2013
-
Taxpayers Subsidise Gun Owners to the Tune of £100 Million
-
Further Fall in Gun Crime in Scotland and England & Wales
-
Book published on Reducing Gun Violence in America following
Sandy Hook school massacre
Taxpayers Subsidise Gun Owners to the Tune of £100
Million
- March 2013
The terrible events of 1 January 2012 in which legal gun owner
Michael Atherton murdered his partner, her sister and his niece,
are about to be scrutinised again at the Inquest in Co. Durham on
3 March.
The Gun Control Network has been working with the family and in
particular with Bobby Turnbull, whose mum, sister and aunt were
killed by Atherton with one of his legally owned shotguns.
Bobby joined members of GCN at a meeting on 25 February with
Damien Green MP, Minister for Policing, to call for ‘real reforms’
of the gun licensing laws.
Gill Marshall-Andrews, Chair of the Gun Control Network, says:
‘It is not generally known that at least half of all gun deaths
involve a shotgun - probably legally owned. It’s clear we need to
tighten up the licensing of these weapons and ensure that people
like Michael Atherton, with a history of domestic violence and
alcohol abuse, can’t own a gun.
Currently, the police do not have the resources to do a proper job
of making sure someone is a suitable person to own a gun. Gun
owners pay only £50 for a licence which lasts for 5 years. So for
£10 per year, around the price of 4 cups of coffee, a man can own
as many shotguns as he likes.
Gun ownership is a privilege that people should pay for – and
there should be no element of subsidy from the taxpayer. Police
estimate that the cost of issuing a licence is £200 which would
mean that the current level of taxpayer subsidy is over £100m.
With a more rigorous licensing regime this subsidy will rise even
higher. GCN wants to see a fee of at least £250 for a firearms or
shotgun licence. With this level of resourcing the police would be
able to consult family members, neighbours, doctors and
ex-partners about an applicant’s suitability. And they would be
able to set up a ‘hotline’ for professionals, family, colleagues
and neighbours to register their concerns about a gun owner’s
behaviour.
Currently women have no right to be consulted about their partner
having a gun and GCN has evidence that guns are frequently used as
instruments of threat in the home. We need to address this issue
and hope we can prevent the horrific murders that disfigure our
society’.
Further Fall in Gun Crime in Scotland and England
& Wales
- February 2013
THE SCOTTISH GOVERNMENT has reported that firearm offences in Scotland
fell by 21% from the total in 2010-11. There was a total of 514 offences
in 2011-12, the lowest reported total for the 10 year period covered by
the Statistical Bulletin. Air weapons accounted for 38% of all offences.
There were 26 vandalism offences, 97 minor assaults involving a firearm
and 6 serious assaults. A firearm was discharged and subsequently caused
personal injury in 95 offences, including five recorded homicides.
> See
Data
> See
Statistical Bulletin
THE LATEST STATISTICS ON GUN CRIME published by the Home Office also
show a further fall in the total number of offences in England and
Wales. This represent the eighth consecutive fall in annual total
firearms crimes, a fall of 60% to from the number of recorded offences
in 2003/4.
> See
Data from Annual Report
Book published on Reducing Gun Violence in America following
Sandy Hook school massacre
- February 2013
On 14-15 January 2013, a month after the
fatal shooting of 20 children and 6 adults at Sandy Hook Elementary
School in Connecticut, the Bloomberg School of Public Health at Johns
Hopkins University in Baltimore, Maryland, convened a Summit that
brought together pre-eminent researchers and experts on gun violence
from across the USA and around the world, including the UK.
Following the meeting a series of
research-based
Policy Recommendations were made with the aim of reducing gun
violence. To inform the debate on gun control in America the
participants to the Summit have also contributed to a book whose
publication was fast-tracked by John Hopkins University Press. Both a
print version and e-book will shortly be available. Click
here for more information on “Reducing Gun Violence in America –
Informing Policy with Evidence and Analysis” (edited by Daniel W Webster
and Jon S Vernick).
2012
-
Common Decency Campaign to amend the ‘Game Act’
-
Sports Shooting - From Criminology to Cruelty
-
Bereaved
family launch e-petition campaign for tighter licensing
-
Arming for self-protection increases your risk of a gun related
death
-
Annual
Firearms Crime Figures in England and Wales Show Seventh
Consecutive Fall
-
Boy Shot in Eye in Airgun Attack
-
Man Kills Three Women, Self in County
Durham
Common Decency Campaign to amend the ‘Game Act’
- December 2012
Gun Control Network
supports the Common Decency campaign calling for an amendment to the
‘Game Act’ in order to create exclusion zones around domestic dwellings
to protect the rights of homeowners and avoid the problems and distress
caused by ‘shoots’ on land adjacent to family homes.
