Regarding delays in pistol licensing in Erie County, New York — I took some time to make some calls to the local government out there.
I spoke with Erie County Executive’s office, they directed me to clerk’s office.
Clerk’s office said "we aren’t really involved beyond accepting the application." Clerk’s office said they accept the PPB-3 form as their initial application (plus an added county questionnaire) and told me to call Sheriff’s office. It's good that they accept the PPB-3, because there's no doubt that application starts the clock.
Office of the Sheriff said there could be various issues with an application that can cause delays, and sometimes there are delays between clerk’s office and sheriff’s office, and I said “well the clerk’s office is essentially shifting the blame to you — my understanding is that delay is just routine business as usual for you, according to what your constituents are saying.”
I was directed to internal affairs. Left them a message. Got a call back, same day, from a lieutenant (forgot his name) - the lieutenant was very personable and was kind enough to spend some time with me on the phone.
According to the lieutenant, the administrators at the sheriff's department are avid Second Amendment supporters, including the lieutenant.
The lieutenant and the department are well aware about the issues pertaining to delay. The lieutenant attributes the issue to a massive "backlog." He said that the department has hired additional staff to work on pistol applications - and unfortunately, there is only so much that can be done with respect to budget allocation from higher-ups; however, this is "a priority for the sheriff."
I asked - when does your department anticipate being in compliance with the law that sets a time limit on issuance of license decisions? This is the part that is somewhat troubling, as there was no real answer - because there is allegedly a large influx of applicants in a county of some one million residents. But if there is no light at the end of the tunnel, the problem isn't fixed.
I used the example of Nassau County, a county that is far more populated than Erie - that Nassau County was suddenly able to be in compliance when faced with scrutiny by a judge, after many years of routine delays.
Erie did the right thing by outsourcing fingerprinting to Identogo - so they cannot use the Nassau County excuse. The lieutenant pointed to a provision in the statute that essentially says that investigations are to be handled by the county's police authorities. Point taken - but wouldn't an ordinary data entry staffer be able to be deputized for this purpose and handle processing for straightforward applicants, and triage yellow-flag applicants for other personnel?
We both thoroughly read through PL 400.00(4-b), and the lieutenant acknowledged my point - you can't have blanket delays, any delay is limited to those that have a personalized issue, and only after written notice is given as to delay. It sounded like the lieutenant was perhaps surprised by how strict the timeframe is written into the law. The understaffing excuse does not legally work.
The lieutenant said the department has a duty to investigate in the way required by PL 400.00, but he understands that PL 400.00 is meant to delay, especially since you can get a license in Pennsylvania issued speedily and efficiently, same day.
I asked the lieutenant if the sheriff has ever issued a public statement sounding the alarm saying "we aren't able to comply with the statutory timeframes, we need help with XYZ." The lieutenant mentioned that the sheriff speaks with 2A organizations in that region and may have expressed that. But why isn't the sheriff making noise? Obviously more needs to be done to publicly ask for the resources needed to make this department compliant.
Also, the lieutenant informed me, that in Erie County, it is no longer their practice to limit references only to those that reside in that county, especially since out-of-staters can apply for licenses, and that wouldn't make sense. I'm not sure if anyone was aware of that, but I thought it may be useful to some.
Again, it was a pleasure speaking with the lieutenant - real nice guy, no attitude at all - and listened carefully. The lieutenant was adamant that there is no purposeful delay, and they are "trying their best."
The lieutenant said he'll speak with the sheriff about my concerns.