§ Mr. William RossTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many people were(a) killed and (b) injured by (i) hand guns, (ii) air guns, (iii) shot guns, (iv) rifles over .22 calibre, (v) rifles of .22 calibre, (vi) submachine guns and (vii) other firearms in each of the last five years indicating how many of the deaths and injuries were (a) accidental, (b) non-accidental and (c) self-inflicted by legally held firearms. [85866]
§ Mr. BoatengInformation obtained from the Office for National Statistics shows the following number of accidental deaths by shooting, broken down by the available type of gun for the years 1994 to 1998:
Accidental deaths by shooting, England and Wales, 1994–98 Hand gun Shot gun Military firearm Other firearm Total 1994 2 4 1 3 10 1995 1 6 — 5 12 1996 — 3 — 4 7 1997 1 4 — 1 6 1998 1 5 1 1 8 Information is not available on the number of accidental injuries caused by firearms.
Deaths and injuries caused by the use of firearms crime are as follows:
336W
Notifiable offences recorded by the police in which firearms caused injury, England and Wales, 1993–97 Hand gun Shot gun Air/weapon Other firearm Total Fatal injury 1993 35 39 — — 74 1994 25 36 — 5 66 1995 39 28 1 2 70 1996 30 17 — 4 49 1997 39 16 — 59
Notifiable offences recorded by the police in which firearms caused injury, England and Wales, 1993–97 Hand gun Shot gun Air/ weapon Other firearm Total Other injury 1993 358 180 1,578 158 2,274 1994 292 143 1,591 149 2,175 1995 260 118 1,409 199 1,986 1996 249 87 1,212 384 1,932 1997 275 55 1,194 389 1,913 Source:
Home Office
Figures for 1998 are not yet available.
Information obtained from the Office for National Statistics shows the following number of suicides by shooting, broken down by the available type of gun for the years 1994 to 1998:
Suicides1 by shooting, England and Wales, 1994–98 Hand gun Shot gun Military firearm Other firearm Total 1994 4 80 — 80 164 1995 3 68 1 88 160 1996 1 72 2 70 145 1997 — 59 — 57 116 1998 3 65 — 61 129 1Includes also cases where an open verdict was recorded where the harm was likely to have been self-inflicted but where there was insufficient evidence to prove that the deceased deliberately intended to kill themselves Information is not available on the number of self-inflicted injuries caused by firearms.
Only in the case of the fatal injuries caused by the use of firearms in crime is any information held as to whether the firearm was legally held or not. The results of a special survey covering the years 1992 to 1994 showed that in cases where it was known whether the firearm was legally held or not, (151 cases out of 196) in 23 cases (15 per cent.) the firearm was legally held.