§ Lord Hill-Nortonasked Her Majesty's Government:
Whether they will provide details for any convenient period of the numbers of notifiable offences known to the police, by Home Office classification, in which firearms were used and in which the firearms had been stolen from holders of firearm or shotgun certificates showing separately
- (a) section 1 firearms; and
- (b) shotguns subject to shotgun certificate controls; and
Whether they will state, for any convenient period, what proportion of
which are reported stolen are subsequently recovered; and
- (a) section 1 firearms; and
- (b) shotguns
Whether they will indicate the trends over the past 15 years of
- (a) thefts and burglaries generally;
- (b) thefts of section 1 firearms; and
- (c) thefts of shotguns; and
Whether they will indicate, either in relation to the total numbers of weapons estimated to be legitimately in circulation or in relation to the numbers of each type of certificate, the numbers of firearms stolen over the past 10 years, classified by type of weapon and by whether or not a statutory security condition is now imposed on those weapons.
§ The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Home Office (Lord Glenarthur)The available information on firearms stolen and on the number of firearm and shotgun certificates on issue is given in the table below. 1149WA Information is not collected on the numbers of stolen firearms recovered. Figures on all theft and burglary offences recorded by the police are published annually in Criminal Statistics, England and Wales, (Table 2.1 of Cmnd. 9621) and quarterly in Home Office Statistical Bulletins (the latest in Issue 4/86). Information on offences recorded by the police in which firearms were reported to have been used is published annually in Criminal Statistics, England and Wales (Chapter 3 of
NOTIFIABLE OFFENCES RECORDED BY THE POLICE IN WHICH A FIREARM WAS REPORTED STOLEN; NUMBER OF FIREARM AND SHOTGUN CERTIFICATES ON ISSUE England and Wales Numbers Theft and burglary offences recorded by the police in which firearms were reported to have been stolen Number of firearm and shotgun certificates on issue Year Pistol (1) Rifle (1) Sawn-off shotgun (1) Long Barrelled shotgun (2) Air Weapon (3) Other (3),(4) Total Firearm (5) Shotgun (6) 1970 130 169 13 592 804 167 1,875 .. .. 1971 131 154 15 640 916 184 2,040 190,649 715,453 1972 126 126 9 609 973 216 2,059 .. .. 1973 119 123 9 529 985 201 1,966 .. .. 1974 165 164 7 601 1,033 231 2,201 185,865 766,952 1975 153 141 9 664 1,397 275 2,639 .. .. 1976 156 133 18 648 1,417 254 2,626 .. .. 1977 166 161 11 696 1,687 350 3,071 .. .. 1978 153 132 17 610 1,497 285 2,694 .. .. 1979 136 119 9 542 1,342 293 2,441 169,590 782,074 1980 155 109 11 597 1,378 317 2,567 168,047 781,854 1981 205 117 19 704 1,454 343 2,842 164,872 785,225 1982 189 111 13 703 1,271 338 2,625 162,696 780,629 1983 163 112 11 649 1,183 300 2,418 159,804 783,378 1984 164 103 23 655 1,202 392 2,539 160,307 798,352 .. not available. (1) These weapons are subject to a statutory security requirement. (2) These weapons are not subject to a statutory security requirement. (3) Only such weapons held on a firearms certificate issued under Section 1 of the Firearms Act, 1968 are subject to a security requirement. (4) Includes starting guns, imitation guns. (5) The local Chief Officer of Police may authorise more than one firearm to be held on a certificate. (6) There is no limit to the number of shotguns which may be held on a certificate.