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Prime Minister Vows to Get Tough on Airguns
- 22 May 2008
PRIME MINISTER
GORDON BROWN told the father of a boy killed with an airgun "We'd
like to do everything in our power to prevent anything like this
happening again". GCN member Andrew Picken's son Mitchel
died when he was shot by another teenager in a house where the
father had left out an air rifle and ammunition.
> See
Daily Mirror Report
Mixed News on Gun Crime - 22
May 2008
ON A DAY WHEN HOME SECRETARY JACQUI
SMITH addressed a conference in Birmingham there was apparently
mixed news about gun crime in England. The Home Secretary
said that £5m would be committed to tackle gun and knife crime,
while witnesses would be offered anonymity to encourage them to
come forward (Guardian, 22 February 2008). An action
plan, Tackling Gangs Action Programme, has halved the
number of firearms-related injuries, according to the Home Office.
The number of gun injuries fell by 51% from 93 in October to
46 in February and there was a 27% decrease in the overall number
of gun offences in the four areas targeted (London, Liverpool,
Birmingham and Manchester) (Press Association, 22 February
2008). However, in two of the individual areas, West
Midlands and Liverpool, the number of gun crimes recorded has
actually increased
(Press Association, 22 February 2008). The rise in
the West Midlands has been linked to the loss of banning orders by
police following a judgement in January 2008. The banning
orders had been extended to curb the activity of members of
Birmingham's rival factions, the Johnson Crew and the Burger Bar
Gang (Times, 22 May 2008). A spokesman for Merseyside
Police's Matrix team said the figures failed to paint a true
picture of gun crime on Merseyside and pointed out figures have
begun to fall. The results of the measures they have
introduced are only just coming through (Liverpool Daily Post,
23 May 2008).
As Gun Control
Network continues to point out it is easy to give too much weight
to a single set of statistics, and it is hoped that current and
future initiatives will lead to further reductions in gun crime in
our major cities and throughout the country.
Scottish Government Hosts Firearms Summit
- May 2008
NEWS RELEASE from the Scottish
Government
Firearms summit
07/05/2008
Police, gun control campaigners and
shooting representatives are gathering at the First Minister's official
residence, Bute House, today to discuss how to tackle the misuse of
firearms.
Justice Secretary Kenny MacAskill, who
will chair the firearms summit, organised the meeting amid increasing
public concern about the misuse of such weapons, including airguns, in
communities across the country.
Recorded firearms casualties in Scotland
rose by a quarter in 2006-07 - one in three of them children and 58 per
cent involving air weapons. Cases of attempted murder involving firearms
were almost three times that of a decade ago.
Mr Salmond said:
"Recorded firearms casualties in Scotland
rose by a quarter last year - one in three of them children and 58 per
cent involving airguns. Cases of attempted murder involving firearms,
though uncommon, were almost three times that of a decade ago. Clearly
the time has come to take action on firearms - to look afresh at the
legislation and put public safety is at its core.
"Current legislation is a guddle, amended
and extended over 40 years. While we have supported changes to the law
passed at Westminster, so far as they go, what we need is a spring-clean
not a sticking-plaster. We want to start again - to produce an
unambiguous, modern and enforceable system that protects the people of
Scotland.
"It is the duty of any Government to
safeguard its people. That's why we have sought the removal of
Westminster reservation on firearms to allow us to legislate for
Scotland. Home Office refusal will not stop us from taking a
constructive approach. We can not be complacent - communities are crying
out for tough action.
"Today we are bringing together a wide
range of people to find agreement about what measures we can take to
make our society safer. What unites everyone around the table is the
acknowledgement that more can be done and more needs to be done. By
continuing our consultative, can-do approach to government I know that
together we can find new ways to better protect the public and respond
to the serious threat of firearms."
Mr MacAskill added:
"We are determined to protect those
communities where the continuing misuse firearms, including airguns, is
damaging lives and damaging the peace and security that everyone
deserves.
