Scotland. 2015 ‘Firearm and Shotgun Certificates, 2014 and 2015.’ Firearm Certificate Statistics Scotland 2014-15, pp. 1-8. Edinburgh: Scottish Government. 25 November

Relevant contents

Firearm and Shotgun Certificates

There were 26,112 Firearm Certificates on issue as at 1 April 2015. This is practically unchanged compared to the 26,101 Firearm Certificates on issue as at the end of March 2014. The number of individuals who hold a Firearm Certificate has remained broadly stable since 2006.

There were 48,941 Shot Gun Certificates on issue as at 1 April 2015. This is slightly lower (down 0.5%) than the 49,165 Shot Gun Certificates on issue as at the end of March 2014. The number of individuals who hold a Shot Gun Certificate has reduced by 1,033 (or 2.1%) since 2006

Definitions

Within the definition of the Firearms Act 1968 (as amended), a 'firearm' means a lethal barrelled weapon of any description from which any shot, bullet or other missile can be discharged. It includes any prohibited weapon, any component part of such a weapon and any accessory to such a weapon designed or adapted to diminish the noise or flash caused by the firing of the weapon.

It is, with certain statutory exceptions, an offence to possess, purchase, or acquire any firearm or ammunition to which Section 1 of the Firearms Act 1968 applies without holding a Firearm Certificate. Section 1 of the 1968 Act applies to all firearms except a shotgun or an air gun.

A 'shotgun' is defined as a smooth-bore gun (not being an air gun) which:
1) has a barrel not less than 24 inches in length and does not have any barrel with a bore exceeding two inches in diameter;
2) either has no magazine or has a non-detachable magazine incapable of holding more than two cartridges; and
3) is not a revolver gun. Other smooth-bore guns may require a Firearm Certificate.

It is, with certain statutory exceptions, an offence for a person to possess, purchase, or acquire any shotgun without holding a Shot Gun Certificate.

Data Quality Statement

This is the first year that statistics from the SHOGUN system have been used to generate firearm information for the Scottish Government. The quality of the data provided by the new system is an improvement on previous practice and can be considered to produce exact counts of Firearm Certificates, Shot Gun Certificates, and items on these certificates.

SHOGUN is a live operational system, and so, on any given day, new applications, renewals, variations or cancellations are at different stages of being processed through the system. The total number of firearm and Shot Gun Certificates on issue, as presented within this bulletin and accompanying tables, are accurate as at the date on which data were extracted from the SHOGUN system.

Last accessed at:
https://www.gov.scot/publications/firearm-certificate-statistics-scotland-2014-15/pages/3/