Firearms (Amendment) Act 1988

Specially dangerous weapons

Prohibited weapons and ammunition

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• (1) Section 5 of the Firearms Act 1968 (in this Act referred to as “the principal Act”) shall have effect with the following amendments the purpose of which is to extend the class of prohibited weapons and ammunition, that is to say weapons and ammunition the possession, purchase, acquisition, manufacture, sale or transfer of which requires the authority of the Secretary of State.

• (2) For paragraph (a) of subsection (1) there shall be substituted—

(a) any firearm which is so designed or adapted that two or more missiles can be successively discharged without repeated pressure on the trigger; (ab) any self-loading or pump-action rifle other than one which is chambered for .22 rim-fire cartridges; (ac) any self-loading or pump-action smooth-bore gun which is not chambered for .22 rim-fire cartridges and either has a barrel less than 24 inches in length or (excluding any detachable, folding, retractable or other movable butt-stock) is less than 40 inches in length overall; (ad) any smooth-bore revolver gun other than one which is chambered for 9mm. rim-fire cartridges or loaded at the muzzle end of each chamber; (ae) any rocket launcher, or any mortar, for projecting a stabilised missile, other than a launcher or mortar designed for line-throwing or pyrotechnic purposes or as signalling apparatus;

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• (3) For paragraph (c) of subsection (1) there shall be substituted—

(c) any cartridge with a bullet designed to explode on or immediately before impact, any ammunition containing or designed or adapted to contain any such noxious thing as is mentioned in paragraph (b) above and, if capable of being used with a firearm of any description, any grenade, bomb (or other like missile), or rocket or shell designed to explode as aforesaid.

• (4) If it appears to the Secretary of State that the provisions of the principal Act relating to prohibited weapons or ammunition should apply to—

• (a) any firearm (not being an air weapon) which is not for the time being specified in subsection (1) of section 5, was not lawfully on sale in Great Britain in substantial numbers at any time before 1988 and appears to him to be—

• (i) specially dangerous; or

• (ii) wholly or partly composed of material making it not readily detectable by apparatus used for detecting metal objects; ...

• (b) any ammunition which is not for the time being specified in that subsection but appears to him to be specially dangerous; or

• (c) any air rifle, air gun or air pistol which is not for the time being specified in that subsection but appears to him to be specially dangerous,

he may by order add it to the weapons or ammunition specified in that subsection whether by altering the description of any weapon or ammunition for the time being there specified or otherwise.

• (4A) An order under subsection (4)—

• (a) may provide for a provision of the principal Act to apply with or without modification or exception in relation to anything added to subsection (1) of section 5 by the order,

• (b) may impose conditions in respect of any application, modification or exception provided for by the order (which may, in particular, include provision requiring a person to obtain a certificate in accordance with an enactment referred to or applied by the order),

• (bb) may amend paragraph 1 of Schedule 20 to the Sentencing Code (offenders under 18 convicted of certain serious offences: power to detain for specified period) so as to include a reference to any provision added by the order to section 5(1) of the principal Act,

• (bc) may amend section 50(5A)(a), 68(4A)(a) or 170(4A)(a) of the Customs and Excise Management Act 1979 (offences relating to improper importation or exportation) so as to include a reference to anything added by the order to section 5(1) of the principal Act,

• (c) may make provision generally or by reference to a particular purpose or circumstance,

• (d) may confer a function on the Secretary of State or another specified person, and

• (e) may make transitional, consequential or incidental provision.

• (4B) An order under subsection (4) which, by virtue of subsection (4A)(bb), amends paragraph 1 of Schedule 20 to the Sentencing Code may also—

• (a) provide for section 311 to apply with modifications or exceptions, or

• (b) provide for section 249 not to apply,

in relation to any provision added by the order to section 5(1) of the principal Act.

• (5) The power to make an order under subsection (4) above shall be exercisable by statutory instrument and no such order shall be made unless a draft of it has been laid before and approved by a resolution of each House of Parliament.

Weapons requiring firearm certificate

Re-definition of exempted shot guns

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• (1) Section 1 of the principal Act shall have effect with the following amendments the purpose of which is to require a firearm certificate for certain types of shot gun.

• (2) For paragraph (a) of subsection (3) (which exempts shot guns with barrels not less than 24 inches in length) there shall be substituted—

(a) a shot gun within the meaning of this Act, that is to say a smooth-bore gun (not being an air gun) which— (i) has a barrel not less than 24 inches in length and does not have any barrel with a bore exceeding 2 inches in diameter; (ii) either has no magazine or has a non-detachable magazine incapable of holding more than two cartridges; and (iii) is not a revolver gun; and

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• (3) After subsection (3) there shall be inserted—

(3A) A gun which has been adapted to have such a magazine as is mentioned in subsection (3)(a)(ii) above shall not be regarded as falling within that provision unless the magazine bears a mark approved by the Secretary of State for denoting that fact and that mark has been made, and the adaptation has been certified in writing as having been carried out in a manner approved by him, either by one of the two companies mentioned in section 58(1) of this Act or by such other person as may be approved by him for that purpose.