"We need to enact laws but also change
attitudes. Enforce legislation and educate people - all of which we will
consider in the summit.
"The 1968 Firearms Act has been amended
countless times - changes having been bolted on through a raft of Acts
and regulations over four decades.
"There is considerable support, including
among police who must enforce this complex framework, for a modern
firearms Act that is simpler to understand, administer and enforce and
which places prime importance on public safety.
"When the Parliament debated this issue in
January MSPs across the chamber also made clear their view that both
Governments should work together and that the existing regime needs to
be reviewed.
"Clearly there are legitimate uses for
firearms and we do not want to impede on those - indeed they too can
benefit from a reformed regulatory regime.
"But we must respond to the demands for
action to remove these weapons from our streets, as well to tackle the
mindset of those who carry them without any good reason.
"We appreciate the involvement of all of
the summit participants and I sincerely hope we can help re-energise the
debate started by Home Office in 2004 and pave the way for both stronger
legislation and non-legislative measures to tackle the problem."
Participants include:
-
Deputy Chief Constable Kevin Mathieson,
firearms licensing portfolio lead, Association of Chief Police
Officers in Scotland (ACPOS)
-
Detective Chief Superintendent William
Prendergast (Strathclyde Police)
-
Cllr Harry McGuigan, Community Wellbeing
& Safety spokesman
-
Mr Mike Callaghan, Community Resourcing,
Convention of Scottish Local Authorities (COSLA)
-
Dr Colin Shedden, British Association of
Shooting and Conservation
-
Dr Mick North, Gun Control Network
-
John Dunn, Deputy Crown Agent, Crown
Office & Procurator Fiscal Service
-
Sheriff Kevin Drummond, Jedburgh Sheriff
Court
-
Alex Boyd, Scottish Target Shooting
Federation
-
Chief Superintendent Mike Flynn,
Scottish SPCA
The four main opposition parties have also
been invited to attend.
NABIS to Begin Operations in April
- March 2008
THE NATIONAL BALLISTICS INTELLIGENCE
SERVICE (NABIS) will begin operations in April and aims to go
national by September. The new service, based in London,
Manchester and Birmingham, aims to identify weapons and link gun
crime incidents within 24 to 48 hours. It will include a
national database for recovered guns and ammunition. Home
Secretary Jacqui Smith visited Birmingham to see the agency as
part of the Tackling Gangs Action Programme which was launched
last September.
> See
BBC Report
> See
Birmingham Mail Report
RSPCA Reports Increased Number of Airgun
Attacks on Animals - February 2008
THE RSPCA in a number of regions
have reported a huge increase in the number of cats shot in air
weapons attacks. In the East region the number of attacks on
cats increased by 67 percent in 2007 compared with 2006 (Buxton
Advertiser, 20 February 2008). In the north the
charity's officers were called to 197 incidents in 2007, 76
involved injured cats and 55 concerned birds that had been shot (Huddersfield
Daily Examiner, 20 February 2008). Overall in England
and Wales the RSPCA investigated 497 shootings in 2007 compared
with 354 in 2006 (Manchester Evening News, 20 February
2008).
Fatalities and Serious Injuries Down as
Non-Airgun
Offences Increase by 4% in England and Wales -
January 2008
PROVISIONAL FIGURES for firearm
offences (not including air weapons) in England and Wales for the year ending September 2008
showed a 4% increase in the total number of offences. There
were 6 fewer fatalities than during the corresponding period in
2005/06 and the number of serious injuries decreased by 16%.
The number of slight injuries increased by 4% and over two thirds
of the total number of incidents resulted in no injury.
The latest detailed Annual Figures
(for the year ending March 2007) which will include air weapon
offences are due to be published on 31 January.
