Question
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many people have been killed in England and Wales in each year since 1990 by the use of (a) a knife, (b) a gun and (c) another weapon.
Answer
The available information relates to offences currently recorded as homicide that were caused by (a) a sharp instrument, which includes other sharp instruments as well as knives, (b) shooting, which includes crossbows as well as guns, and (c) all other methods.Data on apparent method of killing are released annually in a Supplementary Volume to the ‘Crime in England and Wales’ publication. Information for the period 1990 to 2004-05 are given in the following tables.
| Offences currently¹ recorded as homicide by apparent method of killing and sex of victim: England and Wales, 1990 to 2004-05² | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Number | ||||||||
| Apparent method | 1990 | 1991 | 1992 | 1993 | 1994 | 1995 | 1996 | 1997 |
| Sharp instrument | 178 | 217 | 218 | 182 | 231 | 243 | 197 | 200 |
| Blunt instrument | 74 | 62 | 50 | 66 | 55 | 78 | 68 | 71 |
| Hitting, kicking, etc. | 94 | 116 | 117 | 97 | 94 | 106 | 81 | 99 |
| Strangulation³ | 81 | 94 | 79 | 89 | 104 | 83 | 77 | 64 |
| Shooting4 | 59 | 50 | 52 | 71 | 63 | 66 | 47 | 58 |
| Explosion | 2 | 1 | 4 | 3 | — | 1 | 2 | 1 |
| Burning | 28 | 33 | 21 | 14 | 39 | 33 | 24 | 29 |
| Drowning5 | 4 | 8 | 14 | 6 | 13 | 3 | 9 | 7 |
| Poison or drugs6 | 9 | 19 | 11 | 9 | 17 | 16 | 28 | 17 |
| Motor vehicle7 | 12 | 13 | 9 | 9 | 5 | 6 | 2 | 12 |
| Other | 7 | 8 | 4 | 14 | 4 | 19 | 44 | 37 |
| Not known | 7 | 2 | 2 | 5 | 7 | 9 | 6 | 14 |
| Total | 555 | 623 | 581 | 565 | 632 | 663 | 585 | 609 |
| Number | ||||||||
| Apparent method | 1997-98 | 1998-99 | 1999-2000 | 2000-01 | 2001-02 | 2002-03 | 2003-04 | 2004-05 |
| Sharp instrument | 202 | 201 | 212 | 214 | 261 | 266 | 234 | 236 |
| Blunt instrument | 68 | 65 | 70 | 76 | 60 | 47 | 68 | 61 |
| Hitting, kicking, etc. | 103 | 89 | 94 | 102 | 146 | 147 | 133 | 124 |
| Strangulation³ | 61 | 78 | 56 | 148 | 77 | 64 | 67 | 60 |
| Shooting4 | 52 | 46 | 61 | 72 | 97 | 75 | 69 | 77 |
| Explosion | 1 | 2 | 4 | — | 1 | 4 | — | 2 |
| Burning | 28 | 32 | 13 | 18 | 29 | 22 | 30 | 34 |
| Drowning5 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 9 | 12 | 6 | 24 | 14 |
| Poison or drugs6 | 17 | 47 | 53 | 32 | 33 | 201 | 22 | 30 |
| Motor vehicle7 | 13 | 14 | 11 | 18 | 20 | 21 | 22 | 20 |
| Other | 38 | 43 | 41 | 68 | 37 | 51 | 47 | 45 |
| Not known | 19 | 23 | 53 | 14 | 31 | 49 | 77 | 117 |
| Total | 608 | 646 | 674 | 771 | 804 | 953 | 793 | 820 |
| ¹ As at 28 November 2005; figures are subject to revision as cases are dealt with by the police and by the courts, or as further information becomes available. | ||||||||
| ² Data taken from Home Office publications: 1994 to 2004-05 from HOSB 02/06; 1993 from HOSB 02/05; 1992 from HOSB 01/04; 1991 from HOSB 01/03; 1990 from CM 5312. | ||||||||
| ³ Including asphyxiation. Year 2000-01 includes 58 Chinese nationals who collectively suffocated in a lorry en route into the UK. | ||||||||
| 4 These figures may not agree with those in the firearms chapter because (a) figures include cases where the firearm was used as a blunt instrument and (b) homicide figures include shooting by crossbows and are compiled at a later date and take into account the results of police and court decisions. | ||||||||
| 5 Year 2003-04 includes 20 cockle pickers who drowned in Morecambe Bay. | ||||||||
| 6 Year 2002-03 includes 172 victims of Dr. Harold Shipman. | ||||||||
| 7 Excluding death by careless/dangerous driving and aggravated vehicle taking. |