UK Offence Report

Offence of taking in pawn air weapons

article 2(2) of The Air Weapons and Licensing (Scotland) Act 2015 (Consequential Provisions) Order 2017

This offence was read from the text as made, and no revised version was available, so a later revocation could not be ruled out. Check the current text at legislation.gov.uk.

What the provision says

2 In section 3 (business and other transactions with firearms and ammunition), after subsection (6) insert—

7 It is an offence for

a pawnbroker to take in pawn an air weapon within the meaning of section

1 of the Air Weapons and Licensing (Scotland) Act 2015.

Text as made, from legislation.gov.uk. © Crown copyright, reused under the Open Government Licence v3.0. This is the text as originally made; later amendments are not shown here.

Who it binds, and what has to be proved

Binds
a person
Conduct
breaching the provision
Fault element
Strict liability
Burden of proof
No statutory defence — prosecution proves everything

The prosecution must prove that the conduct happened. This is a strict liability offence as drafted: the provision uses no word of intention, knowledge, recklessness or negligence, so there is no need to show that a person meant to do it, knew about it, or was careless.

Intention, knowledge and carelessness are irrelevant to guilt. They may still matter a great deal to sentence.

The provision states no defence, so the prosecution bears the burden on every element of the offence.

Classifier’s reasoning: no word of intention, knowledge, recklessness or negligence in the offence or its provision.

What would breach article 2(2)?

These are illustrations, not law. They are generated from the provision’s own words to show the shape of the offence. Whether any particular conduct is caught depends on the full text, on any amendment since, and on the facts.

  1. On these words it is an offence to take in pawn an air weapon within the meaning of section 1 of the Air Weapons and Licensing (Scotland) Act 2015.
  2. Doing what the provision prohibits, or failing to do what it requires under the Air Weapons and Licensing (Scotland) Act 2015 (Consequential Provisions) Order 2017.

Penalty

Mode of trial
Not determined
Maximum fine
£1,000
Standard scale
Level 3
Maximum prison (summary)
Not determined

Sentencing

Offences of this kind are usually sentenced under the guidelines below. This is a mapping by subject, not a finding about this provision, and the links go to a search of the Sentencing Council’s own site.

Prosecution figures

No published per-offence figure was found for this provision, and it could not be matched to a Ministry of Justice offence code. Offences created by statutory instrument very largely do not have one. Absence of a figure is not evidence that the offence is unused.

Status and lifecycle

Current status
Status not determined
Made
20 March 2017
In force from
Not determined
Extent
E+W+S

How this was established: read from the text as made; no revised version available, so later revocation could not be ruled out.

What the instrument is for

(This note is not part of the Order) — the explanatory note published with the instrument, © Crown copyright.

This Order amends certain provisions of the Firearms Act 1968 (“the 1968 Act”) in consequence of the provisions in Part 1 of the Air Weapons and Licensing (Scotland) Act 2015 (“the 2015 Act”). Part 1 of the 2015 Act makes it an offence for a person to use, possess, purchase or acquire an air weapon without holding an air weapon certificate. It also makes it an offence to fail to comply with the restrictions placed on transactions involving air weapons (including the manufacture, sale, transfer, repair and testing of air weapons). These offences are subject to certain exemptions. Article 1 of the Order makes provision as to citation, commencement and extent. Article 2 of the Order amends section 3 of the 1968 Act to make it an offence in Scotland for a pawnbroker to take in pawn an air weapon. It also amends Part 1 of Schedule 6 to the 1968 Act so that the maximum penalty for this offence, on summary conviction, is 3 months’ imprisonment and/or a fine of level 3 on the standard scale. Article 3 of the Order amends section 52 of the 1968 Act. Section 52 allows a court, in certain circumstances, to order the forfeiture or disposal of any firearm or ammunition found in the possession of a person convicted before it, and to cancel any firearm certificate or shot gun certificate that the person holds. Article 3 extends the power in section 52 of the 1968 Act to provide that— a a court in England and Wales may also cancel any air weapon certificate granted to the person under section 5 of the 2015 Act; and b where a court in Scotland convicts a person of an air weapon offence under the 2015 Act, it may (in addition to its powers under sections 28 and 29 of that Act) order the forfeiture or disposal of any firearm (other than an air weapon) or ammunition found in the person’s possession. A full regulatory impact assessment has not been produced for this instrument as no, or no significant impact on the private or voluntary sectors is foreseen.

Read the full note and every offence in this instrument

How this was identified as an offence

Everything above rests on the judgement that this provision creates a criminal offence, rather than mentioning one. That judgement is made by rule, from the words of the provision, and this is the rule that made it — with a confidence of 0.90.

Basis
the provision says “it is an offence”; the provision says an offence is committed “if” something happens
Confidence
0.90 of 1.00

A provision that states a penalty for an offence created elsewhere can read very like one that creates an offence, and the rules can mistake the one for the other. If the text quoted above sets a penalty for something made an offence by another provision, treat the classification on this page with that in mind, and read the instrument.

Check the source