19 April 2017 – The Metropolitan Police appears to have handed the full names and home addresses of every FAC and SGC holder to a marketing agency promoting the commercial Smartwater property marking and tracing product.
I am investigating this with my day job hat on. If you have received one of these leaflets and are concerned about the implications of your details having been sold on to a commercial third party by police – contrary to what Firearms Form 201 says, on page 7, in the data protection statement – please contact me at work: gcorfield@theregister.co.uk
Smartwater is basically invisible ink. You mark your property with it and if it is stolen, and later recovered, police can read off who owns it using UV light.
UK Shooting News 
I actually lol’d when I read that – you can’t make this sh1t up……you’d hope the police wouldn’t need to rely on Smartwater to know who actually owns a firearm what with the NFLMS and FACs in general……………..or are they expecting us to smartwater every single round so they can trace the brass and finger us for something?
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If correct then what is to stop your local GP doing a similar “sale” to boost funds?
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Whaaat?
They, the police, keep on advising FAC and SGC holders to keep any details secure and they then ‘sell’ this priviledged, confidential information to a commercial organisation?
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I got my smartwater advert yesterday, thought it was a bit odd..
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Absolutely apppalled the people we should be able to trust cannot be trusted to do their job correctly after all.
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Apologies for the double posting but I still am shocked by this news and I’m going to write to my MP via the WriteToThem website because this is inconceivable, unpardonable.
Thanks Gaz for bringing this to the attention of your audience.
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Thanks for the information. I have received a number of calls already from our club members and they are taking appropriate action.
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Would anyone know if this was the entire database, or just the MET AO. Not that I am trying to denigrate the issue by stating “just”.
Massive security breach and heads should roll for this one. NO justification at all and quite frankly no defence for it either.
Its actually got to the point that when it comes to firearms the police are “no longer fit for purpose”
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