Recorded Crimes And Offences Involving Firearms, Scotland, 2010-11

3. Commentary

3.1 Offences involving firearms (Table 1, Table 1A, Table 2andChart 2)

• Minor Firearms Act 1968 offences (mainly relating to the possession, handling and distribution of weapons and ammunition) are not included in the main tables of this bulletin. Totals for these offences are presented separately inTable 15 ( see Annex 5.1.2).

• Scottish police forces recorded 643 offences in which a firearm was alleged to have been involved in 2010-11, a decrease of 24% from the number recorded in 2009-10 (843). This is the lowest reported total for the 10 year period covered by this bulletin.

• The offence category which contained the highest number of firearm-related incidents in 2010-11 was 'other crimes and offences', which constituted 25% of all recorded offences involving a firearm. The large increase in this category in 2005-06 was primarily due to a clarification of the counting rules (see Annex 5.4.8 - 5.4.10).

• In 2010-11, 2 homicides involving a firearm were recorded, the same number as occurred in the previous year. The number of attempted murders involving a firearm increased by 18%, rising from 11 offences in 2009-10 to 13 in 2010-11.

• The number of serious assaults involving a firearm decreased by 37% between 2009-10 and 2010-11, reducing from 19 offences to 12, whilst the number of robberies involving a firearm decreased by 4% from 91 recorded offences in 2009-10 to 87 in 2010-11.

Chart 2 Offences in which a firearm was alleged to have been involved as a percentage of (selected) total recorded crimes ¹, Scotland, 2001-02 to 2010-11

1. See Annex 5.4.3

• When air weapons and unidentified weapons are excluded, the total number of offences involving a firearm in 2010-11 decreased by 1% from 2009-10 (345 to 340 offences).
• The largest single offence category in 2010-11 when air weapons and unidentified weapons were excluded was 'other crimes and offences', which constituted 27% of the overall number of offences involving a firearm (92 offences). This was followed by robbery (21%) and Firearms Act 1968 offences (17%).
• The use of firearms in criminal activity continued to constitute only a small proportion of all offences recorded by the police in 2010-11; 2.2% of homicides (2 offences), 2.3% of attempted murders (13 offences) and 3.4% of robberies (87 offences). Less than 0.5% of all serious assault, vandalism and minor assault offences involved the alleged use of a firearm ( see Annex 5.4.3).

3.2 Main firearm recorded ( Table 3, Table 3A, Table 4andChart 1)

• Air weapons accounted for 36% (233) of all offences involving the use of a firearm in 2010-11, compared to 51% (427) in 2009-10.

• Between 2009-10 and 2010-11, the number of offences involving the alleged use of a shotgun or imitation firearm increased by 48% and 72% respectively.
• The number of recorded offences involving a pistol/revolver fell by 17% between 2009-10 and 2010-11 (109 to 91 offences). 'Other' firearms were used in 15% of offences involving the alleged use of a firearm in 2010-11. This category includes all other weapons covered by the Firearms Act 1968 that are not separately identified - such as starting guns, taser guns and pepper spray.
• The 2 homicide cases involving a firearm in 2010-11 were both committed using a pistol/revolver. Of the 13 attempted murders recorded as involving a firearm, the main weapon was identified as a pistol/revolver in 8 of the offences, with the remaining offences involving a shotgun.
• An air weapon was alleged to have been used in 82 of the 135 counts of 'reckless conduct with firearms' (61%) in 2010-11. An air weapon was also used in 39% of minor assaults and 34% of 'other crimes and offences'.

3.3 Firearm use ( Table 5, Table 5A, Table 6, Table 7, Table 8, Table 8aandChart 3)

• Of the 643 recorded offences involving a firearm in Scotland in 2010-11, 53% (341) resulted in the actual discharge of the firearm.
• The number of offences in which a firearm was fired and caused fatal or non-fatal injury to a person decreased by 28% between 2009-10 and 2010-11 (154 to 111 offences).
• The number of cases in which a firearm was discharged causing no injury or damage decreased from 186 in 2009-10 to 139 in 2010-11. Property damage resulting from a fired weapon decreased by 49%, falling from 177 in 2009-10 to 91 in 2010-11.
• Of the 341 offences in which a firearm was actually discharged in 2010-11, 52% (177) involved an air weapon. Of these offences involving an air weapon, 48 resulted in non-fatal injury to a person and 50 resulted in damage to property.
• Of the 110 minor assaults involving a firearm that were recorded in 2010-11, 58 resulted in the weapon being discharged and causing non-fatal injury. This accounts for over half (53%) of all recorded offences in which a firearm was fired and caused injury.

