Clay pigeon shooting teacher and former champion Alan Secker at the Mid Norfolk Gun Club in Taverham. A cartrige removed from the gun.
Photo: Simon Finlay
Copy: Mark Nichols
For: EDP Norfolk Mag feature
EDP pics © 2006
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Under 10s in Norfolk issued with shotgun certificates
PETER WALSH, Crime correspondent
Sunday, November 6, 2011
8:38 AM
Norfolk police has issued two shotgun certificates to children under 10 years old in the past 12 months, new figures have revealed.
Figures released by policing minister Nick Herbert show that more than 30 children aged under 10 in England and Wales were issued with shotgun licences in the past three years.
The statistics show that in 2011 Norfolk Constabulary and West Mercia Constabulary each issued two certificates to under-10s.
But in a statement issued in response to the figures, a Norfolk police spokesman said certificate holders under 15 must be supervised by someone aged 21 or over when in possession of an assembled shotgun - they were not allowed to own guns of their own which may tempt them to shoot unsupervised.
In most cases the adult supervisor will be the parent, guardian or a relative of the young person who are certificate holders and own shotguns.
The spokesman said: “We follow national guidelines and Association of Chief Police Officers (ACPO) good practice when dealing with applications for the grant of shotgun certificates.
“We interview every person applying for a certificate as part of the process to ensure they are responsible enough to be allowed to possess shotguns and, in the cases of young people, we always include parents and guardians in our enquiries and ensure proper and effective supervision is in place.”
The figures, which also showed 11 certificates were issued to under-10s last year, five in 2009 and 15 in 2008, were obtained by Labour MP Thomas Docherty, who has campaigned for a change in the law to set a minimum age for holding a shotgun licence.
The MP for Dunfermline and West Fife said: “Society as a whole is deeply uncomfortable with the idea of a seven-year-old having access to a lethal weapon.
“I have not heard a single coherent argument for why a seven-year-old, who has no legal culpability, should be allowed to have unfettered access to fire a firearm.”
Mr Docherty, who earlier this year launched a parliamentary bid to ban under-14s from holding a licence, said senior police agreed with the need for a minimum age.
The Association of Chief Police Officers had argued that 10 would be a suitable minimum age.
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18 comments
Well if that is the case Popeye the law needs changing to ensure the supervising adult also holds a gun licence. Just as the laws on air rifles need changing so that ownership and use needs a licence, even if the conditions are not as stringent as for shotguns.
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Daisy Roots
Monday, November 7, 2011
I found this on a Home Affairs Committee: Evidence 'The law requires that the ten year old boy must be supervised by an adult over the age of 21 years. Age is the only qualification required. The supervising adult need not possess a shotgun certificate himself nor need he prove any knowledge or prior training in shotgun use.16 This can be likened to a situation where a child may be accompanied when driving a car by a person aged over the age of 21 who has never driven a car himself.' Looking at it from this perspectice I am very surprised that the police support children possessing lethal weapons without any real expert guidance. By contrast in America they arrest 10 year olds for possessing cap guns.
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popeye
Monday, November 7, 2011
Oh and Bambi- or at least muntjac sausages- are very nice.
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Daisy Roots
Monday, November 7, 2011
It is those who don't have a licence that are a problem not those who have passed police vetting and are a part of the system. In my opinion it should be more important that licence holders have to prove they own or have written permission for access to land or shoots where they can shoot legally or belong to clay pigeon shooting clubs. If they do , age should not be a problem under the current laws. Once again an EDP report takes slightly the wrong tone, although it does follow the lead of a Labour MP.
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Daisy Roots
Monday, November 7, 2011
Quite simply, how many of these young licensed firearms holders have either gone on a killing spree with their legally held weapons? and how many of them have caused accidents (fatal or otherwise) that has resulted in the injury of others at a rate greater than that of all participants in shooting. This idiot imbecile MP should spend his time working to solve real problems, there's far more wrong in this country that could be righted instead of finding these non-existant problems to solve. He should be ashamed of himself. Also, before anyone tries to claim I'm pro-gun, I'm not, I don't like guns but I'm also a liberal and that means that as these people do little or no harm to others (I'm sure game and pests see it differently) then they should be allowed to carry on. Until such a time that it's proven that giving these children access to guns is a burden on society or a danger then it should most obviously be allowed to continue.
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adamb
Monday, November 7, 2011
i guess i know you itman ! feel free to emal or pm on fb
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adinorwich
Monday, November 7, 2011
i guess i know you itman ! feel free to emal or pm on fb
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adinorwich
Monday, November 7, 2011
Well said adinorwich, how the hell would we have Bambi sausages either?
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IT Man
Monday, November 7, 2011
you are talking total rubbish docherty , the tories have all ready made the rulling that shooting ground users must have a ticket , that is why the young uns have got licences . how the hell is a nation meant to have up and coming young stars in sport when there are morrons like you who want to beat them down every time . pathetic !
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adinorwich
Monday, November 7, 2011
Why is a crime correspondent reporting on this? Why not the sports reporter or the wildlife and conservation buff? There is no crime involved in this article just a bit of gratuitous stirring by the EDP.
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galjanie overseas
Monday, November 7, 2011
What's the big deal? Glad to see Norfolk Police following a sensible policy and not just giving a knee jerk reaction to scaremongering. This is a rural county where outdoor pursuits should be encouraged. There are enough children hooked on computer games and a sedentary life as it is.
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galjanie overseas
Monday, November 7, 2011
By being issued with a licence, it shows that the licence holder is SAFE AND RESPONSIBLE to USE a shotgun. For children of this age, that will mean a .410. They will not have "unfettered access to fire a firearm". They will be closely supervised. Gun crime is caused by illegally held guns, and people who have no responsibility. These people would not get a licence. This whole story is a bit "Daily mail"...
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Lord Elf
Sunday, November 6, 2011
As long as we don`t let them buy fireworks.
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Mad Brewer
Sunday, November 6, 2011
Isn't it adults that do the most harm with guns - killing birds and shooting other people accidentally or deliberately? No one over the age of fourteen should have a gun licence.
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JCW
Sunday, November 6, 2011
so why has this made the newspaper ?? and why hasnt the bit about clay grounds having to tighten up and only allow shotgun cert holders to use there grounds . that is why the young uns have licences , to keep with in the law . its pathetic that only knee jerk things are reported . yes i am a shotgun and firearm licence holder who would encourage youngsters to follow a sport that they enjoy and maybe (as not ever reported ) become the next george digweed who has wiped the floor of the whole worlds clay shooting best year in year out .
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adinorwich
Sunday, November 6, 2011
How about the millions of mindless morons given drivers' licences every year? Some of these gormless idiots are far more likely to kill someone.
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Dick Turnip
Sunday, November 6, 2011
Close supervision is hardly "unfettered access". I started shooting when I was but a boy, and was also sent to Churchill's shooting school. I therefore learnt how to use the weapon safely and in those days anyone of any age who behaved unsafely or badly in the shooting field was sent off or cold-shouldered off in disgrace. Learning good habits early, as in other aspects of life, is key. Why is it always some silly shoulder-chipped Labour MP who comes out with this stuff?
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T Doff
Sunday, November 6, 2011
No weapon is a threat or danger in itself. It is the person using it. No police officer can ever establish the competence of a 10 year old in using any weapon. The paranoia produced in the ignorant on this subject is a result of the complete lack of common sense now displayed by all sections of our modern weedy society. It shows a general fear created by a lack of eduction and life skills. Proper supervision and training is needed, not just for the users of shot guns but also for the police and all the PC goons that rise to places of importants in peacetime.
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keith gerrard
Sunday, November 6, 2011