Firearms licensing: Security
When applying for the grant of a shotgun or firearm certificate it may be best to do nothing in relation to security, until one of our Firearms Enquiry Officers has paid you a visit.
He or she will contact you, after all the necessary enquiries have been completed,
in order to make a mutually convenient appointment to visit you at your home address.
Part of the reason for the visit is to assess your domestic security and, maybe, give advice on what improvements will be necessary to allow you to keep weapons at home.
The Firearms Acts are not specific regarding security except to state that the weapons must be kept safe and secure at all times so as to prevent unauthorised access, as far as is reasonably practical.
However, before granting you a certificate, the Chief Officer of Police needs to be satisfied that you can store them safely. It therefore follows that the issuer of the certificate must set the standards to be met, within the limitations of the Acts.
We are helped in these matters by various sources. Firstly the Home Office guidance is that all shotguns and firearms should be kept in bona-fide gun cabinets. That is, cabinets which are purpose built for the keeping of shotguns and firearms. The cabinets must be located within the confines of the house and not stored in a garage or outbuilding. They should be rawl-bolted to a solid brick wall and out of sight of casual callers. Section 1 ammunition should be stored separately and securely from Section 1 weapons.
BS7558 is a British Standard for gun cabinets since 1992 which practically all cabinets, sold by reputable Registered Firearms Dealers, will meet.
When it comes to domestic security we use another British Standard as a guide. That is BS8220 (Security of domestic dwellings), which is the level of security normally required by reputable Insurance Companies for house contents cover.
We believe that the security of the weapon is second only to the vetting of the applicant. If it requires a British Standard to insure that your jewellery and valuables are safe, then it is not too much to expect shotguns and firearms to be kept at the same level of security.
We will not be asking you to turn your home into a fortress; only to meet a standard of security which modern day requirements deem necessary to keep one's ordinary possessions safe.
Basically, BS8220 requires the fitting of a five lever mortice dead lock (to BS3621), to the final exit door (normally the front door). All accessible opening windows which offer an aperture large enough to be climbed through, should be capable of being locked with a removable key. Rear doors should be secured by mortice or slide bolts and patio doors fitted with anti-lift bolts.
Many people in the past have spent unnecessarily regarding security. It will undoubtedly be best to await the visit of one of our Enquiry Officers, who will give
you all the necessary advice, to allow you to keep your weapons safely at home.