Data on ‘misappropriated’ firearms (i.e. stolen, obtained by fraud or forgery etc., or handled dishonestly) for England and Wales are given from 1997 to 2006-07. Breakdowns of these weapons by police force area are not available centrally for years up to and including 2002-03; therefore force data levels are given only from 2003-04 to 2006-07.
Information on whether or not stolen firearms are subsequently recovered and returned to the owner is not collected centrally.
Weapon type 1997 1997-98 1998-99 1999-2000 2000-01 2001-02 2002-03 Shotguns 539 524 395 447 431 423 462 Rifles 193 155 179 200 172 139 129 Handguns 305 270 242 219 167 79 85
2003-04 2004-05 2005-06 2006-07 Force Shotguns Rifles Handguns Shotguns Rifles Handguns Shotguns Rifles Handguns Shotguns Rifles Handguns Avon and Somerset 31 4 1 11 7 0 11 1 0 2 4 6 Bedfordshire 0 2 1 6 12 19 1 2 0 2 1 0 Cambridgeshire 9 4 2 8 0 0 7 3 0 7 9 4 Cheshire 8 1 0 13 3 1 2 1 0 6 3 3 Cleveland 2 0 0 0 1 0 6 3 3 1 2 0 Cumbria 4 0 0 1 0 0 2 0 0 1 1 0 Derbyshire 4 0 2 35 1 0 7 1 1 7 11 4 Devon and Cornwall 4 4 0 30 7 2 11 1 11 7 8 29 Dorset 9 11 0 4 1 0 1 0 0 2 3 0 Durham 5 3 1 15 3 0 2 1 3 1 0 0 Essex 11 0 0 7 0 0 7 3 3 9 2 2 Gloucestershire 3 2 2 4 2 0 6 0 0 0 0 1 Gtr. Manchester 7 0 13 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 1 Hampshire 10 0 8 8 1 1 22 12 4 8 2 3 Hertfordshire 5 0 2 7 1 1 6 8 2 2 6 1 Humberside 19 23 0 4 12 1 3 5 4 11 20 6 Kent 16 11 3 23 1 6 2 23 0 16 9 2 Lancashire 8 1 2 7 4 1 14 2 1 2 1 3 Leicestershire 12 2 0 11 0 5 1 1 27 7 0 0 Lincolnshire 12 2 0 10 1 0 8 1 2 19 2 0 City of London 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 Merseyside 0 1 1 0 0 1 4 0 0 1 3 4 Metropolitan 10 11 8 11 0 2 15 11 12 19 22 9 Norfolk 23 0 0 12 5 0 6 4 1 10 2 0 Northamptonshire 21 0 8 24 0 1 11 0 0 6 1 0 Northumbria 2 2 1 0 1 2 7 6 1 14 10 1 North Yorkshire 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 9 1 1 Nottinghamshire 13 1 1 10 3 18 2 1 7 1 5 3 South Yorkshire 4 0 0 7 0 0 12 4 2 6 0 5 Staffordshire 9 3 2 12 6 0 3 3 5 5 25 4 Suffolk 15 2 0 6 1 0 4 0 0 8 5 3 Surrey 6 2 0 6 3 0 9 0 0 8 7 0 Sussex 5 2 7 17 5 4 7 0 0 8 15 2 Thames Valley 49 16 12 40 18 7 10 7 6 19 7 2 Warwickshire 18 0 0 10 3 2 9 7 0 12 6 1 West Mercia 11 12 10 15 15 0 4 24 11 13 11 1 West Midlands 11 2 1 9 12 1 8 2 1 5 2 0 West Yorkshire 6 1 0 7 2 3 9 2 0 15 3 0 Wiltshire 2 2 1 6 2 0 3 1 0 1 0 1 Dyfed Powys 3 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 0 Gwent 2 1 2 4 0 3 0 0 2 7 0 0 North Wales 8 0 5 0 6 0 1 7 0 4 0 0 South Wales 0 1 0 3 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Total 397 130 96 403 140 81 243 147 110 282 210 103 1 Misappropriated is defined as stolen, obtained by fraud or forgery etc., or handled dishonestly.