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1.1 This bulletin forms part of The Scottish Executive 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. This information was submitted to The Scottish Executive by the eight Scottish police forces. Definitions of the terms and classifications used in the bulletin are given in the Annex. Numbers in the text have been rounded as appropriate.
1.2 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 airweapon. 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
Chart 1 Recorded crimes and offences involving firearms, by type of firearm, Scotland, 1991 — 2000
Crime/offence type (Table 1 and Table 1A)
3.1 In 1999 the police recorded 938 offences in which a firearm was alleged to have been used, a decrease of 9 per cent when compared with the figure of 1,033 recorded in 1999. The 2000 level is 52 per cent lower than the peak 1992 figure and the lowest such figure recorded since 1979. The largest category of offence involving the use of a firearm in 2000 was assault, which constituted around 27 per cent of all recorded firearms offences, this proportion is slightly higher than in 1999. The number of recorded assaults increased by 3 per cent from 244 in 1999 to 251 in 2000. The number of offences of vandalism involving the use of a firearm was 239 in 2000, representing a decrease of 14 per cent from 1999. Because of this decrease, vandalism for the first time was no longer the largest category of offence involving the use of firearms. Between 1999 and 2000 the number of recorded robberies in which a firearm was alleged to have been used increased by 6 per cent from 129 to 137 offences. The number of offences recorded under the Firearms Act 1968 e.g. the offence of possessing a firearm with intent to endanger life, commit crime etc. and other miscellaneous firearms offences, decreased by 23 per cent from 149 in 1999 to 115 in 2000. Table 1A details the number of offences involving firearms other than airweapons. Here, the numbers decreased from 421 in 1999 to 368 in 2000 (13 per cent). The pattern of offences once those involving airweapons are excluded is rather different. The largest category of offences is robbery, at 34 per cent. The number of offences of assault involving a firearm other than an airweapon is relatively small, and the number decreased from 85 to 57 offences in 2000, a decrease of 33 per cent.
Proportion of crimes/offences involving firearms (Table 1 and Table 2)
3.2 The use of firearms in criminal activity constituted only a small and decreasing proportion of all offences recorded by the police in 2000; 2 per cent of recorded homicides (2 offences), 1 per cent of recorded attempted murders (8 offences) and 3 per cent of recorded robberies (137 offences). Less than half a per cent of recorded assaults (251 offences) and vandalism offences (239 offences) involved the alleged use of a firearm.
Type of firearm (Table 3)
3.3 In 2000, as in previous years, an airweapon was the most commonly used firearm. Airweapons accounted for 61 per cent of all offences involving firearms in 2000. The total number of offences which involved the use of an airweapon decreased by 7 per cent from 612 in 1999 to 570 in 2000. The second most common category of firearm was a pistol/revolver - used in 10 per cent of recorded offences in 2000. The number of offences involving the alleged use of a pistol/revolver was at its lowest since 1995, a decrease of 42 per cent from 1999 to 2000. The number of offences involving the alleged use of a shotgun decreased from 55 in 1999 to 39 in 2000 (the lowest number ever recorded).
3.4 Offences involving other types of firearms excluding airweapons decreased by 13 per cent, to total 368 in 2000. The proportion of offences involving other types of firearms excluding airweapons decreased by 2 percentage points from 41 per cent in 1999 to 39 per cent in 2000. Offences involving the use of an imitation firearm decreased from 87 in 1999 to 54 in 2000. The number of offences involving firearms in the ‘Other’ category (mainly unidentified firearms), rose from 105 in 1999 to 170 in 2000. The number of offences involving a rifle each year are small and volatile; there were only 12 such offences in 2000.
Crime/offence type by main firearm used (Table 4)
3.5 In the two recorded homicides which involved the alleged use of a firearm in 2000, one pistol/revolver and one rifle were used. In 2000, shotguns were used in 9 robberies, 4 assaults and 2 attempted murders. In 2000, an airweapon was used in 77 per cent of offences of vandalism in which a firearm was alleged to have been used. An airweapon was also the main weapon used in 84 per cent of reckless conduct with firearms offences and 77 per cent of assaults. In contrast, the firearm most likely to be used in robberies was a pistol/revolver, being used in 42 per cent of robberies (57 offences).
Result of the use of a firearm (Table 5 and Table 5A)
3.6 Of the 938 offences involving the use of a firearm in 2000, 68 per cent involved the actual discharge of the firearm — 3 percentage points higher than in 1999. The number of offences in which a firearm was fired and killed or caused injury to a person rose from 269 in 1999 to 306 in 2000, an increase of 14 per cent. Property damage resulting from the discharge of a firearm accounted for 33 per cent of all offences (312) — a similar percentage to previous years. In 66 per cent of offences in which the firearm was not discharged, the firearm was used to threaten (199 offences in 2000 compared with 233 in 1999 - a decrease of 15 per cent).
Chart 2 Recorded crimes and offences involving a firearm: Result of use, 2000
Chart 2A Recorded crimes and offences involving a firearm other than an airweapon: Result of use, 2000
Result of use of firearm by main firearm used (Table 6)
3.7 Of the 636 offences in which a firearm was actually fired, 503 (79 per cent) involved the alleged use of an airweapon. Of those offences involving an airweapon, 256 resulted in injury to a person and 236 resulted in damage to property. A shotgun was fired in 11 offences; resulting in personal injury in 3 cases (27 per cent). In 2000 there were 6 offences in which injuries were caused by the use of a pistol or revolver. In a further fifteen offences, injury was caused by the use of a firearm that could not be identified.
