§ Mr. PaiceTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many crimes were committed in each year since 1996–97 involving(a) handguns, (b) rifles, (c) shotguns, (d) air weapons and (e) imitation firearms; and how many gun crimes for each year were drug-related. [148312]
§ Caroline Flint[holding answer 19 January 2004]The relevant information is given in the table.
Number of recorded crimes in which a firearm was used1 Year2 Handguns Rifles Shotguns Air weapons Imitation firearms 1996 3,347 63 933 7,813 498 1997 2,648 51 580 7,506 511 1998–993 2,687 43 642 8,665 566 1999–2000 3,685 67 693 10,103 823 2000–01 4,109 36 608 10,227 787 2001–024 5,871 64 711 12,340 1,201 1Fired, used as a blunt instrument or in a threat. 2Calendar years up to 1997 and financial years thereafter. 3There was a change in counting rules for recorded crime on 1 April 1998, which may have had an inflationary effect on firearm offence statistics. 4Some police forces adopted the National Crime Recording Standard in advance of its national implementation on 1 April 2002, and this may have had an inflationary effect on firearm offence statistics. Statistics of whether firearms offences are drug-related are not collected centrally.
1217W
§ Mr. PaiceTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many illegally owned or carried(a) handguns, (b) rifles, (c) military weapons, (d) automatic weapons and (e) semi-automatic weapons have been recovered by (i) police forces in England and Wales and (ii) Customs and Excise at ports of entry in the UK in each of the last five years. [147384]
§ Ms Blears[holding answer 12 January 2004]The information requested on weapons recovered by the police is not currently available.
Customs and Excise have provided the following details to the Home Office of the numbers of firearms they have seized in the last five years. These figures include imports and exports. Any military, automatic and semi-automatic weapons will be included in the totals and are not separately identified.
Number of illegal firearms seized by Her Majesty's Customs and Excise Year ended 31 March Hand guns Rifles Shotguns 1999 85 106 55 2000 420 100 135 2001 168 49 51 2002 305 113 230 2003 127 102 41
§ Mr. PaiceTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many people have been prosecuted for conversion of(a) air and (b) imitation weapons to fire live ammunition in each of the last five years. [147395]
§ Caroline Flint[holding answer 12 January 2004]The available information is given in the table. The statistics collected centrally relate only to the illegal conversion into firearms of anything which, though having the appearance of being a firearm, is so constructed as to be incapable of discharging any missile through its barrel. It is not possible to make a distinction between the type of guns converted, but the conversion of air weapons is not covered by the offence under section 4(3) of the Firearms Act 1968 since most are already classified as firearms.
Persons proceeded against for conversion of firearms, England and Wales Number 1998 4 1999 3 2000 11 2001 3 2002 4 1 Excludes figures for Staffordshire. Note:
Statistics for 2003 will be published in the autumn.