Policing and Crime Act: proposals to implement legislation to define antique firearms
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Detail of outcome
The Law Commission made a recommendation in its 2015 report to provide a statutory definition of ‘antique firearm’ to prevent criminals taking advantage of the lack of a definition to obtain old, but still functioning firearms for use in crime.
The Policing and Crime Act 2017 provides a power to define ‘antique firearm’ in regulations by reference to the type of cartridge it was designed to use, or by reference to its propulsion system.
The government’s response to this consultation confirms it will be laying regulations in Parliament that will define ‘antique firearm’ in law. Key features will be:
- specifying 1 September 1939 as the cut-off date of manufacture after which a firearm cannot be considered as antique
- 7 cartridges will be removed from the definition
- 23 cartridges will be added to the definition
A reference group will be established to monitor the latest developments in the criminal use of antique firearms and ensure that emerging threats are quickly identified so that appropriate action can be undertaken. This reference group will include representatives from:
- law enforcement
- the antique firearms trade
- museums
- collectors
Original consultation
Consultation description
In 2015 the Law Commission completed an independent review of firearms legislation which had been commissioned by the government. The report Firearms Law – Reforms to Address Pressing Problems identified a number of loopholes being abused by criminals and posing a risk to public safety, including the lack of a definition of the term ‘antique firearm’ in the Firearms Act 1968.
The Policing and Crime Act includes new provisions for the legal definition of an ‘antique firearm’ to close this loophole and strengthen the law through added clarity to aid compliance and law enforcement. The definition will cover firearms which are chambered to discharge obsolete cartridges (no longer readily available), their propulsion system, or both.
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Updates to this page
Published 19 October 2017Last updated 9 November 2020 + show all updates
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Final outcome has been published.
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First published.