§ Mr. Peter Bruinvelsasked the Secretary of State for the Home Department what information he has for 1984 to date as to the number of occasions in each police force when firearms were (a) used or (b) drawn (i) in cases of crime and (ii) in other cases; and if he has the same figures for the previous five years.
§ Mr. Giles ShawThe figures for the number of occasions on which firearms were drawn from holsters are not held centrally and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost. Statistics on the issue and use of firearms by the police are collated centrally on an annual basis and figures for 1984 are therefore not yet available. The other information requested is given in the following table:
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Force 1979 1980 1981 1982 1983 In cases of crime In other cases* In cases of crime In other cases† In cases of crime In other cases† In cases of crime In other cases† In cases of crime In other cases† South Yorkshire — — — 3 — 1 — — — 4 Staffordshire — — — 2 — 1 — — — — Suffolk — — — — — 2 — — — 1 Sussex — — — — — 2 1 — — 3 Warwickshire — — — — — — — — — 1 West Mercia — — 1 1 — 1 — — — 5 West Midlands 1 — 1 — — — — — — 1 West Yorkshire — — 1 6 — — 1 — — 1 Wiltshire — — — — — 3 — 1 — 1 Dyfed Powys — — — — — — — 1 — — South Wales — — — — — 1 — — — 2 * Firearms were used on a number of occasions in 1979 to destroy injured or dangerous animals, but statistics for individual police forces are not available. † Mainly for destruction of animals.