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Wednesday, 21 February 2007
The Government has released the commencement dates for the Violent Crime Reduction Act.
As the Prime Minister comes under increased pressure to toughen-up the penalties for gun-related crime in the wake of recent shootings in London and Manchester, the Government has released the commencement dates for the Violent Crime Reduction Act.
The act has been going through Parliament for the past two years and will have greatest effect on airgun retailers and homeloaders. Restrictions on the sale and purchase of primers will come into effect from 6 April, while provisions relating to airguns and imitation firearms will be in force from 1 October, when only registered firearms dealers will be able legally to trade in airguns, regardless of whether they are below the legal firearms certificate power.
In addition, airguns will also not be able to be purchased via mail order, while the age limit at which they may legally be bought is likely to increase from 17 to 18 years old. Bill Harriman, director of firearms for BASC, has been working with the Home Office on the construction of the new law. He told ST: “The requirement for face-to-face sales effectively mirrors the sales of rifles and shotguns. People who deal in airguns by way of trade or business must be registered dealers. There is a concept that there will be an exemption for antique airgun dealers. We’ve yet to finalise the agreements, but everyone has been very helpful, striving for a workable law.
“I don’t think the age increase will contribute anything towards the prevention of airgun crime — there’s no evidence that people using airguns in crime obtain them through mail order. Under the new law, even if someone goes into a shop and buys an airgun there will be no audit trail afterwards. Gun crime is a big political issue and this is the Government really trying to show the public that it is doing something about it.”
David Bontoft, of Hull Cartridge Company, the UK importer and distributor of Weihrauch air rifles, is not afraid of the effects the act might have on the airgun industry. He told ST: “Speaking for the trade, my initial thoughts are, yes, it will curtail sales. Given several months’ time, however, the trade will move from mail order to people going back into gunshops. There is an argument that a lot of sales are done on impulse and I think the industry is worried about the loss of this impulse purchasing. If we support the dealers and their stocking requirements, I feel sure that people will continue to buy airguns in good numbers from registered dealers.”
Aboo Cattran, retail manager at the Sportsman Gun Centre, in Devon, told ST: “We voluntarily had all the necessary controls in place already and have done for quite sometime. We do some mail order and request personal details, which are cross-referenced with the financial details of the customer. We already have some record of transactions in terms of where guns have gone, and therefore a degree of traceability. It’s bound to affect sales to a degree: with the removal of mail order it’s a natural progression to polarise sales into retail outlets. Anything that gives confidence to the public, particularly at a time when there is so much concern over gun crime, is a good thing. The only drawback is that the traceability stops after the initial face-to-face purchase.”
John Batley, director of the Gun Trade Association and secretary of the Shooting Sports Trust, has been working with the Home Office since June 2005 on the new regulations. He told ST: “We have done considerable research and it would appear, in its initial stages, that the new act will affect trade considerably. When we see how many firearms dealers register as airgun dealers, however, we will have a better idea of the long-term effects. In the past two months I’ve been up and down the country giving seminars on the ramifications of the act and have been advising would-be dealers as to the new requirements. The act will stop the indiscriminate sale of airguns. In future all airguns sold by way of trade or business will be restricted to reputable dealers. Whether it will affect airgun crime figures, we will have to wait and see.”
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