> See
More Details
Surrender Scheme for Imitation Guns in
London - January
2008
A CAMPAIGN HAS BEEN LAUNCHED IN
LONDON urging young men and boys to hand in their imitation
firearms. A four-week surrender scheme will allow the guns
to be handed in anonymously. Imitation guns represent the
largest number of firearms carried on London's streets.
The campaign will include advertisements featuring an invisible
man. During the campaign police will accept other
potentially lethal weapons and information about any imitation
firearms. Officers will visit shops to make sure they are
following new legislation which bans the sale of realistic
imitation guns.
> See
BBC Article
Half a Million Replicas
Imported Each Year at Felixstowe - January 2008
The London Campaign (see above) has
been announced at the same time as reports are published that up
to half a million replica
guns are being imported into Britain each year just through
one port, Felixstowe in Suffolk. A spokesman for the
Violent Crime Directorate said that there were 30 or 40 importers
at Felixstowe each bringing in about 1,000 guns on a monthly
basis. A consignment of 'airsoft' weapons is sitting on the
dock now. The Directorate are tackling the supply chain
internationally, nationally and locally.
> See
Article in This is London
Scottish Government Proposes Gun Summit -
January 2008
SCOTTISH JUSTICE MINISTER KENNY
MacASKILL has proposed a firearms summit to identify how gun laws
can be reformed. He will invite police, farmers, shootings
clubs and gun control campaigners and hopes that UK Home Secretary
will also attend. The move follows concerns about the misuse
of airguns in Scotland and the Scottish Government's frustration
at the limited steps taken by the Home Office to deal with the
problem. The issue of firearms control in Scotland was
raised in a debate at Holyrood following concerns about a rise in
firearms casualties last year, one in three of the victims being
children. A Scottish Government call to tighten controls
over air weapons (banning the ownership and use other than for
recognised and legitimate occupational and sporting interests) was
rejected by the Scottish Parliament. Scotland's top police
officers have now demanded an urgent review of gun law, claiming
current legislation is outdated and in need of radical overhaul.
Norrie Flowers, chairman of the Scottish Police Federation, has
also back moves to re-examine gun laws. There is general
agreement that the protection of the public must be the main
issue.
> See
BBC
Article
> See
Article in Scotland on Sunday
UPDATE HOME SECRETARY
JACQUI SMITH has rejected the calls for a review of firearms laws
saying it would not be "timely". Scottish Justice Secretary
Kenny MacAskill pledged to go ahead with plans for a national
summit and Scottish Government officials have been told to prepare
for their own summit (BBC, 2 March 2008).
Gun Crime Rises in London -
January 2008
GUN CRIME IN LONDON rose by 4% last
year, according to the Metropolitan Police but was nevertheless
22% lower compared with 2002. Mayor Ken Livingstone said
that there was a resistant problem of gang-related knife and gun
crime involving young people. Overall crime fell by 6.1%
compared with the previous year.
> See
BBC
Article
Home Secretary Announces Ban on Deactivated
Guns -
January 2008
HOME SECRETARY JACQUI SMITH has
announced that the Government intends to implement a ban on guns
deactivated before 1995. Before 1995 standards for deactivating guns were
less stringent than those which currently apply. The ban
will be introduced before the end of the year. She said
that "The police tell me these pre-1995 weapons are turning up
more and more in gun related crime". The Home Office added
that museums and enthusiasts with collections of antique weapons
would be considered for exemption. Gun Control Network has
welcomed the news as the lack of restrictions on deactivated guns
has left a big loophole in the firearms legislation.
> See
Article in The Times
Northamptonshire Police Refute Rising Gun
Crime Figures - December 2007
A TOP OFFICER for Northamptonshire
Police has refuted figures suggesting the force is dealing with
one of the biggest increases in gun crime in the country.
