§ Mr. McMasterTo ask the Secretary of State for Scotland (1) what information he has on the use of replica guns in incidents of crime or criminal intent in Scotland; how the use of such replicas has increased or decreased in each year since 1982; and if he will make a statement;
(2) if he has any plans to introduce new initiatives to discourage the manufacture, sale and use of replica guns; and if he will make a statement.
§ Lord James Douglas-Hamilton[holding answer 8 July 1992]: Information is collected centrally on each crime and offence involving the alleged use of an imitation firearm. Details collected include local authority district, crime and offence classification, date of incident, number of accused, age and sex of principal accused, number of weapons, type of location where used, how used and, in cases where someone was injured or threatened, number of victims and age and sex of principal victim.
The number of crimes and offences involving the alleged use of an imitation firearm recorded by the police in Scotland in each of the years 1982–1991 is given in the table:
716W
Year Numbers 1982 49 1983 43 1984 92 1985 56 1986 55 1987 68
Year Numbers 1988 61 1989 76 1990 96 1991 102 I have nothing further to add to the reply I gave to the hon. Member for Strathkelvin and Bearsden (Mr. Galbraith) on 10 February 1992, at column 411.