Hey guys, I was listening to the last segment after the GOC plug, with regards to commercial ranges allowing criminals to shoot...
I thought I'd share my experiences with this issue...
There's no easy answer to prevent this, but it has to be the responsibility of the range to tackle this problem, it cannot be just sluffed off and swept under the rug. Public range owners have a moral and ethical responsibility to ensure criminals take the walk... When I started working on RDSC, this concept of, "what do I do about the criminals" scared the crap out of me, at the time it seemed like an incredibly complex and delicate task. After months of research and in working with my local RCMP detachment, the Calgary Shooting Centre and many others in the industry, I came up with a blueprint that will eventually become our identity...
This company, first and foremost will have deep roots to the community and our local hero's (RCMP, Military, Fire and EMS) these groups will have a large presence at our facility, our home, is theirs. It's about making those hero's, our law abiding shooters and their families our first priority. It's a culture and tone that has to be set right out of the gate, it doesn't happen overnight but in time it becomes the standard. Family is important, this is what I believe Canadian gun culture is founded on, therefore a strong sense of family and community is essential in maintaining a family friendly range.
It's also important to ask on the application for walk-in appointments (People that do not have a PAL and are completely new to shooting) if they have a criminal record, we give the applicant the opportunity to discuss any issues. At this point, we as a range have done our due diligence, the rest is up to the police officers that will frequent our facility. Our local police officers that we're committed to developing a working relationship with will weed out the losers for us, and quite frankly that's how it should be. In the end, its a combination of family/community and our local police officers that will keep the scumbags at bay, we as management have a duty to maintain these relationships to ensure the over health of the range. For us, this concept has become one of our founding principles.
A little side story...
Months back when I was having regular meetings with a few local RCMP officers to discuss range design to accommodate their training needs this topic came up. I asked them bluntly, "How am I going to keep the trash out, any ideas?" To which they replied, "Let us deal with that" ...
After that I a got a sense of relief that has given me peace of mind, I look forward to working with and supporting my local RCMP officers and my community for many years to come.