Figures compiled by the Ministry of Justice and released by the
Conservative Party suggested firearms offences in Northamptonshire
had more than trebled in the past five years, but Assistant Chief
Constable Alan Featherstone rebutted the data and said the real
figures showed a declining trend in the number of gun crimes in
the county. "The vast majority of incidents that we
record as gun crime involve either the threat that someone has a
weapon when none is seen or the reported sighting of ball bearing
guns or imitation firearms." ACC Featherstone's remarks must
cast doubt on the interpretation given by the Tories to data for
other areas of the country, emotively described by
shadow police minister David Ruffley as "gun hot spots", in
support of their
argument that there are too few armed police officers.
> See
Article in Northampton Chronicle and Echo
> See
Article in Telegraph
UK Government Refuses Airgun Ban for
Scotland - December 2007
see below for earlier news on this
topic
THE HOME OFFICE has said that an
airgun ban for Scotland alone would be "confusing and potentially
damaging". The view has been criticised by Scottish Justice
Secretary Kenny MacAskill who has accused the UK Government of
ignoring serious crime in Scotland. Gun Control Network
believes that if the Home Office are unwilling to support separate
gun crime legislation for Scotland then airgun misuse must be
tackled through further UK-wide legislation. Perceived
problems with the devolution of firearms laws should not be used
as an excuse for failing to take further measures to deal with
this problem.
> See
Evening Times Article
Euro MPs Back Stricter Gun Laws
- November 2007
THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT has voted to
tighten laws on obtaining and possessing firearms.
-
The age at which a firearm can be
bought or owned will be raised to 18 (unless it is for hunting or
target shooting under adult supervision)
-
Blank-firing guns that could be
converted to fire live ammunition will be made illegal
-
Details of firearms will have to be
stored on a national database, listing the type and model of
firearm as well as its serial number and the names and addresses
of the supplier and buyer
> See
BBC Report
> See
International Herald Tribune Report
Police Gun Amnesty Supported by Family of
Teenager who Died from an Air Rifle Wound -
November 2007
A TWO-DAY AMNESTY is being held in
Newport (Gwent). Anyone with an airgun, an imitation firearm
or BB gun can hand it in without fear of any prosecution.
The amnesty is supported by the family of Danny March who died
from an air rifle wound in the Maesglas area of the city in
October. The amnesty has yielded 10 air rifles, 4 air
pistols, 2 BB guns, 1 blank firing pistol and ammunition and 1
imitation handgun (BBC, 30 November 2007).
> See
BBC Report
MEP Wins Backing for New Law on Blank-Firing
Guns - November 2007
MEP ARLENE McCARTHY has won the
backing from the European Commission and Member States to tighten
laws on blank-firing guns that can be converted into lethal
weapons. She says that the new law would classify
convertible weapons as firearms and would ensure weapons could be
traced to their owners and wouldn't fall into the hands of violent
criminals.
> See
BBC Report
Police Call for Sweeping Changes to EU Gun
Laws - November 2007
GREATER MANCHESTER POLICE
have called for Europe-wide legislation to regulate the supply and
sale of replica guns. They were responding to a BBC
undercover investigation which showed how easy it was to obtain a
weapon in Prague and bring it into the UK. The Greater
Manchester force says half of the weapons its officers have seized
this year can be bought easily over the counter, and without a
licence in many countries. The replica guns can be converted
to fire live ammunition.
> See
BBC Report
Rise in Scottish Firearm Offences
- October 2007
FIGURES published by the Scottish
Government show an increase in the number of firearms offences in
2006/07 to the highest level recorded in 10 years. Some of
this increase may be due to changes in recording practices (see
Statistical Bulletin, p.3).
Air weapons accounted for 54 per cent of all offences and almost a
quarter of the victims injured were aged between 11 and 15 years.
The Report notes that the use of firearms in criminal activity
continued to constitute only a small proportion of all offences
recorded by police. There were 8 homicides, 43 offences of
attempted murder and 82 offences of robbery.
