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There were 31,072 firearm certificates
on issue at the end of 1998, 22 fewer than the previous year and the lowest
number ever recorded.
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The total number of applications
for a new firearm certificate was 982 in 1998 compared with 1,304 in
1997, a decrease of 322 applications (25 per cent). Twenty applications
(2 per cent) were refused. There were 918 cancellations (down from 2,069
in 1997) and 61 revocations of firearm certificates in 1998. The decrease
in the number of cancellations can be partly attributed to 1998 not being
a year in which renewal of certificates was required (see paragraph 3.5)
and that the surrender of large and then small calibre handguns led to variations
of the majority of certificates, rather than cancellation.
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As at December 1998, there were
63,100 shot gun certificates on issue, compared with 63,215 in 1997, the
lowest level ever recorded.
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The number of applications for
a new shot gun certificate was 1,530 in 1998, 231 (13 per cent) less than
the number recorded in 1997. Thirty-six applications (2 per cent) were refused.
There were 1,509 cancellations and 129 revocations of shot gun certificates
in 1998.
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There were 295 registered firearm
dealers in Scotland in 1998, 18 fewer than the 1997 figure of 313.
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The number of applications for
Visitors' Permits from both EC and non-EC residents in 1998 totalled 3,536
for firearms and 5,777 for shot guns.
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The number of European Firearm
Passes on issue at the end of 1998 was 444, compared to 379 in 1997.
