An Examination of the ‘Firearms’ Recovered by the Municipal Police Services of the Canadian Prairie Provinces

Abstract

This study examines the items labeled as ‘firearms’ recovered by the Edmonton, Regina, and Saskatoon Police Services (the EPS, RPS and SPS, respectively) between 2010 and 2018; summary data was also provided by the Winnipeg Police Service (WPS). The analyses revealed that these police services all experienced annual increases in the recoveries of items they labeled as firearms. A key finding was that up to one-third of the items labeled as firearms recovered by these agencies were non-firearms such as air guns, firearm components, as well as other miscellaneous items such as bear spray or ammunition. Between 2010 and 2018, the annual recovery of these non-firearms grew at a faster rate than the number of legally defined firearms that were recovered. Rifles and shotguns were the most commonly recovered firearms and handguns accounted for less than one-quarter of all these firearms. There was, however, variation in the types of firearms recovered between the four sites and the recovery rates also varied by police service. Despite those differences, the Edmonton, Regina, and Saskatoon Police Services all experienced a significant increase in the recoveries of sawed-off firearms over time while fully-automatic, and homemade firearms were rarely encountered, although more of these homemade firearms were recovered after 2017. In spite of those changes, the lethality of these firearms remained relatively stable over time, although including non-powder firearms such as pellet guns in that analysis influenced those outcomes. These findings are framed for their implications for: (a) theoretical development; (b) police policy and practice; and (c) for future research aimed to reduce firearm-related violence.