Data from HMRC for the number of illegal weapons including handguns seized by HM Customs and Excise for the years 1997 to 2003 in England and Wales can be found in the following table.
For the years 2004-05, please refer to the following website link:
http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/about/reports.htm
Figures for the number of firearms seized by police forces are not collected centrally.
Data from the court proceedings database held by the Office for Criminal Justice Reform on the number of convictions for possession of a firearm, by police force area 1997 to 2004, can be found in the following table.
Data held by the court proceedings database is unable to identify separately the type of firearm possession.
Data for 2005 will be available in mid November.
Year ended 31 March Hand guns Rifles Shotguns Self defence sprays Stun guns Total 1997 264 268 32 3,452 120 4,136 1998 333 174 362 4,248 344 5,461 1999 83 106 51 2,343 106 2,689 2000 417 95 129 1,169 101 1,911 2001 163 48 44 2,428 114 2,797 2002 304 111 219 1,237 144 2,015 2003 126 102 36 866 255 1,385
Police force area 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 Avon and Somerset 70 60 35 38 57 38 47 44 Bedfordshire 18 14 7 10 13 22 15 20 Cambridgeshire 21 31 28 19 11 17 22 11 Cheshire 31 18 20 32 21 19 17 23 City of London 2 4 1 1 3 5 3 5 Cleveland 27 20 15 18 15 16 19 23 Cumbria 16 27 17 20 22 13 21 25 Derbyshire 36 24 51 40 33 30 27 54 Devon and Cornwall 54 44 50 30 38 37 39 39 Dorset 12 17 16 19 16 16 18 22 Durham 35 38 29 31 18 16 24 32 Essex 61 62 40 43 29 39 44 47 Gloucestershire 28 28 10 16 17 20 16 20 Greater Manchester 131 153 143 132 153 133 135 176 Hampshire 66 45 48 40 35 53 51 53 Hertfordshire 24 21 16 31 26 15 21 25 Humberside 28 36 27 23 31 34 32 46 Kent 42 66 52 45 53 48 50 51 Lancashire 64 61 38 52 37 40 41 52 Leicestershire 37 50 33 55 47 26 42 35 Lincolnshire 23 31 21 29 29 22 16 32 Merseyside 53 56 41 32 44 52 50 77 Metropolitan police 388 391 337 290 349 431 485 386 Norfolk 30 30 25 18 18 26 12 31 North Yorkshire 46 55 28 29 27 12 18 16 Northamptonshire 15 14 25 19 12 13 10 19 Northumbria 99 84 103 88 123 78 91 95 Nottinghamshire 40 65 39 44 39 44 63 44 South Yorkshire 55 58 69 58 45 64 61 88 Staffordshire 30 39 22 4— 36 40 36 26 Suffolk 19 11 18 18 18 15 25 34 Surrey 10 12 8 15 18 18 17 19 Sussex 34 26 26 23 30 21 30 35 Thames Valley 64 60 57 27 34 45 39 44 Warwickshire 21 14 14 11 17 12 10 15 West Mercia 35 26 30 16 38 31 25 32 West Midlands 149 144 139 135 139 148 152 132 West Yorkshire 97 115 94 74 66 79 70 119 Wiltshire 5 13 19 15 19 20 13 13 Dyfed-Powys 33 24 18 19 14 19 27 20 Gwent 14 22 12 28 18 17 24 26 North Wales 35 27 19 21 12 14 18 27 South Wales 51 44 60 49 49 34 56 46 Total 2,149 2,180 1,900 1,753 1,869 1,892 2,032 2,179 1 Includes the following: Using firearms or imitation firearms to resist arrest. Possessing firearms or imitation fire arm at time of committing or being arrested for an offence specified in schedule 1 of the Act. Possession of a firearm or imitation firearm with intent to cause fear of violence. Possession of a firearm or imitation firearm with intent to cause fear of violence. Possession of offensive weapons without lawful authority or reasonable excuse on school premises. Possessing etc firearm or ammunition without firearm certificate. Possessing etc shot gun without certificate. Possessing or distributing prohibited weapons or ammunition. Carrying loaded firearm in public place etc. Possession of firearms by persons previously convicted of crime. Possession of firearms by persons previously convicted of crime. Possession of firearms by persons previously convicted of crime. Carrying loaded firearm in public place etc. Person under 17 having with him an air weapon in a public place. 2 These data are on the principal offence basis. 3 Every effort is made to ensure that the figures presented are accurate and complete. However, it is important to note that these data have been extracted from large administrative data systems generated by the police forces and courts. As a consequence, care should be taken to ensure data collection processes and their inevitable limitations are taken into account when those data are used. 4 Staffordshire police force were only able to submit sample data for persons proceeded against and convicted in the magistrates courts for the year 2000. Although sufficient to estimate higher orders of data, these data are not robust enough at a detailed level and have been excluded from the table. Source: RDS-Office for Criminal Justice Reform. Our Reference: PQ 224-06