BB Guns

[Alex]

I don't know what BB guns are, I assume some kind of air pistol.  Apparently a car drove past the demonstrators at  RAF Scampton and someone fired a BB gun at the crowd.  They rang the police who took 35 minutes to send an officer to the scene, said officer asked if they'd made a complaint !    I assume that's why they rang 101 plus they had the car registration.  Will this be investigated ? I doubt it.

[Michael Rolls]

yes - they are a type of air gun, may be pistol or rifle configuration. Instead of the lead pellets used by normal air weapons, they use small steel balls. In Scotland you need a firearms licence to legally own one, but I am not sure of the position in England. The steel balls are about the same size as a .177" pellet

[Diasi]

To me the main question is what idiot dialled 101 when it should have been 999, that's the reason it took 35 minutes as it was in the non-urgent call category.

But it does highlight what I said in my Lawless UK thread about an emergency in a large rural county where the nearest police unit could be a 20 minute drive away.

[Alex]

Yes it should have been a 999 call.   Plus if it has been white perpetrators, the car would have been found within hours.

[klondike]

Some BB guns fire plastic balls and are little more than toys. The sort that fire steel balls are low powered but can cause injury. Both types legal (for over 18s iirc) in England without the need of a licence.

[Diasi]

Yes it should have been a 999 call.  Plus if it has been white perpetrators, the car would have been found within hours.

Well that's because 99% of the time a white's perpetrator's car would be registered to his name & address.