§ Mr. McNamaraTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what controls are available and how often they have been exercised in the last five years over the(a) manufacture, (b) sale, (c) possession and (d) use of ball-bearing pellet guns. [95367]
§ Mr. Charles ClarkeThere are two basic categories of guns designed to fire small ball-bearings (BB guns).
The first is the ball-bearing repeater pistol. These guns usually have a muzzle energy of less than one joule. Under the definition of "firearm" given in section 57 of the Firearms Act 1968, guns with a muzzle energy as low as this are not classed as firearms because they are not lethal and are incapable of inflicting more than trivial injury. As such, they do not come under the control of the Firearms Acts.
The second category consists of BB rifles. These are air rifles which are capable of firing ball-bearings as well as the more normal waisted pellet. Being low-powered airguns, there is no requirement for them to be held on a firearm certificate but in all other respects they come under the control of the Firearms Acts.
879WThere are no controls under the Firearms Acts on the manufacture of low-powered airguns but their sale to, possession and use by young people is controlled by the Acts, as is the use of such weapons by adults.
For the purposes of the legislation, airguns capable of firing ball-bearings are classed simply as "air weapons". For this reason, it is not possible to distinguish between
Offence 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 Carrying a loaded air weapon in a public place 506 614 511 575 540 Person under 14 having an air weapon 92 95 92 82 60 Person under 17 having an air weapon in a public place 448 361 462 396 297 The figures relating to other offences under the firearms legislation cover the misuse of all types of firearms. It is not possible to separate out those convictions relating to air weapons except at disproportionate cost.