LARP and the law
WEAPONS AND THE LAW
Most LARP events will involve the use of weapons at some point, whether this be foam/latex weapons or airsoft/Nerf or other replica weapons. It's worth making sure that you know the law around carrying weapons but here's a few common sense bits of advice
1) Never carry any weapons which might be mistaken for real weapons if playing in a public area. There are no good outcomes from someone seeing you and mistaking you for an armed person. They'll most likely call the police, who may well send out an armed unit, or they might just be a "have a go hero" and try to dis-arm you with force themselves
If you are playing in a public area then ensure that anything you are carrying is clearly fake (eg bright yellow water-pistols). Sure it might look a bit naff, but its still better than being shot by armed police.
2)Remember also that a "red-tipped" toy gun can look realistic when holstered, and that if playing at night, even a blue waterpistol can look real from a distance
3) If you're carrying a fake gun in your pocket then there's still the risk that someone might spot it and think that you're carrying a concealed weapon. Again, there are no good outcomes from this scenario
4) Replica weapons these days will generally look fake (eg by being pink or blue) unless they're historical style replicas such as old muskets or wild west revolvers. They're this colour to prevent them from being mistaken for real weapons, and its actually an offence to paint them back to realistic colours under the VCR Act 2007. The act makes it an offence to
So even if you do manage to not get shot, you can still be arrested and prosecuted for carrying an imitation weapons
5) Even though old muskets, flintlocks etc are't covered under the VCR Act, the authorities generally take a dim view of people waving them around in public
6) If you're playing on private land then there's much less of a problem, however there is still the risk that a random dog walker etc might spot you and inform the authorities. So its always advisable to ring the local police prior to the event and let them know what's going on. That way they don't send a unit out to investigate if someone does make a report
There are exemptions from the above act for Airsoft organisers and Airsoft players, but you need to be registered with the UKARA and there are specific conditions about who can register. For more details go to
http://www.ukara.org.uk/index.php
There's some more basic information on the Firearms laws here
http://firearmsuk.org/larp/
THE AUTHORITIES
If you’re playing in public, at some point you will run into the authorities; whether this be the police, the fire brigade (if you are using pyrotechnics), security guards, forestry commission wardens and so on
The simple way to resolve this is
1) Call a Time Out and stop the game.
2) The organiser should then go and speak to the “officer”. If the organiser is not there, then one or two person from the people present should go and speak to the officer. Just one or two, not everyone
3) Explain clearly and politely what it is you are doing (having a “business card” of some description here helps), and ensure that it is okay to continue. If the officer says no, then stop the game. Don’t argue, although if you feel it may help you could attempt to appeal (in a very polite manner) and see if they will let you finish the current game.
4) Ideally you should check beforehand that you can use a location if its public property. If playing in public it may be an idea to contact the police and give them pre-warning about what you are planning to do and. If you're on private land then you definitely need to get permission before using the land
ALCOHOL AND DRUGS
You should never do anything illegal as the organiser of a LARP and should take an active role in preventing others from acting illegally
If playing in licensed premises, ensure that everyone is over the legal drinking age, and never allow illegal substances at an event. Its entirely up to you how you deal with players who are in breach of the law on illegal substances, but the advise would be that they're excluded from the game at least. Whether you alert the authorities is up to you, but don't turn a blind eye to it. If something bad happens and you were aware of it, then you could be considered to be negligent, or have been complicit in an illegal act.
If people are drinking then just keep an eye on them to ensure that they're safe enough to take part in the game. Certainly if there's any combat likely then it may be beneficial for them to sit out the fight and watch from the sidelines. You can't tell someone that they're not allowed to drink, but you can tell them that they're too drunk to take part in your game. If someone is in very poor state then it may be worth trying to stop them from drinking any more. Peer pressure combined with the organiser's having a work is probably most effective.
