Select Committee on Home Affairs Minutes of Evidence



G. Crossbows

Crossbows are not "firearms" for legal purposes. Setting aside those rare types of crossbow that possess a barrel, they are not therefore subject to the Firearms Acts 1968-97 but are controlled under separate legislation.

WHAT IS A CROSSBOW?

A crossbow is a form of bow in which the bow-stave (prod) is fixed crosswise to a stock. The bow can then be spanned back by hand or by means of a lever or windlass, and the string held in place by a catch that is released by a trigger to shoot an arrow, bolt or quarrel. The crossbow was used in hunting and warfare in medieval times, being slower to reload than a longbow but requiring less strength to draw. Traditionally they were popular on the Continent, the English favouring the longbow. Crossbows fell into disuse for these purposes during the Sixteenth Century with the development of muzzle-loading firearms, but in recent decades they have been revived for target shooting purposes.

LEGISLATION

The main legislation in this area is the Crossbows Act 1987. This applies to those crossbows with a draw weight of 1.4 kilograms or greater. It makes it an offence to sell or hire such a crossbow to any young person under the age of 17, both for buyer and seller, and prohibits any young person under 17 from possessing a crossbow or its components unless supervised by someone aged 21 or over.

Crossbows may also be considered potentially "offensive weapons" for the purposes of section 1 of the Prevention of Crime Act 1953. This makes it an offence to possess any offensive weapon in a public place without lawful authority or reasonable excuse, proof whereof lies on the individual. An offensive weapon is defined as any article made or adapted for causing injury to the person. While a target crossbow may not be an offensive weapon as such, people found in possession of a crossbow in a public place might be charged on the same basis as if they had a knife, club or other similar weapon with them.

LEGITIMATE USES

There are no official statistics on the number of crossbows in lawful circulation in the UK. The vast majority are used lawfully and safely for target shooting purposes. Hunting animals with any sort of bow in the UK is unlawful.

CRIMINAL MISUSE

Anecdotally, it is apparent that crossbows have been used for poaching and to injure wildlife, and occasionally in other crime. Figures for this misuse are not collected centrally, but levels of misuse are thought to be low and not to have risen in recent years.

CONCLUSIONS

As with other provisions dealing with offensive weapons, the Government continues to keep this area under review. However, the Government is not aware of any evidence that the misuse of crossbows is either a substantial or a growing problem. On this basis the Government has no current plans to change the law in this area.

October 1999


ANNEX A

Shotgun and Air weapon offences by force, 1995-1998

 
Total offences
  
Per 100,000 population
 
 
Shotguns
Air weapons
Average no. shotguns covered by certificates
Urban/Rural Ranking
Shotguns
Air weapons
Shotgun offences per 100,000 shotguns covered by certificates
Dyfed Powys 3315136,699 106.9 31.589.9
North Wales 24 385 28,399 29 3.7 58.6 84.5
Lincolnshire 20 302 32,391 33 3.2 48.5 61.7
North Yorkshire 28 382 38,147 35 3.8 51.5 73.4
Group 1—Most rural 1051,220 135,636 4.2 48.877.4
Suffolk 11 122 40,348 40 1.6 18.2 27.3
Cumbria 7 189 21,763 41 1.4 38.3 32.2
Devon and Cornwall 22 298 77,969 42 1.4 19.1 28.2
Norfolk 20 120 55,304 42 2.5 15.2 36 2
Wiltshire 10 143 27,289 42 1.7 23.6 36.6
Cambridgeshire 61 334 31,976 46 8.5 46.4 190.8
Gloucestershire 21 289 26,330 50 3.8 51.9 79.8
Durham 24 248 13,510 52 3.9 40.8 177.6
West Mercia 50 289 65,218 53 4.4 25.4 76.7
Group 2 226 2,032 359,707  3.2 28.5 62.8
Northamptonshire 34 478 19,348 61 5.5 77.6 175.7
Avon and Somerset 48 707 47,378 65 3.2 47.5 101.3
Derbyshire 54 921 29,136 65 5.6 94.9 185.3
Gwent 23 422 14,653 65 4.1 75.7 157.0
Leicestershire 37 291 25,119 65 4.0 31.3 147.3
Thames Valley 90 1,027 71,367 65 4.3 48.9 126.1
Warwickshire 13 248 20,282 65 2.6 48.9 64.1
Bedfordshire 55 278 14,127 66 9.9 49.9 389.3
Dorset 20 200 24,991 67 2.9 28.9 80.0
Humberside 58 1,956 24,285 67 6.6 221.5 238.8
Essex 66 914 45,542 68 4.3 59.6 144.9
Hampshire 28 444 47,025 68 1.6 25.1 59.5
Sussex 57 506 47,400 68 3.8 33.8 120.3
Group 3 583 8,392 430,653  4.1 59.5 135.4
Kent 119 1,052 45,793 70 7.6 66.8 259.9
Cheshire 15 263 28,544 72 1.5 26.7 52.6
Staffordshire 33 764 31,565 72 3.1 72.0 104.5
Surrey 25 149 24,390 74 3.2 18.9 102.5
South Wales 40 1,189 21,627 76 3.2 95.9 185.0
Nottinghamshire 77 1,526 23,442 77 7.5 147.9 328.5
Lancashire 47 441 27,712 79 3.3 30.9 169.6
South Yorkshire 95 1,284 16,404 79 7.3 98.5 579.1
West Yorkshire 162 3,193 24,065 80 7.7 151.1 673.2
Hertfordshire 26 55 21,809 81 3.0 6.3 119.2
Northumbria 165 966 19,817 81 11.6 67.8 832.6
Cleveland 29 653 5,212 83 5.2 117.4 556.4
Group 4 833 11,535 290,380  5.8 80.2 286.9
Greater Manchester 343 1,365 21,435 97 13.3 53.0 1,600.2
Merseyside 122 2,098 8,413 97 8.7 148.9 1,450.1
City of London 1 2 59 99 19.2 38.4 1,694.9
Metropolitan Police 696 3,194 62,600 99 9.1 41.6 1,111.8
West Midlands 227 1,670 20,840 99 8.6 63.5 1,089.3
Group 5—Most urban 1,389 8,329 113,347  9.7 58.2 1225.4


 
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Prepared 12 January 2000