Chart 3 How main firearm recorded was used in offences involving the alleged use of a firearm, Scotland, 2010-11

• The number of recorded offences in which a firearm was used to threaten increased by 14% between 2009-10 and 2010-11 (217 to 248 offences), whilst the number of 'other uses' decreased by 58% (97 to 41 offences). In more than two-thirds of offences that involved a pistol/revolver in 2010-11, the weapon was used to threaten (64 out of 91 offences).
• In 2010-11, a weapon was used to threaten in 95% of recorded robberies involving a firearm (83 out of 87 offences), reflecting the supposed nature of such crimes. In 64% of Firearms Act 1968 offences and 49% of 'other crimes and offences' involving a firearm, the weapon was used to threaten.

3.4 Location of firearm offence ( Table 9, Table 9AandChart 4)

• Of the 643 recorded offences involving a firearm in 2010-11, 217 occurred in a dwelling (34%), whilst 192 took place on a public highway (30%).
• 21 offences involving the alleged use of a firearm occurred in a school/college in 2010-11, increasing from the 16 reported cases in 2009-10.

Chart 4 Location of offences involving the alleged use of a firearm ¹, Scotland, 2010-11

3.5 Victim characteristics ( Table 10andTable 10A)

• Of the 111 main victims who were either fatally or non-fatally injured during an offence in which a firearm was alleged to have been discharged in 2010-11, 81 were male (73%) and 29 were female (26%). There was one reported offence involving the shooting of a police officer causing fatal or non-fatal injury.
• In 2010-11, 39 main victims were aged between 11-15 years old (35%) and 19 were aged 10 years or under (17%).

3.6 Clear-up rates ( Table 11)

• In 2010-11, 67% of all offences in which a firearm was alleged to have been involved were cleared up, an increase from 61% in 2009-10 and the highest clear-up rate recorded in the 10 year period covered by this bulletin (see Annex 5.3).
• The clear-up rate for attempted murders involving a firearm increased from 45% in 2009-10 to 54% in 2010-11, whilst the clear-up rate for serious and minor assaults rose from 53% to 75% and from 74% to 81% respectively.
• The clear-up rate for recorded robberies involving a firearm increased from 35% in 2009-10 to 48% in 2010-11. The clear-up rate for vandalism rose from 9% to 26% within the same time period. Due to the nature of this offence, clear-up rates for vandalism have historically been low.

3.7 Accused characteristics ( Table 12andTable 12A)

• The main accused was aged 15 years or under in 21% of cleared up offences involving the use of a firearm in 2010-11 (91 out of 434 offences). A further 21% of cleared up cases were committed by an accused aged 16-20 years (92 offences), with the remaining 251 offences having a main accused aged 21 years and over (58%).
• In 2010-11, where the main accused was aged 15 years or under, 37% of offences involved the use of an air weapon (34 out of 91 offences). An air weapon was also involved in 52% of offences committed by a main accused aged 16-20 years, falling to 35% where the main accused was aged 21 years and over.

3.8 Offences by police force area ( Table 13andTable 13A)

• Strathclyde police force area, which contained 43% of the estimated population of Scotland in 2010, accounted for 56% (359) of all offences in which a firearm was alleged to have been used in 2010-11 (see Annex 5.4.2).
• More specifically, 1 homicide; 11 attempted murders (85%); 10 serious assaults (83%), 68 robberies (78%) and 56 minor assaults (51%) in which a firearm was involved, took place in Strathclyde police force area in 2010-11.
• Of the 39 recorded offences of vandalism that involved a firearm in 2010-11, 41% took place in Lothian and Borders police force area (16 offences).

3.9 Stolen firearms ( Table 14)

• During 2010-11, Scottish police forces recorded 19 offences in which a firearm (other than an air weapon) was stolen, an increase from 18 offences in 2009-10.
• The number of offences in which a shotgun was stolen fell from 8 in 2009-10 to 6 in 2010-11. There were 10 reported offences of 'other firearms' being stolen in 2010-10, the same number as recorded in 2009-10.

3.10 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, decreased