The Scottish Government

• In Strathclyde, prior to 2001, and Lothian and Borders, prior to 2002, if a weapon was not seen or seen but not established, an assumption was made about what type of weapon this was. It was usually assumed that it was an airweapon and was recorded as such in the statistical return. However, there has been a change of this recording practice and if a weapon was not seen or seen but not established, it is now recorded as such and no assumption is made about what the weapon was. This had the effect of increasing the number of incidents involving an unidentified firearm and reducing those involving an airweapon. Subsequently, Lothian and Borders police began recording details of incidents using crime reports from members of the public. The complainants may identify the firearm involved as an airweapon, based on the type of damage caused, even if they have not seen the firearm. This has led to an increase in the alleged use of airweapons and a decrease in the alleged use of unidentified firearms. To enable meaningful comparisons to be made over time, the tables previously covering offences involving firearms other than an airweapon (which included those involving unidentified firearms) have been revised to cover offences involving identified firearms other than an airweapon.
• In 36 per cent of offences involving firearms, the firearm involved was not identified. This compares with 38 per cent of offences where the firearm was not identified in 2003/04.
• Airweapons accounted for 43 per cent of all offences involving firearms in 2004/05, compared to 45 per cent in 2003/04.
• The second most common category where the type of firearm was identified was 'other firearms' (such as starting guns and ball bearing guns), used in 9 per cent of recorded offences in 2004/05.
• The number of offences involving the alleged use of a pistol/revolver was up 16 per cent from a ten year low of 25 in 2003/04 to 29 in 2004/05.
• The number of offences involving the alleged use of a shotgun nearly doubled, increasing from a ten year low of 18 in 2003/04 to 34 in 2004/05. This is, however, 69 per cent lower than the level in 1995/96.
• The number of offences involving a rifle each year is small; there were 10 such offences in 2004/05.

Chart 2 - Crimes and offences recorded by the police in which a firearm was alleged to have been used as a percentage of all crimes and offences recorded for selected crimes, Scotland, 1995/96-2004/05

(1) The 1995/96 figures for homicide and attempted murders include the Dunblane incident which occurred on 13 March 1996. The figures excluding the Dunblane incident would have been 5.8 per cent for both homicide and attempted murder.

3.1.4 Crime/offence type by main firearm used

• In the eight recorded homicides which involved the alleged use of a firearm in 2004/05, one shotgun, one pistol/revolver, 2 airweapons and 4 unidentified firearms were used.
• In 2004/05, the firearms could not be identified in 7 of the 20 attempted murders. Eight shotguns, two pistols/revolvers, one imitation and two other weapons were used in the 13 other attempted murders.
• An airweapon was used in 71 per cent of offences of vandalism in 2004/05. An airweapon was also the weapon used in 42 per cent of offences of reckless conduct with firearms, 31 per cent of petty assaults, and 25 per cent of serious assaults, but only 4 per cent of robberies.

3.1.5 Result of the use of a firearm

• Of the 1,165 offences involving the use of a firearm in 2004/05, 76 per cent involved the actual discharge of the firearm.
• The number of offences in which a firearm was fired and killed or caused injury to a person rose from a ten year low of 242 in 2003/04 to 325 in 2004/05, an increase of 34 per cent. However, the injuries caused must have been relatively minor because the number of recorded serious assaults involving a firearm decreased. The increase in the numbers of offences causing injury reflect an increase in the number of petty assaults recorded, which reflects the introduction of the SCRS.
• Property damage resulting from the discharge of a firearm accounted for 43 per cent of all offences (497), the same proportion as in 2003/04.
• In 74 per cent of offences in which the firearm was not discharged, the firearm was used to threaten (203 offences in 2004/05 compared with 188 in 2003/04 - an increase of 8 per cent).

3.1.6 Result of use of firearm by main firearm used

• Of the 891 offences in which a firearm was actually fired, 51 per cent involved the alleged use of an airweapon. Of those offences involving an airweapon, 2 resulted in death, 94 resulted in injury to a person and 326 resulted in damage to property.
• Six of the other incidents resulting in fatal or other injury involved a shotgun, two involved a pistol/ revolver, and three a rifle.
• Where the main firearm used was unidentified, 4 offences resulted in fatal injuries while 149 offences caused injury.
• An imitation firearm was fired in 11 offences, resulting in personal injury in all cases. Other types of firearms caused injury on 54 occasions.

