Firearms

Crimes involving firearms remain relatively rare in the UK. Fear of gun crime by the public is, relatively speaking, much higher than for other types of violent crime and some communities in the UK perceive that they have become stigmatised as “gun culture hotspots”.  

Home Office crime figures for 2008/09 show there were 8,208 recorded firearms offences in England and Wales, a 17% decrease on 2007/08. 

Around 60% of recorded gun crime in England and Wales takes place in three police force areas: London (the Metropolitan Police District), Greater Manchester and the West Midlands. 

It’s linked predominantly to street gangs. That said, organised criminals at all levels are unlikely to have difficulty in acquiring a firearm.  Organised criminals use firearms to intimidate, recover debts and enforce discipline. They are more likely to threaten to use firearms against other criminals than the general public. 

Criminals use handguns because they can conceal them and use them in close-quarter contact crimes. They use automatic weapons as a status symbol and for inter-gang disputes. 

Other types of firearm 

Around 8,000-9,000 guns are deactivated in the UK each year. They pose a threat as they are legally available and may easily be mistaken for conventional firearms.  

Converted firearms constitute approximately half of all lethal-barrelled weapons recovered by the police in England and Wales.  They are easier to acquire and cheaper than real guns and therefore more attractive to criminals.