BASC’s work with Cumbria Constabulary sees ‘significant progress’ in clearing firearms licensing backlog
The British Association for Shooting and Conservation (BASC) has congratulated Cumbria Constabulary for the “significant progress” it has made on tackling firearms licensing delays.
The force has announced that it has successfully cleared a backlog of 1,795 non-complex firearm applications.
The announcement follows a series of “positive and productive” meetings between BASC and senior officers in Cumbria.
The BASC said an initial meeting earlier this year with the chief constable of Cumbria Constabulary resulted in a commitment by the force to provide additional resources to firearms licensing in the region.
BASC’s head of firearms, Martin Parker, subsequently attended a follow-up meeting in May with Superintendent Andy Wilkinson and Chief Inspector Lee Skelton, where he was reassured that the force was still on track to cut the backlog and was committed to ensuring there would be no backlogs on renewals, and grants would be issued within 17 weeks.
Mr Parker said he has had further meetings with members of the licensing department, including the new Chief Superintendent Carl Patrick.
Cumbria Police has now announced it is committed to processing all new, non-complex renewals within eight weeks, and non-complex grants within 12 weeks.
Responding to the announcement, Mr Parker said: “Cumbria Constabulary deserves to be commended for the efforts it has made to cut the backlog and improve the licensing process.
“Non-complex grants and renewals essentially means those that are straightforward and it’s only right that these should be dealt with swiftly and efficiently.
“After we met with the chief constable, it was clear that he took our concerns and suggestions on board and was determined to tackle the problem and improve the process.
“We are grateful for the considerable effort he has made and welcome his assurance to licence holders that delays are a thing of the past. We hope that Cumbria will serve as an example to other police forces on how to tackle delays.”
He added: “We will continue to assist the constabulary and look forward to fulfilling our promise of a training day. This will hopefully act as a pilot for the awareness training being developed by the British Shooting Sports Council for the new Firearms Enquiry Officer training programme, to be rolled out by the College of Policing next year.”