Chart 3 - Recorded crimes and offences involving a firearm: Result of use, 2004/05

Total Number of Offences = 1,165

3.1.7 Crime/offence type by use of firearm

• Of the 85 robberies, a firearm was used to threaten in 79 (93 per cent) of such offences, reflecting the nature of such crimes.
• In serious assaults involving a firearm, the firearm was fired and resulted in injury in 41 out of 48 such cases (85 per cent) and was used to threaten or as a blunt instrument in a further 13 per cent.
• In petty assault involving a firearm, the firearm was fired and resulted in injury in 81 per cent of such cases, was fired causing no injury or damage in 10 per cent of cases, and used to threaten in 7 per cent of cases.

3.1.8 Location of use

• In 2004/05, 37 per cent of offences (428) involving the alleged use of a firearm occurred in a dwelling, an increase of 90 (27 per cent) on the previous year but a similar proportion of all offences recorded.
• Two per cent of offences involving the alleged use of a firearm occurred in banks, building societies or post offices, a decrease of 24 per cent from 25 offences in 2003/04 to 19 in 2004/05. A further 26 per cent of offences occurred on public highways, an increase of 10 per cent from 277 in 2003/04 to 305 in 2004/05.

3.1.9 Victim characteristics

• In 2004/05, the main victim was aged 21 years or over in 134 out of 325 offences (41 per cent) where firearms were alleged to have been fired causing injury .
• The main victim in 64 per cent of such offences was male, compared to 73 per cent of offences in 2003/04.
• There were no offences in which a police officer was shot causing injury.

Chart 4 - Recorded crimes and offences involving a firearm: Location of use, 2004/05

Total number of offences = 1,165

3.2 Crimes and offences cleared up in which a firearm was alleged to have been used

3.2.1 Clear - up rates

• In 2004/05, 39 per cent of all offences in which a firearm was alleged to have been used were cleared up, a slight decrease from 41 per cent in 2003/04; this decrease is also an anticipated effect of the introduction of the SCRS.
• The clear up rate for offences of homicide with firearms was 63 per cent in 2004/05 compared to 50 per cent in 2003/04 (although this is based on a very small number of homicides, 2 in the earlier year and 8 in the current year). The clear up rate for attempted murders was 40 per cent in 2004/05 (8 out of 20 attempted murders), down from 48 per cent in 2003/04.
• The clear up rate for serious assault with firearms decreased from 57 per cent in 2003/04 to 35 per cent in 2004/05.
• The clear up rate for robbery offences increased slightly from 46 per cent in 2003/04 to 48 per cent in 2004/05.
• There was a decrease in the clear up rate for vandalism offences from 8 per cent in 2003/04 to 3 per cent in 2004/05, reflecting the impact of the introduction of SCRS.

3.2.2 Accused characteristics

• The total number of offences cleared up, in which there was an accused, increased by 14 per cent from 403 in 2003/04 to 459 in 2004/05.
• The number of offences cleared up in 2004/05 where the main accused was aged 15 years or under was 112, representing 24 per cent of offences cleared up. The main accused was aged 16 - 20 years in 128 cases (28 per cent), and was 21 or over in 219 (48 per cent) of these cases.
• 36 per cent of firearm offences involving young persons aged 15 or under related to the use of an airweapon, rising to 55 per cent for those aged 16-20 and falling to 27 per cent for those accused aged 21 or over.

3.3 Analysis by police force area

• The Strathclyde police force area, which contains 43 per cent of the Scottish population, accounted for 46 per cent of all offences in which a firearm was alleged to have been used in 2004/05.
• More specifically, 7 of the 8 homicides, 80 per cent of attempted murders, 92 per cent of serious assaults, 79 per cent of recorded robberies, 62 per cent of reckless conduct with firearms offences, 57 per cent of Firearms Act 1968 offences and 51 per cent of petty assaults, but only 22 per cent of vandalism offences in which a firearm was alleged to have been used took place in Strathclyde.

3.4 Crimes and offences in which a firearm was stolen

• During 2004/05 the Scottish police recorded 13 offences in which a firearm other than an airweapon was stolen, a decrease of 28 per cent from 18 in 2003/04.
• There was one recorded theft of a rifle in 2004/05, the same as the previous year. The number of stolen shotguns fell from nine in 2003/04 to five in 2004/05 and the number of stolen pistols/revolvers fell from three to one.
• The number of stolen firearms falling into the 'Other' category was six in 2004/05, compared to five the previous year.

« Previous | Contents | Next »