Many UK Police Unsuitable For Service:

My Firearms License will soon need to be renewed by a police employee who will, I expect, have little experience or knowledge of firearms. 

A regular range mate - the President of my Pistol Club is a retired Commanding Officer in the British Brigade of Gurkhas and a past 'Queens Messenger' Diplomatic Courier - and who similarly will be baulking at having his fitness to own firearms questioned by junior police staff. 

The latest news from the "Mother Country" UK is that HM Inspector Of Constabulary Matt Parr reports that one tenth of Police recruits employed are unsuitable for public service.

Parr said his team had looked at a random sample of officers and found that one in 10 should never had made it through vetting. - That “adds up to hundreds of people who have joined the police in the last three years that we don’t think should have”, - he said.

Parr said public trust in the police, and particularly the Metropolitan police, was “at a low ebb” after violent crimes committed against women by serving officers such as Wayne Couzens and David Carrick, who last month admitted 49 criminal charges including 24 counts of rape.

- Sir Mark Rowley Commissioner Of  The Metropolitan Police said "We haven't applied the same sense of ruthlessness to guarding our own integrity that we routinely apply to confronting" - The Police Chief has revealed that the London force is currently investigating 1,000 sexual abuse & domestic violence claims involving about 800 of its officers.

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Here in New Zealand, - I cannot understand how NZ police officers who are expected to use MSSAs (with unregistered dangerous, high capacity magazines), and 'auto' pistols, in public - are not required to be vetted for or to qualify as Fit & Proper for a standard NZ FIREARMS LICENCE.

Normal target pistol shooters must currently be accepted as approved association members and attend range activities 12 times per year to maintain their costly renewable ENDORSED Firearms License.

- How can the New Zealand public accept that the officers of our civilian Police Organisation are exempted from the SAFETY REGULATIONS required of everyone else?

Unless something has changed recently - members of our police are controlled by exactly the same laws as are all NZ residents.

Perhaps our current Police heirarchy believe that they are above the law. - That would be an outrageous path to madness.

Regarding police carrying arms .. They really tie themselves in knots claiming to be traditionally an Unarmed Police Force - as right from 1841 they carried pistols.

- The Constabulary Act 1846, and The Armed Constabulary Act 1847 eventually led to The Police Forces Act 1886. - There is little room to argue against historic fact.

Registration of firearms in NZ was abandoned by Police in 1983 because police records were inaccurate, out of date & completely USELESS - serving no purpose.

Registration provides a SHOPPING LIST for criminal gangs.

Now we are about to waste tens of millions of dollars starting the whole futile pointless process again .. diverting hundreds of police employees away from essential crime prevention.

Marty K.