Shot guns

Grant and renewal of shot gun certificates

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• (1) For section 28(1) of the principal Act (criteria for grant of shot gun certificates) there shall be substituted—

(1) Subject to subsection (1A) below, a shot gun certificate shall be granted or, as the case may be, renewed by the chief officer of police if he is satisfied that the applicant can be permitted to possess a shot gun without danger to the public safety or to the peace. (1A) No such certificate shall be granted or renewed if the chief officer of police— (a) has reason to believe that the applicant is prohibited by this Act from possessing a shot gun; or (b) is satisfied that the applicant does not have a good reason for possessing, purchasing or acquiring one. (1B) For the purposes of paragraph (b) of subsection (1A) above an applicant shall, in particular, be regarded as having a good reason if the gun is intended to be used for sporting or competition purposes or for shooting vermin; and an application shall not be refused by virtue of that paragraph merely because the applicant intends neither to use the gun himself nor to lend it for anyone else to use.

• (2) After section 28(2) of the principal Act (form and contents of shot gun certificates) there shall be inserted—

(2A) A shot gun certificate shall specify the description of the shot guns to which it relates including, if known, the identification numbers of the guns.

Transfers of shot guns

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Restriction on sale of ammunition for smooth-bore guns

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• (1) This section applies to ammunition to which section 1 of the principal Act does not apply and which is capable of being used in a shot gun or in a smooth-bore gun to which that section applies.

• (2) It is an offence for a person to sell any such ammunition to another person in the United Kingdom who is neither a registered firearms dealer nor a person who sells such ammunition by way of trade or business unless that other person—

• (a) produces a certificate authorising him to possess a gun of a kind mentioned in subsection (1) above; or

• (b) shows that he is by virtue of that Act or this Act entitled to have possession of such a gun without holding a certificate; or

• (c) produces a certificate authorising another person to possess such a gun, together with that person’s written authority to purchase the ammunition on his behalf.

• (3) An offence under this section shall be punishable on summary conviction with imprisonment for a term not exceeding six months or a fine not exceeding level 5 on the standard scale or both.

Converted and de-activated weapons

Shortening of barrels

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• (1) Subject to subsection (2) below, it is an offence to shorten to a length less than 24 inches the barrel of any smooth-bore gun to which section 1 of the principal Act applies other than one which has a barrel with a bore exceeding 2 inches in diameter; and that offence shall be punishable—

• (a) on summary conviction, with imprisonment for a term not exceeding six months or a fine not exceeding the statutory maximum or both;

• (b) on indictment, with imprisonment for a term not exceeding five years or a fine or both.

• (2) It is not an offence under this section for a registered firearms dealer to shorten the barrel of a gun for the sole purpose of replacing a defective part of the barrel so as to produce a barrel not less than 24 inches in length.

Conversion not to affect classification

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• (1) Any weapon which—

• (a) has at any time (whether before or after the passing of the Firearms (Amendment) Act 1997) been a weapon of a kind described in section 5(1) or (1A) of the principal Act (including any amendments to section 5(1) made under section 1(4) of this Act);

• (b) is not a self-loading or pump-action smooth-bore gun which has at any such time been such a weapon by reason only of having had a barrel less than 24 inches in length,

shall be treated as a prohibited weapon notwithstanding anything done for the purpose of converting it into a weapon of a different kind.

• (2) Any weapon which—

• (a) has at any time since the coming into force of section 2 above been a weapon to which section 1 of the principal Act applies; or

• (b) would at any previous time have been such a weapon if those sections had then been in force,

shall, if it has, or at any time has had, a rifled barrel less than 24 inches in length, be treated as a weapon to which section 1 of the principal Act applies notwithstanding anything done for the purpose of converting it into a shot gun or an air weapon.

• (3) For the purposes of subsection (2) above there shall be disregarded the shortening of a barrel by a registered firearms dealer for the sole purpose of replacing part of it so as to produce a barrel not less than 24 inches in length.

De-activated weapons

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For the purposes of the principal Act and this Act it shall be presumed, unless the contrary is shown, that a firearm has been rendered incapable of discharging any shot, bullet or other missile, and has consequently ceased to be a firearm within the meaning of those Acts, if—

• (a) it bears a mark which has been approved by the Secretary of State for denoting that fact and which has been made either by one of the two companies mentioned in section 58(1) of the principal Act or by such other person as may be approved by the Secretary of State for the purposes of this section; and

• (b) that company or person has certified in writing that work has been carried out on the firearm in a manner approved by the Secretary of State for rendering it incapable of discharging any shot, bullet or other missile.

Firearm and shot gun certificates

Photographs on certificates

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. . . The power conferred by sections 27(2) and 28(2) of that Act to prescribe the form of a firearm or shot gun certificate shall include power to require the certificate to bear a photograph of the holder.

