POLICE SEIZURE OF FIREARMS

and have a night or two on the ducks, increase vermin control and manage the habitat to produce some wild birds.

Make the shoot a walk one, stand one affair — the permutations are endless — but to simply throw in the towel cannot be an option. James Allsop, by email

I would like to comment on Alasdair Mitchell’s article about public safety and the police (Sharpshooter, 20 April). He wrote: “The law gives chief police officers the power to revoke a certificate if they believe you cannot be permitted to hold firearms without a risk to public safety — the police can seize your guns on the basis of no more than an allegation. game ‘valuable again’ — ergo attainable if wealthy — it should simply have ‘added value’ to it to make it affordable to all.

Distributing through food co-operatives rather than striving to compete in cut-throat supermarkets is much more achievable and value is added by local produce. Mark Hinge, by email

“Typically, they will grab first and ask questions later. You can perhaps see why the law enables them to do so, given the potential consequences of acting too late.”

The burning question is, then, why do they give these people back their firearms to go on a shooting spree — for example, the tragic Plymouth shootings last August?

The gunman, Jake Davison, had been arrested for assault but media reports do not seem to know who he assaulted or why. I always thought that if police took away your guns for a violent breach of the peace and refused to return them, the only way to get them back was to appeal against the decision in a court of law.

Like Sharpshooter, I am not a lawyer — perhaps Bill Harriman would like to comment on this situation as he is a global authority on firearms law?

Terry Newman, by email

Bill Harriman responds: Certificate holders who are placed under suitability review will have access to their firearms removed, whether by forcible seizure or voluntary surrender. When the review is completed, the guns are either returned or the certificate revoked.