Firearm Certificate Statistics, Scotland, 2012

1. Introduction

This bulletin presents statistics on the number of firearm and shotgun certificates on issue under the Firearms Act 1968 (as amended), covering certificates issued by the eight Scottish police forces over the last ten years. The bulletin also provides information on the number of registered firearm dealers, visitor permits and European Firearms Passes (EFPs) issued.

In this bulletin, statistics for shotguns are shown separately from other firearms. The definitions of a firearm and of a shotgun are given in Section 4, along with regulations covering firearms licensing and further background information on the data presented in this bulletin. A related publication provides statistics on the number of crimes and offences involving the alleged use of a firearm. The National Statistics bulletin Recorded Crimes and Offences Involving Firearms, Scotland, 2011-12, was published in December 2012.

Chart 1: Number of firearm and shotgun certificates on issue in Scotland as at 31 December, 1980 to 2012