For more information visit
www.commondecency.co.uk.
Sports Shooting - From Criminology to Cruelty
- December 2012
Article by Peter Squires,
Professor of Criminology and Public Policy at the University of
Brighton, exploring aspects of sports shooting, including the connection
between criminal characteristics and those of the shooting sports
fraternity.
> see the
Article
Three women killed by licensed gun owner: bereaved family launch
e-petition campaign for tighter licensing
- November 2012
Michael Atherton's murder
of his partner Susan McGoldrick, her sister Alison Turnbull and Alison's
24-year-old daughter Tanya in Horden, County Durham in January 2012
caused shock not just in the community but nationally. Atherton was a
licensed firearms owner with a history of domestic violence and alcohol
abuse. His guns had been temporarily removed following an earlier
incident, but were returned with devastating consequences.
The family are now
campaigning for tougher firearms licensing and have created an
e-petition:
http://epetitions.direct.gov.uk/petitions/41060.
Arming for self-protection increases your risk of a gun related death
- October 2012
Women living with a gun in
their home are 3 times more likely to be killed by a firearm than those
living in households where there are no guns:
>
D.J. Wiebe. 2003. Homicide and suicide risks associated with firearms
in the home: A national case control study. Annals of Emergency
Medicine, Vol 41, pp. 771-782.
Women
physically abused by current or former intimate partners (in the USA)
are five times more likely to be killed by their (present or former)
partner if he owned a firearm:
>
J. Campbell et al., 2003 Risk factors for femicide within physically
abusive relationships. American Journal of Public Health, Vol
93, pp. 1089-97.
Annual Firearms Crime Figures in England
and Wales Show Seventh Consecutive Fall
- September 2012
THE LATEST STATISTICS ON GUN CRIME published by the Home Office show a
further fall in the total number of offences. Figures released in
January 2012 show a significant drop in overall gun crime.
> see
Data from Annual Report
> see
Data from Quarterly Report
Boy Shot in Eye in Airgun Attack
- January 2012
Derbyshire police have issued a report revealing that
70 percent of all gun crime in their county is attributable to
airguns or BB guns.
Over the last six months at least two children have suffered serious,
life-changing eye injuries after being shot with airguns. A
12-year-old boy in Newport, Wales is in danger of losing an eye
after being shot in January 2012, and a
15-year-old girl in Bury lost an eye as a result of being shot with an
airgun in July 2011.
Click here for more on airgun
attacks.
Man Kills Three Women,
Self
- January 2012
Michael Atherton
shot and killed
three women before turning the gun on himself in Horden, County
Durham. He used a legally owned shotgun in the domestic violence
attacks, in which he murdered his partner, his sister and his niece.
Atherton had his
legally owned guns returned to him after police removed them in 2008
following an incident.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
2011
-
Further Fall in Gun Crime in Scotland
-
UK Home Office Pursuing Improved Gun Laws
-
Gun Massacre and Bombing in Norway kills
77
-
New Law on
Airgun Security
-
Annual
Firearms Crime Figures in England and Wales Show Sixth
Consecutive Fall
Further Fall in Gun Crime in
Scotland
- October 2011
THE SCOTTISH GOVERNMENT has announced that firearm
offences in Scotland fell by 24% in the year to March 2011. There
was a total of 643 offences, the lowest reported total for the 10
year period covered by the Statistical Bulletin. Air weapons
accounted for 36% of offences. There were 39 vandalism offences, 110
minor assaults involving a firearm and 12 serious assaults. A
firearm was discharged and subsequently caused personal injury in
111 offences, including two recorded homicides.
> See
Scottish Government Press Release
> See
Statistical Bulletin
> See
Data
Home Office Updating Gun Law
- September 2011
THE UK HOME OFFICE is
reviewing gun laws in the wake of the Derrick Bird shootings. Bird
shot and killed 12 people in Cumbria before taking his own life as well.
The Home Affairs Select Committee, with urging from GCN, admitted in
December 2010 that current gun law needed review and appears to be
acting to that end.
Norway Gun Massacre
- July 2011
SEVENTY-SEVEN people have died in twin terror attacks on Norway - the
worst peacetime massacre in the country's modern history. A massive bomb
blast shattered buildings in the capital Oslo, killing at least eight
people. Then a gunman rampaged through an island youth camp run by the
ruling Labour Party, killing at least 69 people. Suspect Anders Behring
Breivik, 32, has admitted carrying out both attacks.
>
View timeline of events on
BBC News
>
See information about
victims
>
Dutch Security Minister
to tighten laws
New
Law on Airgun Security
- January 2011
AIRGUN
OWNERS who do not take the appropriate steps to secure air weapons
properly are liable to a fine of up to £1,000 under under Section 46 of
the Crime and Security Act 2010, which came into force on 10 February
2011.
