Available information relates to crimes recorded by the police in which firearms (excluding air weapons) were reported to have been fired or used as a blunt instrument resulting in fatal, serious and slight injury. Data for England and the Devon and Cornwall police force area, from 1997-98 up to and including 2008-09, are given in the table. Constituency and county level data are not collected centrally.
Full analysis of firearm offence statistics for 2008-09 was published in Home Office Statistical Bulletin 01/10 on 21 January 2010, available at:
http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk/rds/pdfs10/hosb0110.pdf
Injury type Fatal injury Serious2 injury Slight injury 1997-98 England 52 202 543 Devon and Cornwall 1 0 4 1998-993 England 50 158 649 Devon and Cornwall 1 1 23 1999-2000 England 62 199 925 Devon and Cornwall 1 2 21 2000-01 England 71 239 1,036 Devon and Cornwall 1 0 9 2001-024 England 94 391 1,370 Devon and Cornwall — 0 5 2002-035 England 78 414 1,627 Devon and Cornwall — 1 10 2003-04 England 68 432 1,813 Devon and Cornwall 2 0 22 2004-056 England 76 404 3,300 Devon and Cornwall 1 1 92 2005-06 England 48 473 3,206 Devon and Cornwall — 0 72 2006-07 England 56 405 2,450 Devon and Cornwall — 1 57 2007-08 England 53 398 2,703 Devon and Cornwall — 1 49 2008-09 England 39 320 1,367 Devon and Cornwall 1 4 20 1 Where firearms have been fired or used as a blunt instrument. 2 A serious injury is the one which necessitated detention in hospital or involved fractures, concussion, severe general shock, penetration by a bullet or multiple shot wounds. 3 There was a change in the counting rules for recorded crime on 1 April 1998. 4 Figures may have been inflated by some police forces implementing the principles of the National Crime Recording Standard before 1 April 2002. 5 The National Crime Recording Standard was introduced on 1 April 2002. Figures for some crime categories may have been inflated by this. 6 More explicit guidelines for the classification of weapons introduced on 1 April 2004 may have increased the recording of firearm offences, particularly those committed by imitation weapons.