Crime/offence type by use of firearm (Table 7 and Table 7A)
3.8 In almost all of the robberies (130 out of 137) the firearm was used to threaten, reflecting the nature of this type of crime. In assaults involving a firearm, the firearm was fired and resulted in injury in 85 per cent of such cases and was used to threaten in a further 10 per cent. A firearm was fired and caused injury in half of the offences of reckless conduct with firearms.
Location of use (Table 8 and Table 8A)
3.9 In 2000, 29 per cent of offences involving the alleged use of a firearm occurred in a dwelling. Two per cent occurred in banks, building societies or post offices. A further 36 per cent of offences occurred on public highways. More specifically, the number of offences involving the alleged use of a firearm in a dwelling decreased by 17 per cent from 331 in 1999 to 275 in 2000. Similarly, in offences committed on a public highway there was a decrease of 3 per cent from 346 in 1999 to 335 in 2000. The number of offences involving the alleged use of a firearm in banks, building societies and post offices increased from 18 in 1999 to 21 in 2000.
3.10 In 2000, 27 per cent of offences involving the alleged use of a firearm other than an airweapon occurred in a dwelling. 5 per cent occurred in banks, building societies or post offices. A further 25 per cent occurred on public highways. The number of offences involving the alleged use of a firearm other than an airweapon in a dwelling decreased by 16 per cent from 119 in 1999 to 100 in 2000. The number of offences involving the alleged use of a firearm other than an airweapon in school/college increased from 3 in 1999 to 9 in 2000.
Chart 3 Recorded crimes and offences involving a firearm: Location of use, 2000
Firearms used to cause injury (Table 6 and Table 9)
3.11 In 2000, 306 offences were recorded in which a firearm was alleged to have been fired and resulted in injury to one or more victims. This was 37 more than the number recorded in 1999, an increase of 14 per cent. In 2000, airweapons were involved in 84 per cent of firearm offences resulting in injury, a decrease of 1 percentage point when compared with the proportion in 1999. Of those offences which involved an ‘Other’ firearm, the number which resulted in injury increased from 12 offences in 1999 to 39 in 2000. There was a decrease in the number of offences in which injury was caused by a shotgun (3 offences in 2000 compared with 7 in 1999). There was a decrease from 20 in 1999 to 6 in 2000 in the number of offences in which injury was caused by a pistol or revolver.
Victim characteristics (Table 10 and Table10A)
3.12 The person most seriously injured in a firearm incident is referred to as the ‘main victim’. The majority of victims of offences in which a firearm was alleged to have been fired were young. In 2000, only 103 offences out of 306 were recorded in which the main victim was aged 21 years or over. The main victims in 68 per cent of offences involving firearms resulting in injury were male.
3.13 From 1991 to 1996 there was a steady increase in the number of main victims injured by a firearm other than an airweapon, increasing from 34 in 1991 to 86 in 1996. In 1997 the figure decreased to 32 before increasing to 33 in 1998, 40 in 1999 and 50 in 2000.
Clear - up rates (Table 11)
4.1 In 2000, 49 per cent of all offences in which a firearm was alleged to have been used were cleared up (the highest reported proportion since 1978), an increase of 3 percentage points on 1999. The clear up rate for offences of homicide with firearms decreased to 0 per cent in 2000 (although this is based on a very small number of homicides, 6 in 1999 and 2 in 2000), while the clear up rate for assault with firearms decreased from 66 per cent in 1999 to 57 per cent in 2000. The clear up rates for attempted murder, robberies, vandalism, Firearm Act 1986 offences and reckless conduct with a firearm all increased compared to their 1999 levels. A small decrease occurred in the clear up rate for `Other' crimes & offences from 80 per cent in 1999 to 78 per cent in 2000. However, care has to be taken when interpreting the figures in Table 11 since many of the percentages are based on very small absolute numbers.
Accused characteristics (Table 12 and Table 12A)
4.2 The total number of offences cleared up, in which there was an accused, decreased by 4 per cent from 480 in 1999 to 459 in 2000, although this decrease is less than the decrease in the total number of offences. The number of offences cleared up in 2000 where the main accused was aged 15 years or under increased by 11 per cent to 127. The number of offences cleared up where the main accused was aged 16 — 20 years decreased by 4 per cent to 132 and where the main accused was 21 years or over the number of offences cleared up decreased by 13 per cent to number 200. The majority (80 per cent) of firearm offences involving young persons aged 15 or under related to the use of an airweapon.
5.1 Tables 13 and 13A detail the number and distribution of offences in which a firearm was alleged to have been used by police force area. The distribution of offences presented in Table 13 reveals quite substantial variations across forces. It is likely that the variations stem from the different characteristics of the force areas but it is also possible that differences in procedure, different force interpretation or variations in police recording practices contribute to some of the variation. For example, 65 per cent of all the offences recorded in the Lothian & Borders force area were vandalism offences compared with 13 per cent in the Dumfries & Galloway police force area.
5.2 The Strathclyde police force area which contains 44 per cent of the Scottish population, accounted for more than one half (54 per cent) of all offences in which a firearm was alleged to have been used in 2000. More specifically, 81 per cent of recorded robberies, 77 per cent of Firearms Act 1968 offences, 63 per cent of assaults but only 28 per cent of vandalism offences in which a firearm was alleged to have been used took place in Strathclyde.
6.1 During 2000 the Scottish police recorded 24 offences in which a firearm other than an airweapon was stolen, a decrease of 31 per cent from 35 in 1999. The number of recorded thefts of a rifle in 2000 was 6; the same as in 1999. The number of stolen shotguns fell from 17 in 1999 to 10 in 2000. The number of stolen firearms falling into the ‘Other’ category also decreased from 9 in 1999 to 4 in 2000. However, the number of recorded thefts of a pistol/revolver increased slightly from 3 to 4 in 2000.
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