License and Competancy renewal.

[Mad Irish]

I have just submitted my firearm license and competancy renewals. My first batch expired earlier this month. Let's see how long it takes. I believe that it is about 2 months if nothing is wrong.

I will update this thread with further info.

[Mad Irish]

UPDATE.
I have just received two sms messages for my license and competancy renewal, informing me that they are receiving attention at the DFO.
Considering the time of year; I am quite impressed. Hopefully the rest of the process proceeds as quickly.

[Mad Irish]

FINAL UPDATE

I have just received my renewed firearm license. This is the second renewal under FCA. Took just on 4 months. A little longer than expected, but no issues along the way. Competancy still outstanding, but that should be delivered any time now.

Here is the motivation that I used on my application.

"This application is not so much about Self Defence, but rather Self Protection.I am a married man with two very young daughters to care for. The current level of crime against women and children is of particular concern to me. If I cannot look after my family – WHO WILL?
In the event of an emergency situation at home I need to be equipped to stop any threat to my family’s lives. Calling for assistance will be futile, as the response time by emergency services will never be quick enough to adequately deal with the situation.

The levels of violent crime in South Africa are such that we rank as the most violent in the world, and criminals know that there is a very small chance that they will be captured and convicted of crimes they commit, leading to even higher levels of crime.

In light of the above, I do not want my family or me to join the long list of victims in this country.

I belong to Glenvista Community Forum, which has strong ties with the Mondeor Police Station. Together, we are trying to win back our suburbs with patrols and vigilance. Yet every day I receive sms alerts for:

• Suspicious vehicles
• Burglaries
• Armed robberies
• Home invasions
• Stolen cars
• Damage to property
• Animal poisonings

There is still a long way to go.

Since the year 2000; there have been 12 criminal incidents at my current residence with 3 successes where the criminals gained access to my house and stole goods. The last of these incidents was an armed robbery on the 27^th August 2009, where I was held up at gunpoint and forced to open the safes. Despite the numerous threats to my life; they did not get my firearm – even after they found my ammunition and spare magazine. That is how serious I take my responsibility as a gun owner.
I’m sure the case number can be obtained from Mondeor police station.
As a result of the attempts to gain access; severe damage was done to my property, including walls, electric fences, palisade fences, sliding doors and security gates.

It is a well known fact that the SAPS cannot effectively protect the citizens of South Africa. There are a number of reasons for this, and many of them get documented in the press and television news reports. These reasons include:

• Insufficient manpower
• Poor attitude to duty, such as never arriving at crime scene, or arriving days later.
• Inefficient / poor service and following up.
• Poor motivation due to poor salaries, leading to illegal activities for many.
• Too many police being caught / involved in crimes, instead of doing their job. These crimes include:
  
  • Robbery
  • Rape
  • Murder
  • Assault
  • Bribery
  • Corruption
  • Extortion

Who can I turn to if I cannot trust my own police force? I need to be able to protect my family.

Attached to this motivation is crime statistics in South Africa, illustrating how out of control the situation is.

In conclusion. This application is not so much about REASONS WHY I NEED A FIREARM LICENSE, but rather REASONS WHY YOU SHOULD NOT REFUSE THIS LICENSE."