Let your first aider know that they're too drunk to continue, and perhaps arrange to have them or someone else check on them later, especially if they need to be put to bed and stick them in the recovery position
Most LARP events will involve the use of weapons at some point, whether this be foam/latex weapons or airsoft/Nerf or other replica weapons. It's worth making sure that you know the law around carrying weapons but here's a few common sense bits of advice
1) Never carry any weapons which might be mistaken for real weapons if playing in a public area. There are no good outcomes from someone seeing you and mistaking you for an armed person. They'll most likely call the police, who may well send out an armed unit, or they might just be a "have a go hero" and try to dis-arm you with force themselves
If you are playing in a public area then ensure that anything you are carrying is clearly fake (eg bright yellow water-pistols). Sure it might look a bit naff, but its still better than being shot by armed police.
2)Remember also that a "red-tipped" toy gun can look realistic when holstered, and that if playing at night, even a blue waterpistol can look real from a distance
3) If you're carrying a fake gun in your pocket then there's still the risk that someone might spot it and think that you're carrying a concealed weapon. Again, there are no good outcomes from this scenario
4) Replica weapons these days will generally look fake (eg by being pink or blue) unless they're historical style replicas such as old muskets or wild west revolvers. They're this colour to prevent them from being mistaken for real weapons, and its actually an offence to paint them back to realistic colours under the VCR Act 2007. The act makes it an offence to
- Manufacture a realistic imitation firearm
- Modify an imitation firearm so that it becomes a realistic imitation firearm
- Sell a realistic imitation firearm
- To bring a realistic imitation firearm into Great Britain or cause one to be brought into Great Britain
So even if you do manage to not get shot, you can still be arrested and prosecuted for carrying an imitation weapons
5) Even though old muskets, flintlocks etc are't covered under the VCR Act, the authorities generally take a dim view of people waving them around in public
6) If you're playing on private land then there's much less of a problem, however there is still the risk that a random dog walker etc might spot you and inform the authorities. So its always advisable to ring the local police prior to the event and let them know what's going on. That way they don't send a unit out to investigate if someone does make a report
There are exemptions from the above act for Airsoft organisers and Airsoft players, but you need to be registered with the UKARA and there are specific conditions about who can register. For more details go to
http://www.ukara.org.uk/index.php
There's some more basic information on the Firearms laws here
http://firearmsuk.org/larp/
THE AUTHORITIES
If you’re playing in public, at some point you will run into the authorities; whether this be the police, the fire brigade (if you are using pyrotechnics), security guards, forestry commission wardens and so on
The simple way to resolve this is
1) Call a Time Out and stop the game.
2) The organiser should then go and speak to the “officer”. If the organiser is not there, then one or two person from the people present should go and speak to the officer. Just one or two, not everyone
3) Explain clearly and politely what it is you are doing (having a “business card” of some description here helps), and ensure that it is okay to continue. If the officer says no, then stop the game. Don’t argue, although if you feel it may help you could attempt to appeal (in a very polite manner) and see if they will let you finish the current game.
4) Ideally you should check beforehand that you can use a location if its public property. If playing in public it may be an idea to contact the police and give them pre-warning about what you are planning to do and. If you're on private land then you definitely need to get permission before using the land
ALCOHOL AND DRUGS
You should never do anything illegal as the organiser of a LARP and should take an active role in preventing others from acting illegally
If playing in licensed premises, ensure that everyone is over the legal drinking age, and never allow illegal substances at an event. Its entirely up to you how you deal with players who are in breach of the law on illegal substances, but the advise would be that they're excluded from the game at least. Whether you alert the authorities is up to you, but don't turn a blind eye to it. If something bad happens and you were aware of it, then you could be considered to be negligent, or have been complicit in an illegal act.
If people are drinking then just keep an eye on them to ensure that they're safe enough to take part in the game. Certainly if there's any combat likely then it may be beneficial for them to sit out the fight and watch from the sidelines. You can't tell someone that they're not allowed to drink, but you can tell them that they're too drunk to take part in your game. If someone is in very poor state then it may be worth trying to stop them from drinking any more. Peer pressure combined with the organiser's having a work is probably most effective.
Let your first aider know that they're too drunk to continue, and perhaps arrange to have them or someone else check on them later, especially if they need to be put to bed and stick them in the recovery position
