Crime prevention visit to house

GolfVI

Hi everyone,
My local crime prevention officer has asked to visit the house to check out the security arrangements and my safe.
Ive only two shotguns in the house, however ive applied for a .22 license hence the visit. My safe is secured to the wall inside a built in wardrobe so ive no concerns there..
For anyone whos had the visit before any tips or advice for what to expect?

Mississippi.

It's just a routine visit and talk, he didn't stay long with me, asked to see the safe and away again.
If the safe is the way you say it is you have every thing covered.
Good luck

SeaFields

Had one a couple of years ago. He asked to see the safe. I showed him. Asked was it bolted. I said it was. He looked at serial number on the .22 and asked did it match the number on my license. I said it did. He said thanks very much and went off. Bit of small talk about Cork as we were both from the city. 10 minutes max I'd say.

kunekunesika

SeaFields wrote: »

Had one a couple of years ago. He asked to see the safe. I showed him. Asked was it bolted. I said it was. He looked at serial number on the .22 and asked did it match the number on my license. I said it did. He said thanks very much and went off. Bit of small talk about Cork as we were both from the city. 10 minutes max I'd say.

Offer them tea and they, ll chat about every thing but the safe.

Walter Mittys Brother

Had mine in a wardrobe in the bedroom had to move it out of the bedroom.

GolfVI

Walter Mittys Brother wrote: »

Had mine in a wardrobe in the bedroom had to move it out of the bedroom.

What reason did they give for moving it?

Cass

With the two shotguns and the new rifle you will now be into level two security. That means the safe fixed to a solid structure which you say you have done. If it were me i'd also do this.

Make sure the safes are locked and the keys in a location known only to you. Don't have it open when he arrives. Have the foreend(s) off the guns or a trigger lock on both. Lock the door to the room the safe is in, and make sure its locked when he arrives. IOW you want him to see the process of accessing the firearms.

Don't have every window in the house open, close all external doors, don't have ammo laying around, or any other paraphernalia that shouldn't be easily accessible or lying around.

Lastly don't fret it. If anything is "wrong" he'll inform you, but at level two you won't be held to too high a standard. He is there to check and correct, not catch you out.

Walter Mittys Brother

GolfVI wrote: »

What reason did they give for moving it?

Didn't want safe with firearms in a bedroom. Refused to elaborate when I asked why.

BattleCorp

I had two visits. CPO tried his best to pull the two safes off the wall but they held firm.

He checked windows and doors etc. And my alarm. He was very thorough.

It's inbuilt in most of us to be nervous when the Gardaí are checking anything but it's a straightforward, easy process.

Spent

What is the maximum No of firearms allowed in a Home and what are the different levels in relation to bumping up security.

BattleCorp

Spent wrote: »

What is the maximum No of firearms allowed in a Home and what are the different levels in relation to bumping up security.

There ya go.

1
One non-restricted shot-gun.
The shot-gun shall be disassembled and each part shall be stored securely and separately when not in use.The trigger housing shall be secured against use with an appropriate trigger lock.

2
One restricted firearm or three or fewer non-restricted firearms.
Each firearm shall be stored securely in a gun safe which complies with BS 7558 and which shall be securely fixed to a solid structure.


3
Two restricted firearms, or more than three non-restricted firearms.
Each firearm shall be stored in a gun safe which complies with BS 7558 and which shall be securely fixed to a solid structure.The place in which the firearms are stored shall have an alarm fitted and the external doors to the place shall be fitted with locks which comply with BS 3621.

4
Three or more restricted firearms or six or more firearms, of any type, kept in the same place.
In addition to the standards specified at reference number 3, the place in which the firearms are stored shall have an intruder alarm system, installed and maintained by installers licensed by the Private Security Authority, which complies with I.S. EN 50131 or an equivalent standard approved by the Commissioner of the Garda Síochána.The alarm shall be connected to a monitoring service, operated by a person licensed by the Private Security Authority, and supported with GSM Mobile telephone service back up signalling facilities.


For the record, these are minimum standards. Your Super/Chief Super is can insist on extra security measures if they believe they are necessary.

Cass

Battlecorp answered the security measures, but for this:

Spent wrote: »

What is the maximum No of firearms allowed in a Home................

The answer is as many as you want. There is no legal limit to the amount of firearms a person can own/license.

Gravelly

Cass wrote: »

Battlecorp answered the security measures, but for this:

The answer is as many as you want. There is no legal limit to the amount of firearms a person can own/license.

I'm guessing in practical terms, that number isn't going to be big though - I'd say you'd come up against a brick wall with the super under the "good reason for requiring this particular type of firearm" thing. Even if you are shooting 3 or 4 different competitions, shooting pheasants, hunting deer, and shooting vermin, it's going to get increasingly difficult to get a licence for a new firearm as the excuse will be "sure haven't you xx calibre already, you don't need that" (unless you are a millionaire and can afford to shoot every competition, and hunt every species going, and go legal if you were refused).
I know a lad who wanted to get a 308 for competitions but was told to either use the 6.5x55 he already had for deer, or get rid of that and use the 308 for both. He explained that the two would be different setups for the different purposes to no avail.

BattleCorp

Gravelly wrote: »

I'm guessing in practical terms, that number isn't going to be big though - I'd say you'd come up against a brick wall with the super under the "good reason for requiring this particular type of firearm" thing. Even if you are shooting 3 or 4 different competitions, shooting pheasants, hunting deer, and shooting vermin, it's going to get increasingly difficult to get a licence for a new firearm as the excuse will be "sure haven't you xx calibre already, you don't need that" (unless you are a millionaire and can afford to shoot every competition, and hunt every species going, and go legal if you were refused).
I know a lad who wanted to get a 308 for competitions but was told to either use the 6.5x55 he already had for deer, or get rid of that and use the 308 for both. He explained that the two would be different setups for the different purposes to no avail.

