HC Deb 01 February 2000 vol 343 cc486-7W
Mr. William Ross

To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many crimes were committed in Northern Ireland in each of the last 10 years in which legally-held(a) shotguns, (b).22 rifles, (c).22 handguns, (d) fullbore handguns and (e) fullbore rifles were used by (i) their legal owners and (ii) others. [106065]

Mr. Ingram

The Chief Constable has advised me that the information about the ownership of the firearms used in criminal activity is not readily available and obtaining it would incur disproportionate cost. The table, however, shows the number of offences involving the use of firearms, and the type of firearm used over the last 10 years.

Year Handgun Shotgun Air weapon Rifle Machine gun Other Imitation/replica firearms
1993–94 905 86 10 166 39 31 67
1994–95 570 80 14 73 41 34 53
1995–96 438 60 28 11 4 7 57
1996–97 475 92 39 23 6 9 50
1997–98 610 72 65 17 10 35 56
1998–991 (old rules) 506 87 69 23 2 23 45
1998–991 (new rules) 510 92 211 23 2 44 47
1 On 1 April 1998 the Home Office introduced a new counting system under which crime is recorded. The new rules figures can not be directly compared to previous years.