> See
Data
Armed Police Call-Outs 'Rising'
- October 2007
IN A PARLIAMENTARY ANSWER Home
Office minister Tony McNulty has said that firearms were
authorised to police officers for 18,891 incidents in England and
Wales in 2005/06, a rise of 53% from 1996/97. There are,
however, significant differences between police forces. For
example, in Devon and Cornwall the number of calls-outs fell by
48% and in Northumbria by 56%. The number of call-outs in
Merseyside in 2005/06 was just two less than in 1996/97.
However, there have been big rises in a number of areas including
Gloucestershire (up 5.6-fold), South Yorkshire (up 4.8-fold),
South Wales (up 4.7-fold), West Midlands (up 3.9-fold), Derbyshire
(up 2.7-fold) and the Metropolitan Police Force area in London (up
1.9-fold and contributing to a quarter of the total).
> See
BBC Article
> See
Data
Violent Crime Reduction Act Measures
Implemented - October 2007
ALMOST A YEAR after the Violent
Crime Reduction Act received the Royal Assent measures in
the Act relating to the sale of airguns and the sale, import and
manufacture of imitation guns came into force on 1 October.
From that date air weapons
can be sold only by Registered Firearms Dealers who must be
approved by the local police force. An RFD is obliged to
keep a Statutory Firearms Register which must include all sales,
purchases and transfers of firearms, including air weapons.
All air weapon sales have to be in person i.e. 'face to face' and
mail order sales are now banned. It will be an offence for
anybody under 18 to purchase or hire an air weapon or ammunition
for an air weapon and for anybody to sell or let to hire an air
weapon or ammunition for an air weapon to a person under the age
of 18.
It will now be an offence to
manufacture a realistic imitation firearm, modify an
imitation firearm so it becomes a realistic imitation firearm,
sell a realistic firearm and bring a realistic imitation firearm
into Great Britain. A realistic imitation firearm is
one which, for all intents and purposes, is indistinguishable from
a real firearm (though neither a de-activated firearm nor an
antique imitation is considered to be an imitation firearm).
Some imitation firearms may still be sold, manufactured and
imported if they meet certain criteria including principal colour,
shape and size. It will be an offence for a person
under the age of 18 to purchase an imitation firearm and an
offence to sell an imitation firearm to a person under the age of
18.
There are, however, some defences which raise significant concerns for
GCN and others, and we discuss these in our Comment (click on link
below).
Other measures in the Act will:
> See
Earlier Details
> See
GCN Comment
Airguns in Scotland (Update)
- October 2007
THE SCOTTISH EXECUTIVE is seeking a licensing
scheme that would
restrict ownership of airguns in Scotland to those who use them for target
shooting at gun clubs or for appropriate activities such as pest control.
In discussions with UK Government ministers, Scottish ministers are
exploring ways which would allow legislation to be introduced in Scotland.
They view this as being similar to the situation which allowed a smoking ban to introduced North of the Border
earlier than in the rest of the UK. The Executive has maintained its
call for powers over firearms to be devolved to the Scottish Parliament.
Scottish Justice Secretary says "We want to lay a framework for a
consolidated Firearms Act designed for Scottish needs and Scottish
circumstances" (BBC, 30 September 2007).
A number of distressing incidents involving
airguns have made them an issue of significant public concern in Scotland. On 4 September
2007 the parents of Andrew Morton,
who died after being shot with an airgun in March 2005, attended
the Scottish Parliament Petitions Board at Holyrood to review their petition
on banning the sale of airguns except for use at registered gun clubs or
pest control (see
Report).
Gun Control Network supports any move that
ensures that airguns are treated like other lethal firearms, controlled
through a licensing system.
Whilst wishing to see
UK-wide system for airguns
we support any attempt to introduce the measure in Scotland (see
Comment).
Prime Minister Acknowledges Importance of
Handgun Ban in Conference Speech
- September 2007
IN HIS SPEECH to the Labour Party
Conference at Bournemouth Prime Minister Gordon Brown emphasised
the importance of Britain's ban on handguns. It is worth
recalling that whilst in Opposition in 1996 he showed his complete support for the campaign
for a complete ban
(see Article written for the
Daily Record).
