By Selwyn Duke

There’s a knock on your door. Upon responding, you see two police officers who inform you, “We’ve come to inspect your firearms and look over your place, sir.” In a land known for onerous gun control and even proposals for knife control, this has become a reality for lawful gun owners in a move critics decry as excessive government control.

That land would be Britain, where, writes The Register’s Gareth Corfield:

The Association of Chief Police Officers (ACPO) has announced a legal tweak intended to allow police officers to turn up at the homes of gun owners, without warning, and demand to inspect guns stored on the premises. A new Crimestoppers hotline is also in operation to encourage people to dob in gun owners they suspect of wrongdoing. However, as even the police themselves admit, gun crime is falling.

Coming in the form of an amendment to the Home Office Guidance on Firearms Law, as spotted by the Shooting Times, the change explicitly authorises police forces to turn up and conduct unannounced spot checks on law-abiding gun owners.

As you likely guessed, “dob in” is U.K. lingo for “snitch.”

Read the rest here.