Air Weapons – Legal or Illegal ?
Over the past year we have noted that the number of air weapon cases where the Defence have needed to instruct a Forensic Firearms Expert to carry out a scientific review of the evidence and conduct independent testing has increased.
Penalties for breaking the laws that govern air weapons can be severe and always fall within the jurisdiction of full firearms law.
To ensure all aspects with air weapon cases are interpreted and reported correctly it is crucial to instruct an expert of experience for the Defence to review the Prosecution’s case and also conduct testing.
The majority of air weapons in the UK are those that can be legally purchased/acquired by anyone over the age of 18 years. It is legal to possess an air rifle under 12ft/lbs energy and an air pistol under 6 ft/lbs energy with no Firearms certification required at time of purchase/possession or crucially ever thereafter.
At time of sale even a gunsmith does not under UK Law have to test the new or second hand air weapon to ensure it is not over 12ft/lbs or 6 ft/lbs; meaning an individual could unknowingly legally purchase an air weapon which is in fact illegal to own.
Criminal charges are applied to the possession of an air weapon where either a Force Armourer or testing laboratory have concluded that the air weapon is firing above the legal limit of 12ft/lbs or 6 ft/lbs as stated in the Firearms (Dangerous Air Weapons) Rules 1969. To determine this, an examiner measures the speed of a fired pellet at recorded weight/s using a Chronograph, which then calculates the kinetic energy from the figures produced.
However, there are several scientific arguments to counter these charges. For example what types and how many of each type of pellets were used, how many sets of results were produced, was an average result produced from all the sets of results, was a scientific margin of error taken into account, was the Chronograph calibrated, were correct procedures followed and so on.
Furthermore, when test results are not significantly over the legal limit, it is useful for a forensic firearms expert to state that a person firing the air weapon may not have recognised its power increase or to give another example, if an air weapon has not been used for a period of time its natural aging and conditions of storage may have caused it to fire at above 12ft/lbs.
The argument of lethality is also crucial to the Defence with criminal charges related to air weapons. There is no definition of lethality with UK Firearms Legislation, although experience with casework and examination of many weapons allows a firearms expert to provide a more realistic assessment of a weapons potential lethality.
Our firearms expert has years of unrivalled practical knowledge and expertise to assist your clients, should they be charged with possession of a Dangerous Air Weapon. He is also a very experienced expert witness who can be relied on to robustly defend your client’s case in a court of law, if required.
The area of forensic firearms examination requires very specialised skills and training. Therefore there are very few forensic scientists with the depth of expertise and knowledge to take on defence work in this area. Forensic Equity boasts the UKs leading firearms expert witness with experience of the widest possible range of weapons and ammunition involved in both civilian and military scenarios.