Handguns Are Back in Fashion in Scotland With Armed Robberies Rising

A 32 caliber handgun in Temecula, Calif., on March 27, 2021. (John Fredricks/The Epoch Times)

Armed robberies are on the rise in Scotland with criminals brandishing handguns—be they real or replica—with apparent impunity, according to the most recent figures.

The Times reported that the use of pistols and revolvers has gone up more than 100 percent to 95.

There were 39 armed robberies in the year 2019–2020, up 50 percent from five years before.

David Hamilton, chairman of the Scottish Police Federation, told The Times the increasing use of handguns was a “concerning development.”

“There aren’t enough armed officers available to deal with weapons calls as it stands and any further increases in handgun use doesn’t bear thinking about,” he added.

Homicides and attempted murders with firearms remain very low, with less than ten cases in a year but robberies with lethal guns are on the rise.

Last month three men were convicted of the murder of Graham Williamson, who was shot dead in the garden of his home in Blantyre, South Lanarkshire, on Aug. 17, 2020.

Glasgow and North Lanarkshire accounted for a third of all firearms offences, with 68 in one year.

There were 25 offences in Fife, a former coal mining region.

Detective Chief Superintendent Stuart Houston, Police Scotland’s head of organised crime and counter terrorism, said targeting those with firearms was their number one priority.

A Scottish government spokesman said: “The use of firearms in criminal activity continued to constitute only a small proportion of all offences.”

Last month Britain’s National Ballistics Intelligence Service (NABIS) held a national firearms surrender and hundreds of handguns, shotguns and rifles were handed in.

At the time NABIS’s forensic lead, Gregg Taylor, said the most commonly used guns in Britain were self-loading pistols (SLPs), either illegally imported from Europe or converted weapons.

Handguns have been illegal to possess in Britain since November 1997, when legislation was introduced following the March 1996 massacre of 16 primary school children in the Scottish town of Dunblane.

Last week Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced plans to impose a “national freeze” on the sale, transfer, or import of handguns, which led many Canadians to rush out and buy guns before they become illegal.