Dear GTA Member

You may recall that the transition from the old Parcelforce HDMO software to the Click & Drop system was not without its challenges over the last six months. Since then, a significant amount of work has been undertaken by both the GTA and the Parcelforce Firearms Team to improve the situation and address the issues encountered during the implementation.

One of the unfortunate consequences of this transition was the misplacement of a number of firearms in transit. While I understand that all firearms were ultimately recovered, such incidents carry serious implications, including potential risks to public safety, additional costs for businesses, operational difficulties for the trade, and increased scrutiny and engagement with the police.

Following the recent incidents involving misplaced firearms in transit, Parcelforce, the GTA, the British Shooting Sports Council (BSSC), the College of Policing and the National Crime Agency (NCA) have worked together to identify other areas where improvements could be made. One of the key areas identified was the labelling and packaging of firearms during transportation.

Poor packaging can result in a firearm shifting during transit, damaging both the firearm and its packaging, and in some cases leading to the item being lost. Similarly, the use of recycled packaging with old labels still attached can result in firearms being delivered to the wrong address, increasing the risk of them being mislaid or, in the worst-case scenario, falling into the wrong hands. The operational, financial, and reputational consequences of such incidents are well understood across the firearms trade.

To help minimise these risks, the GTA, with support from the BSSC and Parcelforce, has developed a short presentation providing a friendly reminder of the importance of effective labelling and packaging procedures. This presentation has now been incorporated into the GTA RFD training programme, published on the Parcelforce website (Information for customers sending firearms | Parcelforce Worldwide) and will also be published shortly in Gun Trade Insider, the GTA in-house journal.

Best regards

Paul Green, Technical Director The Gun Trade Association

Download: Labeling Packaging presentation.pdf