« Previous | Contents | Next »
Listen
1. Introduction
This bulletin forms part of the Scottish Government series of bulletins on the criminal justice system. It covers those crimes and offences recorded by the police in which a firearm was alleged to have been used or where a firearm was stolen.
Not all such crimes and offences are reported to the police. The extent of under-reporting is likely to vary considerably according to the seriousness of the crime or offence; for example, armed robberies are much more likely to be reported to the police than malicious damage caused by the firing of an air weapon. Moreover, the propensity of the public to report crimes and offences to the police is influenced by a number of factors and may therefore change over time; thus trends in the number of crimes and offences recorded may differ from trends in the number of crimes and offences committed.
From 2005-06, and particularly for 2006-07, the figures are expected to provide a fuller coverage of crimes and offences from all police forces. This follows discussions with the police forces regarding the scope of the data collection and clarification regarding what should be included in the statistical returns. This clarification is not considered to impact on the major crimes and offences, but is expected to result in an increase in some of the more minor categories. (See Annex 5.15 - 5.17)
Chart 1 - Crimes and offences recorded by the police in which a firearm was alleged to have been used by main firearm used, Scotland, 1997-98 to 2006-07 (1)
(1) See Annex 5.13 - 5.15.
« Previous | Contents | Next »