§ Mr. MilburnTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many offences have been committed with stolen shotguns in each police force area in each year from 1985.
§ Mr. JackThe information requested is not available.
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Notifiable offences of burglary and theft in which shot guns were stolen (a) from domestic premises England and Wales Number of offences Police force area 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 Avon and Somerset 9 21 16 18 5 15 Bedfordshire 8 8 6 2 4 12 Cambridgeshire 11 13 9 6 — 4 Cheshire 12 11 7 4 7 6 Cleveland — 1 1 1 2 3 Cumbria 2 2 8 4 3 6 Derbyshire 2 12 7 6 6 3 Devon and Cornwall 11 12 11 22 14 22 Dorset 4 4 4 4 2 1 Durham 5 16 13 5 6 4 Essex 19 23 31 11 20 16 Gloucestershire 6 3 3 2 2 3 Greater Manchester 2 1 6 2 1 — Hampshire 21 20 16 21 21 14 Hertfordshire 12 3 8 3 7 2 Humberside 6 12 16 6 4 8 Kent 35 35 49 43 30 38 Lancashire 16 25 18 26 12 9 Leicestershire 9 8 6 7 9 6 Lincolnshire 7 10 9 9 8 4 London, City of — 1 — — — — Merseyside 9 10 8 5 9 4 Metropolitan 44 32 33 21 25 14 Norfolk 14 21 26 14 16 18 Northamptonshire 6 10 13 6 2 8 Northumbria 17 17 9 11 15 16 North Yorkshire 16 22 18 10 5 8 Nottinghamshire 1 2 5 6 2 3 South Yorkshire 15 7 9 13 8 9 Staffordshire 8 7 2 7 1 1 Suffolk 15 8 8 14 3 8 Surrey 11 16 12 16 6 14 Sussex 9 10 9 18 9 8 Thames Valley 16 43 35 23 15 20 Warwickshire 13 10 12 3 4 3 West Mercia 19 13 14 9 8 1 West Midlands 23 21 9 8 5 8 West Yorkshire 14 15 13 5 11 9 Wiltshire 2 5 3 1 3 1 Dyfed-Powys 12 8 6 3 2 2 Gwent 2 5 5 2 5 3 North Wales 6 11 10 7 6 3 South Wales 6 3 — 2 1 1
§ Mr. MilburnTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many(a) shotguns, (b) firearms and (c) rounds of ammunition have been yielded as a result of each gun amnesty declared since 1962.
§ Mr. Charles WardleThe information is given in the table.
Year of amnesty Shotguns Firearms Rounds of ammunition 1965 2,761 37,739 1,694,000 1968 9,400 15,688 795,000 1988 11,254 31,471 1,511,000
§ Mr. MilburnTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many thefts of shotguns there have been in each police force area in each year from 1985(a) from domestic premises and (b) from all premises.
§ Mr. JackThe number of notifiable offences in which shotguns were reported to have been stolen from(a) domestic premises and (b) all premises, in each police force area in each year from 1985 to 1990 are given in the tables.
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Police force area 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 England and Wales 475 537 503 406 324 338
(b) from all premises England and Wales Number of offences Police force area 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 Avon and Somerset 14 30 26 25 10 22 Bedfordshire 8 11 10 3 6 14 Cambridgeshire 20 22 14 10 1 5 Cheshire 22 13 10 4 10 7 Cleveland — 1 2 1 4 3 Cumbria 3 2 10 4 3 11 Derbyshire 9 17 10 8 10 3 Devon and Cornwall 18 25 19 32 25 29 Dorset 6 5 6 4 3 1 Durham 5 18 18 7 12 5 Essex 27 34 39 22 28 26 Gloucestershire 9 8 10 8 5 4 Greater Manchester 6 4 9 7 2 2 Hampshire 26 37 24 29 32 23 Hertfordshire 15 6 12 6 12 5 Humberside 12 17 20 12 9 11 Kent 53 50 61 59 40 47 Lancashire 20 30 21 30 21 13 Leicestershire 15 14 13 12 12 10 Lincolnshire 13 13 16 15 11 7 London, City of — 1 1 1 — — Merseyside 13 13 10 7 11 7 Metropolitan 67 48 45 27 36 19 Norfolk 26 34 37 22 20 22 Northamptonshire 12 19 16 9 4 10 Northumbria 20 27 13 16 18 20 North Yorkshire 16 27 22 16 8 11 Nottinghamshire 6 8 8 10 2 7 South Yorkshire 22 12 13 15 10 14 Staffordshire 9 11 5 7 1 2 Suffolk 23 16 15 15 7 12 Surrey 14 21 20 23 17 18 Sussex 12 19 16 26 l1 15 Thames Valley 32 56 43 27 26 22 Warwickshire 22 11 19 6 8 5 West Mercia 28 23 23 11 10 7 West Midlands 31 31 12 11 7 14 West Yorkshire 20 24 17 10 16 11 Wiltshire 3 7 5 4 3 1 Dyfed-Powys 22 12 12 5 5 3 Gwent 2 5 6 2 9 4 North Wales 9 13 14 8 9 5 South Wales 12 9 — 2 1 1 England and Wales 722 804 722 578 495 478
§ Mr. MilburnTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will consider declaring a firearms amnesty; and if he will make a statement.
§ Mr. Charles WardleThere are no plans at present to declare a firearms amnesty. The last one was held in 1988 in conjunction with the introduction of major new legislation on firearms. We would not wish to encourage people to think that if they hold weapons illegally or use them for criminal purposes, they will be given regular opportunities to dispose of them without the risk of prosecution.
§ Mr. MilburnTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what is his estimate of the number of(a) shotguns and (b) other firearms held in the United Kingdom.
§ Mr. Charles WardleEstimates of the number of shotguns and firearms held on licence in England and432W Wales at the end of 1990 were published in Home Office statistical bulletin 23/91—paragraphs 3 and 7. A copy of this bulletin is in the Library.
The information for Scotland and Northern Ireland is the responsibility of the relevant Secretary of State.