Statements in support of applications for certificates

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Grant of co-terminous certificates

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• (1) Where a person who holds a firearm certificate applies for the grant or renewal of a shot gun certificate that certificate may, if he so requests, be granted or renewed for such period less than that specified in subsection (1), or in an order made under subsection (3) of section 28A of the principal Act as will secure that it ceases to be in force at the same time as the firearm certificate.

• (2) Where a person who holds a shot gun certificate, or both such a certificate and a firearm certificate, applies for the grant of a firearm certificate, or for the renewal of the firearm certificate held by him, he may, on surrendering his shot gun certificate, apply for a new shot gun certificate to take effect on the same day as that on which the firearm certificate is granted or renewed.

• (3) The following fees shall be payable in the following cases—

• (a) where a shot gun certificate is granted to a person and on the same occasion the person is granted a firearm certificate, the fee payable on the grant of the shot gun certificate shall be £4 instead of that specified in section 32 of the principal Act;

• (b) where a shot gun certificate is granted to a person and on the same occasion a firearm certificate held by the person is renewed, the fee payable on the grant of the shot gun certificate shall be £71 instead of that specified in section 32 of the principal Act;

• (c) where a shot gun certificate held by a person is renewed and on the same occasion the person is granted a firearm certificate, the fee payable on the renewal of the shot gun certificate shall be £4 instead of that specified in section 32 of the principal Act;

• (d) where a shot gun certificate held by a person is renewed and on the same occasion a firearm certificate held by the person is renewed, the fee payable on the renewal of the shot gun certificate shall be £24 instead of that specified in section 32 of the principal Act.

• (4) Subsection (3) above shall be included in the provisions that may be amended by an order under section 43 of the principal Act.

Revocation of certificates

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• (1) Where a certificate is revoked by the chief officer of police under section 30A(2), (3) or (4) or 30C of the principal Act he may by notice in writing require the holder of the certificate to surrender forthwith the certificate and any firearms and ammunition which are in the holder’s possession by virtue of the certificate.

• (2) It is an offence to fail to comply with a notice under subsection (1) above; and that offence shall be punishable on summary conviction with imprisonment for a term not exceeding three months or a fine not exceeding level 4 on the standard scale or both.

• (3) Where a firearm or ammunition is surrendered in pursuance of a notice under subsection (1) above, then—

• (a) if an appeal against the revocation of the certificate succeeds, the firearm or ammunition shall be returned;

• (b) if such an appeal is dismissed, the court may make such order for the disposal of the firearm or ammunition as it thinks fit;

• (c) if no such appeal is brought or such an appeal is abandoned, the firearm or ammunition shall be disposed of—

• (i) in such manner as the chief officer of police and the owner may agree; or

• (ii) in default of agreement, in such manner as the chief officer may decide;

but subject, in a case within sub-paragraph (ii), to the provisions of subsection (4) below.

• (4) The chief officer of police shall give the owner notice in writing of any decision under subsection (3)(c)(ii) above, the owner may appeal against that decision in accordance with section 44 of the principal Act and on such an appeal the court may either dismiss the appeal or make such order as to the disposal of the firearm or ammunition as it thinks fit.

• (5) . . .; and paragraph 1 of Part I and paragraphs 1 to 5 of Part II of Schedule 5 to that Act (appeal jurisdiction and procedure) shall apply to an appeal under subsection (4) above as they apply to an appeal against the revocation of a certificate.

Firearms dealers and other businesses

Firearms dealers

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• (1) In section 33(5) of the principal Act (annual renewal of dealer’s registration certificate) for the words “on or before 1st June in each year” there shall be substituted the words “on or before the expiration of the period of three years from the grant of the certificate of registration for the time being held by him”.

• (2) In section 34 of that Act (grounds for refusal of registration) after subsection (1) there shall be inserted—

(1A) The chief officer of police may refuse to register an applicant unless he is satisfied that the applicant will engage in business as a firearms dealer to a substantial extent or as an essential part of another trade, business or profession.

• (3) In section 38(8) of that Act (dealer to surrender his certificate of registration on being removed from the register) after the words “surrender his certificate of registration” there shall be inserted the words “and the register of transactions kept by him under section 40 of this Act”.

• (4) After section 40(3) of that Act (entry of transactions in the register) there shall be inserted—

(3A) Every person keeping a register in accordance with this section shall (unless required to surrender the register under section 38(8) of this Act) keep it for such a period that each entry made after the coming into force of this subsection will be available for inspection for at least five years from the date on which it was made.

• (5) In the Table in Part I of Schedule 6 to that Act (punishments for offences) in the second column of the entry relating to section 38(8), after the words “certificate of registration” there shall (in consequence of subsection (3) above) be inserted the words “or register of transactions”.

Auctioneers, carriers and warehousemen

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• (1) It is an offence for an auctioneer, carrier or warehouseman—

• (a) to fail to take reasonable precautions for the safe custody of any firearm or ammunition which, by virtue of section 9(1) of the principal Act, he or any servant of his has in his possession without holding a certificate; or