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| Statistical Bulletin - Criminal Justice Series |
| Firearm Certificates Statistics, Scotland, 1997 |
| 4. Shot gun certificates (Tables 3, 4 and 4A) Number of shot gun certificates on issue and new applications (Table 3) 4.1 At the end of 1997, 63,215 shot gun certificates were on issue, the lowest number on issue in the past 10 years. This represents 2,970 fewer certificates than the previous year and 26,278 below the number on issue in 1988 when the number of shot gun certificates on issue reached its peak. Since 1988 the number of shot gun certificates on issue at each year end has decreased; this contrasts with the period prior to the implementation of the 1988 Act when the numbers were increasing steadily. 4.2 During 1997, 1,727 applications for new shot gun certificates were granted, a decrease of 288 from the 2,015 granted in 1996. This is the lowest number of new applications granted for shot gun certificates since 1983, when figures were first available. It is a contributing factor to the overall decrease in the number of shot gun certificates on issue at the year end. In 1997, 34 new applications (2 per cent of all new applications) were refused. Number of shot gun certificates renewed, varied and revoked (Tables 4 and 4A) 4.3 A total of 18,395 shot gun certificates were renewed in 1997, about 74 per cent of the number of certificates due to expire (see Annex Note 7). There were 4,379 cancellations of existing certificates, representing 7 per cent of the total number of shot gun certificates on issue at the end of the year. There were 159 revocations of shot gun certificates in 1997 (0.3 per cent of the total number of shot gun certificates on issue at the year end compared to 0.2 per cent in 1996). This increase comes at a time when the number of certificates on issue is at its lowest level since 1980 - the first year for which figures were published. Analysis by police force area (Table 4) 4.4 The highest number of shot gun certificates on issue was in Strathclyde which accounted for approximately one-fifth (12,639) of all certificates on issue at the year end. The number of shot gun certificates on issue per head of population at 31 December 1997 was highest in Northern Constabulary (3,750 per 100,000 population) and lowest in Strathclyde (556 per 100,000 population). In Scotland as a whole, there were 1,234 shot gun certificates on issue at the end of 1997 per 100,000 population compared with 1,291 per 100,000 population at the end of 1996. 4.5 Strathclyde recorded the highest number of applications for new shot gun certificates granted, 355 (21 per cent of the total number of applications granted). Forces recorded between 8 and 13 times as many renewal applications as new applications; the highest proportion of renewal to new applications occurred within Lothian & Borders police force area. Chart 4 Firearm and shot gun certificates on issue at 31 December 1997 per 100,000 population 
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