Scottish Government

3. Commentary

Crimes and offences recorded in which a firearm was alleged to have been used

Crime/offence type ( Tables 1, 1A)

• As with last year's publication, minor Firearms Act 1968 offences, mainly relating to possession, handling and distribution of weapons and ammunition, are no longer included in the main tables. Totals for these offences are presented in Table 15. (See Annex 5.2)
• In 2006-07, the police recorded 1,245 offences in which a firearm was alleged to have been used, an increase of 17 per cent from the total of 1,068 recorded in 2005-06, and the highest number in the 10 year period covered by this bulletin. It is thought that at least part of this increase is due to a clarification in the scope of the firearms offences return (See Annex 5.15-5.17).
• The largest category of offence involving the use of a firearm in 2006-07 was 'reckless conduct with firearms', which constituted 23 per cent of all recorded firearms offences. This increase is mainly due to a change in recording practices (see Annex 5.15), which saw the inclusion of incidents involving air weapons where no injury of damage was caused. Such incidents were previously excluded from the figures. The large increase in the 'other crimes and offences' category is also partly due to a clarification of the counting rules. (See Annex 5.15-5.17).
• In 2006-07, the number of homicides involving the use of a firearm was 8, the same number as in 2005-06 and 2004-05. The number of attempted murders increased by 23 per cent from 35 in 2005-06 to 43 in 2006-07. The 19 recorded serious assaults in 2006-07 was almost the same as in 2005-06, when there were 20 .
• The pattern of offences, once those involving unidentified firearms or air weapons are excluded, shows the largest single category of offences are 'Firearms Act 1968 offences' (possession of a firearm with intent), followed by 'minor assault'. ( Table 1A)

Proportion of crimes/offences involving firearms ( Table 2 and Chart 2)

• The use of firearms in criminal activity constituted only a small proportion of all offences recorded by the police in 2006-07; 7 per cent of recorded homicides (8 offences), 5 per cent of recorded attempted murders (43 offences), and 2 per cent of recorded robberies (82 offences). Less than 0.5 per cent of recorded serious assaults (19 offences), recorded minor assaults (199 offences) and recorded vandalism offences (202 offences) involved the alleged use of a firearm.

Type of firearm ( Table 3, Table 3A and Chart 1)

• There have been various changes in the way the type of firearm has been recorded over the years, which impacts mainly on the numbers of air weapons and unidentified weapons recorded (see Annex 5.13). From 2005-06 onwards, all police forces agreed to identify weapons where possible, resulting in an increase in the alleged use of air weapons (and other identified weapons) and a decrease in the alleged use of unidentified firearms. Furthermore, from 2006-07, all forces were asked to include incidents involving air weapons where no injury or damage was caused. It was anticipated that this would increase the number of recorded offences involving air weapons.
• The number of unidentified weapons increased from 121 in 2005-06 to 173 in 2006-07. This represents 14 per cent of all offences involving firearms in 2006-07. However, this compares with 37 per cent of offences where the firearm was not identified in 2004-05 and shows the impact of the change in recording practice described above.
• Air weapons accounted for 54 per cent of all offences involving firearms in 2006-07, compared to 58 per cent in 2005-06.
• Although the majority of firearms that might previously have been logged as 'unidentified' are now recorded as air weapons, the other categories of firearms would also be expected to increase as a result of the change in reporting practice. This proved to be the case, with all identified categories above pre-2005-06 levels.
• In comparison to 2005-06, the number of offences involving the alleged use of a pistol/revolver was down 23 per cent from 98 to 75, in 2006-07. There was a large increase in the use of imitation firearms, from 59 in 2005-06 to 116 in 2006-07.
• Other firearms were used in 11 per cent of recorded offences in 2006-07. This category includes all other weapons covered by the Firearms Act 1968 not separately identified - such as starting guns, taser guns and pepper sprays.

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, 1997-98 to 2006-07

Crime/offence type by main firearm used ( Table 4)

• In 2006-07, 3 out of the 8 recorded homicides that involved the alleged use of a firearm involved an unidentified weapon. Of the remaining homicides, 1 each involved a shotgun, a rifle, a pistol/revolver, an air weapon and a weapon in the 'other' category.
• In 2006-07, the firearm could not be identified in 12 of the 43 attempted murders. The highest recorded identified weapon was the shotgun, which was used in 11 attempted murders, followed by the air weapon which was used in 10.
• An air weapon was used in 75 per cent (152) of offences of vandalism in 2006-07. An air weapon was also the weapon used in 73 per cent (211) of offences of reckless conduct with firearms, 54 per cent (108) of minor assaults, and 74 per cent (14) of serious assaults.

Result of the use of a firearm ( Table 5 and Chart 3)

• Of the 1,245 offences involving the use of a firearm in 2006-07, 791 (64 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 increased from 197 in 2005-06 to 247 in 2006-07, an increase of 25 per cent.
• The number of cases in which a firearm was fired causing neither injury nor damage to property increased from 68 in 2005-06 to 233 in 2006-07. This increase is a direct consequence of changes to the recording practices (see Annex 5.15). Property damage resulting from the discharge of a firearm fell 38 per cent from 499 in 2005-06 to 311 in 2006-07, reflecting the large fall in vandalism seen in Table 1.
• The number of offences where the firearm was used to threaten increased 46 per cent from 216 in 2005-06 to 315 in 2006-07, while the number of other uses also increased from 78 in 2005-06 to 122 in 2006-07. It is thought that the clarification in guidance to forces regarding which weapons to include in the firearms return may have impacted on these figures (see Annex 5.16-5.17).

