HOW DO AIR PISTOLS CONTRIBUTE TO GUN CRIME?
Air pistols look like handguns (which are prohibited in UK) they are easy to conceal and are misused in similar ways to air rifles. They are implicated in cases of :- • Wounding; robbery; criminal damage; rape; domestic violence and animal cruelty. Because they are easily concealed they are used to enable crime. Even if the gun is not fired victims of armed robberies committed using air pistols can suffer psychological injuries following the trauma of being threatened. In cases where victims describe an assailant with a ‘handgun’ , but the weapon is not fired and not recovered, it may be that the weapon was an air pistol, a bb gun, or an imitation gun. What do airguns look like? Both air rifles and air pistols look like real guns – which is what they are. They are capable of killing. BUYING AND SELLING AIRGUNS Low powered air rifles and pistols Because of concerns about the number of crimes and injuries associated with the use of air guns the 2006 Violent Crime Reduction Act changed th
