut off once I finally got to talk to someone.

The cop I spoke to wasn't the Firearms Officer but he was a really nice helpful guy who decided that I should be able to get the rifle on a licence today and was going to help me make this happen. The Firearms Officer had been told off previously by his boss for processing licences for another station so he wasn't willing to help. So the nice cop then rang my local station and arranged with a Sargent there to process it for me (he told me the Sargent's name was Steve).

So I went back to my station and asked for Steve and, guess what, he didn't exist :) ... However, the cop there, after I explained what I was trying to do decided to be helpful and process it for me.

So I filled in the application form for the licence (2 pages), a form the firearm's details (2 pages), a statement regarding my safe (1 page) and another form for some reason (2 pages). They also took a photocopy of my Driver's Licence and club membership card and my property letter. The statement regarding the safe had to be witnessed by a cop so the cop I was dealing with grabbed another cop walking by to do this.

The two cops then filled in a permit for me to transport the firearm from my house back to the station and I went and got the rifle.

When I got back to the station the cop checked the make and serial number and wrote it as an addition on my licence. After I paid my $28 I was free to take the rifle and go home :)

I was quite pleased with this experience, especially with the two cops who decided that this should be possible.

After all of this, I had a lovely lunch with a friend and then went up the range with my pistol and burnt 200 rounds :) Quite a pleasant way to spend a day off!