Stricter gun controls have not resulted in lower gun crime

Below is a reply by the Home Office to a Freedom of Information Request by Graham Showell. The figures, which exclude air powered guns, illustrate a dramatic rise in the use of firearms in criminal activities.

"I asked for the statistics for gun crime from 1969 to 2009 from the Home Office, which are provided below.


The figures show a massive increase in firearms offences in the last 40 years.
There were 717 offences with guns recorded by police in 1969.
By 2006, that figure had increased to 11,088 crimes.


That's an increase of more than 1,446 percent in just 37 years."

Number of offences involving the use of a firearm recorded by the police, 1969 to 2009/10

Year -  Number of offences

1969 - 717
1970 - 687
1971 - 846
1972  - 795
1973  - 824
1974  - 969
1975  - 1361
1976  - 1,461
1977  - 1,631
1978  - 1,437
1979  - 1,481
1980  - 1,555
1981  - 2,438
1982  - 3,063
1983  - 2,487
1984  - 2,836
1985  - 3,362
1986  - 3,478
1987  - 3,830
1988  - 3,711
1989  - 4,465
1990  - 4,993
1991  - 6,665
1992  - 7,243
1993  - 7,730
1994  - 6,002
1995  - 5,866
1996  - 6,063
1997  - 4,904
1997/98  - 4,903
1998/99 - 5,209
1999/00  - 6,843
2000/01  - 7,471
2001/01  - 10,024
2002/03 - 10,248
2003/04  - 10,338
2004/05 - 11,069
2005/06  - 11,088
2006/07  - 9,645
2007/08  - 9,865
2008/09  - 8,200
2009/10  - 8,052

1967 - certificate required to own shotguns introduced

1982 - Imitation firearms considered 'readily convertible' brought under the scope of the   Firearms Act

1988 - Self-loading and pump action centre-fire rifles prohibited, shotguns limited to magazine capacity of 2 cartridges

1995 - specifications for deactivated firearms made more stringent

1997 - cartridge handguns prohibited, licencing procedures are made more stringent

2004 - Mandatory five year minimum sentence introduced for possession of prohibited firearms