Possession of Firearm at Time of Committing or Being Arrested for a Schedule 1 Offence (Section 17(2) Firearms Act 1968)

Firearms Act 1968, s.17(2)

Indictable only
Life imprisonment

Definition

If a person, at the time of his committing or being arrested for an offence specified in Schedule 1 to this Act, has in his possession a firearm or imitation firearm, he shall be guilty of an offence under this subsection unless he shows that he had it in his possession for a lawful object. (Firearms Act 1968, s.17(2))

Points to prove

A person
at the time of his committing or being arrested for
an offence specified in Schedule 1 to the Firearms Act 1968
has in his possession
a firearm or imitation firearm
(it is for him to show that he had it in his possession for a lawful object)

Possession of a firearm at the time of committing or being arrested for a Schedule 1 offence is an offence under s.17(2) Firearms Act 1968. If a person, at the time of his committing or being arrested for an offence specified in Schedule 1 to the Act, has in his possession a firearm or imitation firearm, he is guilty of an offence under that subsection unless he shows that he had it in his possession for a lawful object (s.17(2)). For this section the definition of "firearm" in s.57(1) applies without paragraphs (b) and (c), so it means a lethal barrelled weapon, that is a barrelled weapon of any description from which a shot, bullet or other missile with kinetic energy of more than one joule at the muzzle can be discharged, and "imitation firearm" is construed accordingly (s.17(4), s.57(1)(a) and (1B)); an imitation firearm is any thing which has the appearance of being a firearm, other than a weapon mentioned in s.5(1)(b), whether or not it is capable of discharging any shot, bullet or other missile (s.57(4)). Maximum sentence: on indictment, life imprisonment or a fine, or both (Schedule 6, Part I). The punishment is in addition to any punishment for the Schedule 1 offence itself (Schedule 6, Part II, para 6), and a jury trying a person for an offence under s.17(1) who are not satisfied of that offence but are satisfied of an offence under s.17(2) may convict of the s.17(2) offence (Schedule 6, Part II, para 5). For the minimum sentence where an individual is convicted in England and Wales, s.51A(6) refers to s.311 of the Sentencing Code.

In practice

This is an indictable-only offence: it must be tried at the Crown Court. The charging decision rests with the CPS (not police). The suspect must be cautioned in accordance with Code C PACE 1984 before any questions about the offence are put to them. Interviews must be audio-recorded (Code E) or, for indictable offences, may be visually recorded (Code F).

Last updated 20 October 2026. Reviewed 20 October 2026

Mode of trial: Indictable only
Maximum sentence: Life imprisonment
Act and section: Firearms Act 1968, s.17(2)
Power of arrest: A constable may arrest without a warrant anyone who is about to commit an offence, anyone who is in the act of committing an offence, anyone whom he has reasonable grounds for suspecting to be about to commit or to be committing an offence, and, where he has reasonable grounds for suspecting that an offence has been committed, anyone whom he has reasonable grounds to suspect of being guilty of it; the power is exercisable only if the constable has reasonable grounds for believing that for any of the reasons in s.24(5) it is necessary to arrest the person in question (Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1984, s.24(1) to (5)).
Search on arrest: A constable may require any person whom he has reasonable cause to suspect of having a firearm, with or without ammunition, with him in a public place to hand over the firearm or any ammunition for examination (Firearms Act 1968, s.47(1)). If a constable has reasonable cause to suspect a person of having a firearm with him in a public place, the constable may search that person and may detain him for the purpose of doing so; if he has reasonable cause to suspect that there is a firearm in a vehicle in a public place, he may search the vehicle and for that purpose require the person driving or in control of it to stop it; for the purpose of exercising these powers a constable may enter any place (Firearms Act 1968, s.47(3), (4) and (5)). The further limb of s.47 for a person committing or about to commit a relevant offence elsewhere than in a public place is confined by s.47(6) to offences under ss.18(1), 18(2) and 20, so it does not extend to s.17(2). On arrest at a place other than a police station a constable may search the arrested person for anything which he might use to assist him to escape from lawful custody or which might be evidence relating to an offence and, the offence being indictable, may enter and search any premises in which he was when arrested or immediately before he was arrested for evidence relating to the offence (Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1984, s.32(1) and (2)). A constable may enter and search any premises occupied or controlled by a person who is under arrest for an indictable offence if he has reasonable grounds for suspecting that there is on the premises evidence, other than items subject to legal privilege, that relates to that offence or to some other indictable offence which is connected with or similar to it, with the written authority of an officer of the rank of inspector or above (Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1984, s.18(1) and (4)).
Detention clock: A person shall not be kept in police detention for more than 24 hours without being charged, calculated from the relevant time (Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1984, s.41(1) and (2)). The offence is triable only on indictment and so is an indictable offence (Interpretation Act 1978, Schedule 1), so a police officer of the rank of superintendent or above who is responsible for the police station may authorise detention for a period expiring at or before 36 hours after the relevant time where detention without charge is necessary to secure or preserve evidence or to obtain it by questioning, the offence is an indictable offence and the investigation is being conducted diligently and expeditiously (s.42(1)); a magistrates' court may issue a warrant of further detention for a period not longer than 36 hours (s.43(1), (11) and (12)) and may extend it for a period not longer than 36 hours and not ending later than 96 hours after the relevant time (s.44(1) and (3)).
Source: www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/1968/27/section/17