Postcode lottery again. I know two lads with 12 firearms and no problems.

Gravelly

BattleCorp wrote: »

Postcode lottery again. I know two lads with 12 firearms and no problems.

Lucky feckers!

Cass

During the boom times when i could afford it i had 13 firearms and the Father had 6 (i think). All in the one house so its why i mention the two of us.

There were multiple calibers the same, and each one was granted without any issues. The worse i had to do was have a CPO inspection, but that went without a hitch as my security is well above anything on any list.

A mate had 27 firearms. 9 he stored on the range so no need for licenses or storage and the other 18 at home. He bought a huge, walk in safe, and built a gun room onto his house which incorporated the safe. Basically made a small fortress.

You have to remember we [the shooting community] have once again talked ourselves into believing that something we have been told is now the law. If you want 5, 12g shotguns and can show good reason then there is no cause to refuse. Every, and i mean EVERY case taken against AGS on bogus refusals has been won by our side.

We have allowed ourselves to be bullied and pushed into non legal situations when told to get something else, get rid of one thing to get another, etc. We also balk at the notion of taking court action to enforce our "rights" and by doing allow a precedence to be set.

mickjohnlong

I have had inspections on all my licences and renewals. Seems to be a tick the box cover my arse excerise. The first thing I did when I opened the door was asked for his ID. He was puzzled and asked why. I told him I wasn't showing anyone my firearms safe until I knew he was genuine. Apparently he never got asked before but he didn't stay more then 10 mins and have never had an issue.

Gravelly

Cass wrote: »

During the boom times when i could afford it i had 13 firearms and the Father had 6 (i think). All in the one house so its why i mention the two of us.

There were multiple calibers the same, and each one was granted without any issues. The worse i had to do was have a CPO inspection, but that went without a hitch as my security is well above anything on any list.

A mate had 27 firearms. 9 he stored on the range so no need for licenses or storage and the other 18 at home. He bought a huge, walk in safe, and built a gun room onto his house which incorporated the safe. Basically made a small fortress.

You have to remember we [the shooting community] have once again talked ourselves into believing that something we have been told is now the law. If you want 5, 12g shotguns and can show good reason then there is no cause to refuse. Every, and i mean EVERY case taken against AGS on bogus refusals has been won by our side.

We have allowed ourselves to be bullied and pushed into non legal situations when told to get something else, get rid of one thing to get another, etc. We also balk at the notion of taking court action to enforce our "rights" and by doing allow a precedence to be set.

I completely agree with what you say, however the cost, both financially and in time, plus the sheer hassle involved would put the majority of people off taking legal action, and presumably the supers know this. Perhaps we should all stand up in every case, but most people won't.
I haven't been refused any licence so far thankfully, and have built up to a fair few firearms in a fairly short time (you advised me on filling in my very first license application on here!). I would balk at applying for a license if I knew I was going to get a no, but I'm sure the day will come if I keep acquiring them at the rate I am now!

Incidentally, nobody has ever inspected my security setup, though it would be well up to standard. I am considering getting a very large safe and building it into blockwork in a room I'm renovating.

alanmc

I've never had a CPO inspection for any of my applications. I did send in pics of my safe/security setup (along with spec printouts of my types of safes) with each of my FCA1s though. Never even had any questions about it.

mylo10

GolfVI wrote: »

Hi everyone,
My local crime prevention officer has asked to visit the house to check out the security arrangements and my safe.
Ive only two shotguns in the house, however ive applied for a .22 license hence the visit. My safe is secured to the wall inside a built in wardrobe so ive no concerns there..
For anyone whos had the visit before any tips or advice for what to expect?

I had a visit last year when I applied for a .22LR. He basically wanted to see the safe and the security of where it was kept. He checked that the safe was bolted to the wall (Mine is in a basement), he pulled back the foam to see the number of rawl bolts, checked and was happy the safe was secure. He checked the serial number matched my licence, I removed the rifle from the safe, so he could see the serial numbers, I always keep a trigger lock and a pad lock through the bolt so he could see it was not loaded and I checked and showed him it was clear as I removed it from the safe. He then checked the security of the house / alarms / cctv / access to basement and so on. He was a really nice chap and we spent more time on small talk than anything else.

I'm sure if any issues do arise he/she will advise on what you can or need to do.

GolfVI

Just a quick update for everyone,
Had the visit today and he was in and gone in about 5 minutes, simply asked to see the safe and gave it a quick pull to ensure it was secured and that was it. Was a genuine nice fella and had no problems at all.

BattleCorp

GolfVI wrote: »

Just a quick update for everyone,
Had the visit today and he was in and gone in about 5 minutes, simply asked to see the safe and gave it a quick pull to ensure it was secured and that was it. Was a genuine nice fella and had no problems at all.

The CPO that checked my house examined the windows, doors, alarm system etc. And tried to rip the safes from the wall. He was very thorough. And a decent bloke too.

Glad all went well for you.

Mech1

Is a safe needed for a single pcp air rifle?

BattleCorp

Mech1 wrote: »

Is a safe needed for a single pcp air rifle?

I believe so. A pcp air rifle is a non-restricted firearm that isn't a shotgun so the below regulation applies.

One restricted firearm or three or fewer non-restricted firearms.

Each firearm shall be stored securely in a gun safe which complies with BS 7558 and which shall be securely fixed to a solid structure.

Mississippi.

Mech1 wrote: »

Is a safe needed for a single pcp air rifle?

Yes, to the guards it is in the same category as a hornet or 223.
I had a house visit and inspection for a break barrel spring air rifle once.