Result of use of firearm by main firearm used ( Table 6)

• Of the 791 offences in which a firearm was actually fired, 67 per cent (530) involved the use of an air weapon. Of those offences involving an air weapon, 1 resulted in death, 143 resulted in injury to a person and 237 resulted in damage to property.
• Where the main firearm used was unidentified, 3 offences resulted in fatal injuries while 22 offences caused injury.
• In the majority of cases that involved a pistol/revolver (59 per cent) or an imitation weapon (65 per cent), the firearm was used to threaten.

Chart 3 - Recorded crimes and offences involving a firearm: Result of use, 2006-07

Crime/offence type by use of firearm ( Table 7)

• Of the 199 minor assaults involving a firearm, 124 involved the weapon being fired and causing injury. This represents over half (52 per cent) of all the recorded offences in which a firearm was fired and caused injury. In serious assaults involving a firearm, the firearm was fired and caused injury in 12 out of 19 cases (63 per cent).
• Of the 82 robberies, a firearm was used to threaten in 75 (91 per cent) offences, reflecting the nature of such crimes. In the majority of Firearms Act 1968 offences the use of the firearm was also to threaten.
• Of the 284 offences of reckless conduct with firearms, in which the weapon was fired, 143 (50 per cent) of them resulted in no injury or damage to property.

Location of use ( Table 8 and Chart 4)

• In 2006-07, 30 per cent of offences (375) involving the alleged use of a firearm occurred in a dwelling, a decrease of 75 (17 per cent) on 2005-06.
• There was large increase (72 per cent) in recorded offences occurring on public highways (including roads and footpaths), from 253 in 2005-06 to 434 in 2006-07. This increase was due mainly to an increase in recorded reckless conduct with a firearm and the rise in other offences.
• Twenty six offences involving the alleged use of a firearm occurred in a school/college, an increase of 37 per cent from 2005-06 when there were 19 offences.

Victim characteristics ( Table 10)

• Of the 247 main victims injured in recorded offences in which a firearm with fired, 189 (77 per cent) were male and 57 (23 per cent) were female. There was one offence in which a police officer was shot causing injury.
• In 2006-07, almost a quarter, 59 (24 per cent), of main victims were aged between 11 and 15 years and 30 victims (12 per cent) were aged 10 years or under. One hundred and twenty one (49 per cent) were aged 21 or over.

Chart 4 - Recorded crimes and offences involving a firearm: Location of use, 2006-07

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

Clear - up rates ( Table 11)

• In 2006-07, 57 per cent of all offences in which a firearm was alleged to have been used were cleared up, an increase from 43 per cent in 2005-06 and the highest recorded in the 10 year period covered by this bulletin. Part of the reason for this increased overall clear-up rate is the smaller number of vandalism offences, which historically have a low clear-up rate and the increased number of offences of reckless conduct and other offences, which have higher clear-up rates.
• The clear-up rate for offences of homicide with firearms was 100 per cent in 2006-07 compared to 88 per cent in 2005-06 (although these figures are based on very small numbers of homicides, namely 8 in each year). The clear-up rate for attempted murder was down from 66 per cent in 2005-06 to 40 per cent in 2006-07, while the clear-up rate for serious assault with firearms decreased from 55 per cent in 2005-06 to 47 per cent in 2006-07.
• Due to the nature of the offence, clear-up rates for vandalism have historically been low. In 2006-07 the clear-up rate was 6 per cent, down from 9 per cent in 2005-06.

Accused characteristics ( Table 12, 12A)

• The total number of offences cleared up, in which there was an accused, increased by 57 per cent from 456 in 2005-06 to 714 in 2006-07. This increase is mainly due to an increase in clear-up rates for reckless conduct with firearms and other crimes and offences.
• The number of offences cleared up in 2006-07 where the main accused was aged 15 years or under was 134, representing 19 per cent of offences cleared up. The main accused was aged 16 - 20 years in 205 cases (29 per cent), and was 21 or over in 375 (53 per cent) of these cases.
• Fifty four per cent (72) of firearm offences involving young persons aged 15 or under related to the use of an air weapon, rising to 63 per cent (130) for those aged 16-20 and falling to 43 per cent (162) for those accused aged 21 or over.

Analysis by police force area ( Table 13)

• The Strathclyde police force area, which contained 43 per cent of the estimated population in Scotland in 2006, accounted for 56 per cent (691) of all offences in which a firearm was alleged to have been used in 2006-07. This is an increase from the previous year and is partly due to the force now including some offences that were previously excluded, following a clarification in the counting rules (see Annex 5.17).
• More specifically, 6 of the 8 homicides, 81 per cent (35) of attempted murders, 79 per cent (15) of serious assaults, 76 per cent (62) of recorded robberies, and 57 per cent (114) of minor assaults in which a firearm was alleged to have been used, took place in Strathclyde. Over half (52 per cent) of the recorded vandalism offences involving a firearm took place in Lothian and Borders police force area.

Crimes and offences in which a firearm was stolen ( Table 14)

• During 2006-07 the Scottish police recorded 10 offences in which a firearm other than an air weapon was stolen, a decrease from 12 offences in 2005-06.
• The number of stolen shotguns fell from 10 in 2005-06 to 1 in 2006-07 and 8 'other' firearms were stolen in 2006-07, compared to 2 in 2005-06.

Minor Firearms Act 1968 Offences ( Table 15)

• The number of minor Firearms Act 1968 offences, mainly relating to the possession, handling and distribution of weapons and ammunition, increased by 3 per cent from 916 in 2005-06 to 947 in 2006-07. (see Annex 5.2)