Section 2 Firearms Act 1968
Date Updated: January 2012
Title: Firearms
Offence: Possession of a shotgun without a certificate and failing to comply with the conditions of a shotgun certificate
Legislation: Section 2 Firearms Act 1968
Commencement Date:
Mode of Trial: TEW
Statutory Limitations & Maximum Penalty:
- Summary - 6 months/maximum fine
- On indictment - 5 years.
- Failure to comply with a condition of a certificate is triable only summarily - 6 months/level 5 fine
Aggravating and Mitigating Factors
R v Avis [1998] 1 Cr.App.R. 420, CA.
The sentencing court should usually ask itself four questions:
- What sort of weapon was involved? Genuine firearms were more dangerous than imitation firearms; loaded firearms were more dangerous than unloaded firearms. Unloaded firearms for which ammunition was available were more dangerous than firearms for which no ammunition was available. Possession of a firearm for which there was no lawful use (such as a sawn-off shotgun) would be viewed more seriously than possession of a firearm which was capable of lawful use.
- What use had been made of the firearm? It was necessary for the court to take account of all the circumstances surrounding the use of the firearm: the more prolonged and premeditated and violent the use, the more serious the offence was likely to be.
- With what intention (if any) did the defendant possess or use the firearm? The most serious offences under the Act required proof of a specific intent. The more serious the act intended, the more serious the offence.
- What was the defendant's record? The seriousness of any firearms offence was inevitably increased if the offender had an established record of committing firearms offences or crimes of violence.
Relevant Sentencing Case Law
R v O'Keefe 2000 WL 1629512
G plea to possession of a shotgun without a certificate. Police executed a search warrant at D's scrap metal premises and found a bolt action Winchester rifle together with 366 rounds of ammunition after further examination the rifle was subsequently deemed to be a shotgun. D said he found the firearm in the boot of the car that had been sent to his yard for scrap. Court substituted sentences of 21 months imprisonment for the shotgun to 15 months and for the ammunition 24 months imprisonment to 18 months
Ancillary Orders:
- Forfeiture orders
- Destruction orders