Owners are required to store airguns separately from pellets, out of
sight, using a robust lockable cupboard and keeping the keys separate
and secure inside a house, rather than in an outbuilding such as a
garden shed. The legislation is supported by Gun Control Network, some
of whose members have suffered personal tragedy as a result of
inadequate storage of airguns by irresponsible owners and have been
lobbying for these common sense measures for some time.
>
See article in
The Telegraph
Annual Firearms Crime Figures in England
and Wales Show Sixth Consecutive Fall
- January 2011
THE LATEST STATISTICS ON GUN CRIME published by the Home Office show a
further fall in the total number of offences. Two sets of figures
released in January 2011, the annual data for the year ending March 2010
and a quarterly report on the year ending September 2010, both show a
significant drop in overall gun crime. GCN will comment in more detail
in the
January Review.
> see
Data from Annual Report
> see
Data from Quarterly Report
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
2010
Home
Affairs Committee Report on Firearms Control Published
- December 2010
THE
HOME AFFAIRS COMMITTEE have published a report on Firearms Control.
Their inquiry was prompted by the shooting of 12 men and women by
Derrick Bird in Cumbria in June 2010 and the shootings perpetrated by
Raoul Moat the following month. The Committee heard evidence from a
number of individuals and organisations, including Gun Control Network.
They have acknowledged the contribution that legally-held guns make to
gun crime in Great Britain and have made a number of recommendations to
gun legislation to reduce the risks posed by gun ownership. GCN
supports many of these recommendations but believes that in some areas
the Committee has not gone far enough - see Press Release. Nevertheless
we would urge the Government to act on the Committee's recommendations
as soon as possible.
>
See
Report
> See
GCN's Press Release
ACPO
Report on Cumbria Shootings Published
- November 2010
FOLLOWING THE MASS SHOOTING IN CUMBRIA on 2 June 2010 (see below),
Adrian Whiting, Assistant Chief Constable of Dorset Police and ACPO lead
chief officer for Firearms & Explosives licensing, has prepared a report
which concerns the grant of a firearm certificate and shotgun
certificate to the perpetrator Derrick Bird and contains observations
regarding potential changes to the system of granting such certificates
and related provisions of law. He concludes that Cumbria Constabulary
made decisions regarding the granting of the certificates in accordance
with the law, Home Office guidance and ACPO advice. He makes a number
of recommendations. These include ones relating to handguns for humane
despatch, miniature rifle ranges, prohibited persons and those with
suspended sentences, information exchange with medical professionals,
and introducing a single certificate type for both Section 1 firearms
and shotguns.
> See
the Report -
Part 1,
Part 2
Home Affairs Committee Announces New
Inquiry into Firearms Control
- July 2010
THE HOME AFFAIRS COMMITTEE announced a new
inquiry into firearms control. The Committee will examine whether or
not there is a need for changes to the way in which firearms and/or shotgun
certificates are issued, monitored or reviews as a means of preventing gun
violence.
Rt Hon Keith Vaz MP, Chair of the Committee,
said: "In the light of the recent tragic shootings in Cumbria and in
Northumberland, the Committee wishes to examine the legislation governing
firearms. It will seek to determine whether there are lessons to be
learnt from recent events, including the role of doctors and criminal
justice agencies in liaising with police to assess the risk posed by
individuals. We also want to be certain that our gun laws are clear,
transparent and enforceable."
> See
Terms of Reference
Further Fall in Gun Crime in England & Wales
- July 2010
PROVISIONAL FIGURES for gun crime in England
and Wales for the year ending March 2010 have shown a further fall in the
number of firearm offences (not including those involving airguns) of 3
percent to a total of 7995.
> See
Latest Statistics
Licensed Gun Holder Kills 12 People in Cumbria
- June 2010
> See
GCN Press Release
Airgun and BB Gun
Campaigns in Wales and Scotland
- May 2010
CAMPAIGNS WHICH HIGHLIGHT the dangers of air
weapons and BB guns have been launched in Wales and Scotland. They
remind owners that these weapons can injure and kill.
SOUTH WALES POLICE started a poster and
leaflet campaign in April which warning buyers of the laws and the dangers.
It follows the death of 10-year-old Swansea boy Rhys Johnson in September
2009. The number of BB gun offences in South Wales rose from eight for
the year ending April 2009 to 28 in the following year. Police
officers will be visiting firearms and air weapon sellers and asking
retailers to give advice leaflets to every customer.
> See
BBC Article from Wales
IN SCOTLAND, STRATHCLYDE POLICE have launched
a 'Game Over' campaign which also highlights the dangers posed by air
weapons. Airguns accounted for 57% of weapons recovered from firearm
incidents in the force area. Computer game imagery is being used on
posters and an advert trailer to promote the message that, in the wrong
hands and used irresponsibly, airguns can be lethal. The posters will
be displayed in town centres and schools. The campaign was welcomed by
Justice Secretary Kenny MacAskill who said "Airguns are not toys but weapons
that can kill and main. We've seen too may tragedies over the years
that have caused pain and injury to children and animals."
