Thames Valley

[Polchraine]

I was talking with someone yesterday regarding applications in the Thames Valley - he has just applied for an SGC and wondered how long it might take. At a recent shoot another gun commented that his renewal was moving towards 7 months and I mentioned this in the conversation yesterday.

The person I was speaking with said "that is down to G4S" - I find that a little hard to believe. Why would TVP bring in an outside contractor to manage applications?

Does anyone know if this is true? Or just one of those rumours that float around?

[Alpha1]

Who are G4S exactly Its not usual for firearms licencing to be processed by a outside firm. I take it they are not part of Thames Valley Police.

[Dark Skies]

They're an outside private security firm the government use rather than training staff in house.
They were responsible for the security at the the 2012 Olympic Games which was described as 'totally chaotic'.

They were tasked with tagging criminals in England and Wales and accused of wildly overcharging for their services as well as claiming for people that were not being monitored or who had died. The Serious Fraud Squad was called in on that. Bit awkward that - the government hire them to avoid spending real money to do the job properly and then it went pear-shaped. Investigation found "... no evidence of deliberate acts or omissions ... leading to errors or irregularities in the charging and billing arrangements on the 28 contracts investigated."

Good job too - otherwise the government would either have to spend yet more money to do the job properly or find some other cheap outfit to do the work. Despite finding that it was all a huge innocent mistake G4S had to pay £109 million to the government as a refund for disputed services and costs.

They've been accused of all sorts of controversial stuff across the globe. One of their USA subsidiary companies' employees went berserk in a Florida night club and slotted almost a hundred people - some forty-nine died of wounds.

But I'm sure there's nothing to worry about in subcontracting out such confidential work to a private organization with some dubious history. Teething troubles and all that.

In other news I know a chap at my club who is looking at the start of ten months waiting on his FAC renewal. My simple variation on a one year old renewed FAC just hit the two month mark ... and counting.

[20series]

G4s have been running the process in Lincolnshire since 2011/12. All the staff were Tupe'd over

Alan

[TomH]

They will probably outsource Firearms Licencing to India next.

[ovenpaa]

Direct any concerns to the office of the PCC (*) who no doubt will be delighted to hear of any G4S failings.

(*) Police Crime Commissioner

[GeeRam]

Thames Valley are at the top of the list of UK Police Forces in terms of waiting times for grants and renewals of FAC/SGC (along with neighbouring Hampshire, and Essex) with an average wait time of 180 days.

See this depressing chart in this recent article.

http://www.shootinguk.co.uk/firearms/fi ... aled-82854

And if true, I'm frankly horrified that anyone with any sanity with entrust a company of G4S reputation to the task of Firearms Licencing aaarggh

[Christel]

G4S was running Manus however I think they lost the contact at renewal.

Incompetent and abysmal - peanuts and monkeys spring to mind.

[Christel]

Marc Jones is in charge of Lincolnshire. He will listen.

[ovenpaa]

This is certainly not my experience of Bedfordshire some 18 months ago, on a couple of occasions we submitted our renewals more than 12 weeks before expiry and each tome they failed to hit the mark and each timer we were told we could not have a section 7 temporary permit and just be grateful that we did not have to lodge our firearms with an RFD.

Erm...