Firearms

I would like to know the following:

1. The numbers of all incidents involving guns/firearms of any description whether they are real, replica, reactivated or air operated, for the Home Office reporting year 2008/2009.

2. Where the incidents involving guns/firearms of any description, whether they are real, replica, reactivated or air operated, took place in cities, towns, villages or if not known, by best known local indicator, in your force area. For the Home Office reporting year 2008/2009

3. The number of incidents involving guns/firearms of any description, whether they are real, replica, reactivated or air operated that took place in or close to schools (within a 100 metres) For the Home Office reporting year 2008/2009

4. The age of the perpetrators of the incidents involving guns/firearms of any description, whether they are real, replica, reactivated or air operated. For the Home Office reporting year 2008/2009

5. The number of arrests for possession of a gun of any description whether they are real, replica, reactivated or air operated, in your force area. For the Home Office reporting year 2008/2009.

In accordance with section 1(1) (b) of the Act our response is provided below;

1. Numbers of all incidents involving guns/firearms of any description for the Home Office reporting year 2008/2009 = 114

2. Where incidents involving guns/firearms took place during the 2008/2009 reporting year. Incidents recorded by Neighbourhood Policing Team areas as below:

FOI 2483 Firearms

3. The number of incidents involving guns/firearms that took place in or close to a school (within 100 metres) for the reporting year 2008/2009. We are not able to provide this information as the proximity of an incident location to a school is not routinely recorded. It would not be possible to map the location of incidents to a 100 metre distance of a school within the time limits allowed thereby exceeding the appropriate limit. The appropriate limit is defined in the Data Protection and Freedom of Information (Fees and Appropriate Limit) Regulations 2004, which is covered by statutory Instrument Number 3244 of 2004. Furthermore, Section 12 of the Freedom of Information Act 2000 allows a public authority to refuse to respond to a request for information where the cost of compliance would exceed the appropriate limit as defined by the above mentioned regulations.

4. The age of perpetrators of incidents involving guns/firearms for the reporting year 2008/2009. The ages of recorded offenders are shown in the table below (note some incidents involved more than one offender) -

FOI 2483 Firearms Question 4

There were 87 incidents where no offender details have been recorded.

5. The number of arrests for possession of a gun for the reporting year 2008/2009 = 102 (including some multiple arrests).