> See
BBC Article from Scotland
Olympic Starting Pistol Banned
- April 2010
THE OLYMPIC .38BB STARTING PISTOL, a gun which
has been available for under £100 from sports outlets and firearms dealers
but can be readily converted to fire live ammunition, has become a new
weapon of choice in gang warfare. The police have seized 179 converted Olympics and
recorded a growing number of crimes, including three attempted murders, in
which the guns have been used. It has been behind a number of 'reputational
shootings' in London and accounted for nearly one fifth of the firearms
seized by the Metropolitan Police last year. A further 22 of the converted starting pistols have also been recorded outside the capital.
The police have indicated that they are being used because of difficulties
in obtaining more sophisticate firearms.
It has been announced that from 4 June the
guns are to become prohibited weapons under the 1968 Firearms Act.
The Italian manufacturers have agreed to stop exporting them to Britain and they are
being recalled from shops. Owners are being asked to hand them in
during a targeted amnesty.
> See
Article in The Times
> See
BBC Article
Gun Crime in London
- April 2010
THE LATEST FIGURES FOR GUN CRIME IN LONDON,
announced by the Metropolitan Police, show a worrying increase which goes
against apparent trends being reported in other areas of the country. The
figures indicate that the number of offences for the year ending March 2010
(see below) increased by 14.2% from 3026 in 2008/09 to 3455.
Although the number of firearms-related
homicides in London has been going down over the last three years (GCN
estimates that there were 16 in 2009/10), the deaths this month of two more gun victims, one a
16-year-old girl, have highlighted how serious the problem of gun crime
remains in the capital.
Recent figures for gun crime in London can,
however,
present a confusing picture. The
Metropolitan Police Website describes the offences included in
the latest set as follows:
All
offences involving a firearm. This will include offences where a firearm has
been seen, or discharged/used. Both real, and fake firearms, and air
weapons are counted within this category. Theft and handling offences
are no longer included in the gun crime definition.
However, it is difficult to match these figures
with those published in a recent Home Office Report which suggested that
in 2008/09 there were 3090 offences, excluding air weapons, and those
quoted by the Greater London Authority for 2008/09 which suggested 2168
offences, including air weapons (see below).
Hampshire Police Announce Firearms Amnesty
- April 2010
HAMPSHIRE POLICE have announced an amnesty to
give residents a chance to hand in any unwanted or illegal firearms at nine
police stations. The amnesty follows the news that the gun used by
Andrew Copland to kill himself, his ex-partner and their 4-year-old daughter
in Aldershot in December 2009 had been found by him in a skip while he was
working as a builder in 1998. He kept the weapon. Chief
Superintendent Mark Chatterton said that "many people within the community
have told us they are unaware of the laws surrounding gun ownership."
The amnesty will last two weeks. Fifty-seven firearms, mostly BB guns
or imitation firearms, but including three handguns, were handed in during
the first two weeks (Basingstoke Gazette, 16 April 2010).
> see
BBC Article
Annual Firearms Crime Figures in England and Wales
Show Fifth Consecutive
Fall
- January 2010
THE LATEST ANNUAL GUN CRIME FIGURES
have confirmed a significant fall in the number of offences in the
year ending March 2009. The total number fell by 18 percent
to 14,250. This figure includes offences involving air
weapons which account for 42 percent of the total. There was
an overall decrease of 40 percent in the number of gun
injuries recorded, with the number of fatal injuries falling to
39, the lowest number in at least 20 years.
GCN has provided more detailed
comment on these figures.
> see
Data
> see
Home Office Report
ANOTHER HOME OFFICE REPORT provided
a more recent figure for total firearm offences (but excluding air
weapons) and showed that for the year to September 2009 there was
a further 5 percent decrease in the number of offences compared
with the previous year.
> see
More Information
> see
Home Office Report
Guns Becoming Difficult to Obtain (Nabis)
- January 2010
THE NATIONAL BALLISTICS INTELLIGENCE
SERVICE (NABIS) says that guns are becoming difficult to obtain.
NABIS works by combining advanced forensic technology and police
intelligence information and has linked more than 350 guns with
crimes in its first year of operation in England and Wales.
The programme manager said that capturing key suppliers meant
there were fewer guns on the streets and that it was wrong to
suggest guns could be bought cheaply and easily. Even rival
criminal gangs are using the same weapons, hired from a common
source, and NABIS have seen the same guns being used over and over
again.
> see
BBC Report
> see
Home Office Press Release
