§ Mr. RuffleyTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) how many crimes involving firearms have occurred in each of the last five years in the(a) the Bury St. Edmunds constituency, (b) Suffolk, (c) Norfolk, (d) Essex and (e) Cambridgeshire per head of population; [109341]
(2) how many firearms have been handed in to police in each of the past five years in (a) the Bury St. Edmunds constituency, (b) Suffolk, (c) Norfolk, (d) Essex and (e) Cambridgeshire in each year since 1997; [109342]
(3) how many deaths by firearms have occurred in each year since 1997 in (a) the Bury St. Edmunds constituency, (b) Suffolk, (c) Norfolk, (d) Essex and (e) Cambridgeshire. [109343]
§ Mr. Bob AinsworthAvailable published data on the total number of recorded crimes in which firearms (including air weapons) were reported to have been used are given in the following table.
Suffolk Norfolk Essex Cambridgeshire 1997 17 75 269 134 1998–99 34 59 317 141 1999–2000 69 56 344 186 2000–01 136 57 356 146 Numbers of firearms offences were published on a calendar year basis up to 1997, and on a financial year basis thereafter.
There was a change of counting rules for recorded crime on 1 April 1998, which will have the effect of increasing the number of crimes counted. Numbers of recorded crimes before and after this date are therefore not directly comparable.
Available published data on the number of recorded homicide offences in which firearms were reported to have been used are given in the following table.
Number of homicide offences involving firearms Suffolk Norfolk Essex Cambridgeshire 1997 0 0 1 0 1998–99 0 0 1 0 1999–2000 0 1 1 1 2000–01 1 1 1 1 Details of firearms offences have not been collected by parliamentary constituency.
Information on the number of firearms that have been handed in to police are not routinely collected centrally.