Government Announces Specialist Police Unit
to Tackle Gun Crime - September 2007
HOME SECRETARY JACQUI SMITH has
announced a £1m initiative that will target gun crime and gangs in
London, Manchester, Liverpool and Birmingham. She promised
that the Tackling Gangs Action Programme would make greater of
use intelligence-led policing that would "get gang leaders off the
street". The unit will be headed by Merseyside's Deputy
Chief Constable John Murphy.
Home Office Minister Vernon Coaker
has recently called for more people convicted of carrying a
handgun to receive the full mandatory five year jail sentence.
> See
BBC article
Gun Crime Down in England & Wales -
April 2007 (Update July 2007)
UPDATE: Figures released in
July 2007 for the year ending March 2007 confirm that gun crime
has been falling in England & Wales and was 13% down compared with
the year ending March 2006.
ACCORDING TO THE LATEST FIGURES from
the Home Office there was a 16 per cent decrease in the number of
firearms offences (these exclude airgun offences) in the year to
December 2006 The annual total was down to 9,513.
Serious and slight injuries were reduced by 12 per cent and 28
percent, respectively. Offences resulting in fatalities rose
from 53 to 57.
>
Latest Data
Metropolitan Police have announced that
gun-enabled crime in London is down
by 11.3 per cent and Trident gun crime is down by 15 per cent.
Overall crime is at an eight-year low (24dash.com, 19 April
2007).
Scottish Ministers and UK Justice Minister
Discuss Tighter Airgun Controls for Scotland
- July 2007
MEMBERS OF THE SCOTTISH EXECUTIVE
raised calls to ban airguns in Scotland during a meeting with UK
Justice Minister Jack Straw. Scotland's Justice Secretary
Kenny MacAskill said that they had received a sympathetic
response. Jack Straw apparently told First Minister Alex
Salmond that he would look at Scotland-only reform which would ban
new sales of airguns and only allow possession by holders of a
licence including farmers who need to shoot pests and members of
registered shooting clubs.
> See
Article in Scotland on
Sunday
> See
BBC Article
ABERDEEN is still on course to be
the first UK city to ban airguns after the Scottish Executive said
it would view any action against air weapons "sympathetically".
Aberdeen City Council will renew efforts to introduce a bylaw
which could be in place as early as September.
> See
Article in Sunday Herald
'Gun-Minding' Offences and Other New
Measures Introduced -
April 2007
GETTING SOMEONE to hide a weapon, a
gun or a knife, from the police has become an offence under
measures brought forward by the Government. Adults who use
children to hide guns could face up to 10 years in prison, those
using other adults face up to four years in prison. A
minimum five-year sentence will now apply to possession of a
firearm with intent to injure, possession of a firearm with intent
to cause fear of violence, possession of a firearm in a public
place and trespassing in a building with a firearm (BBC, 6
April 2007).
Amnesty Announced
in Memory of Airgun Victim
- February 2007
AN AMNESTY on air weapons is to be
held in Staffordshire in memory of 12-year-old Mitchel Picken who
died after being shot through the eye with an air rifle last year.
A police spokesman said that they will be announcing details of
the amnesty in the next few weeks but that in the meantime "we
would urge adults not to allow children access to any kind of gun"
(BBC, 21 February 2007). It is disappointing to note
that by July 2007 Staffordshire Police had not acted on this
promise. A hand in programme was finally announced in
February 2008 (see Police
Campaigns)
It was recently reported that the
Government are talking to ACPO about a nationwide amnesty later in
the year (see
Report). A gun
amnesty will take place in South Yorkshire, West Yorkshire and
Humberside next month linked to a
campaign to tackle gun and knife crime (see another
Item on the South Yorkshire campaign).
Airguns in Scotland -
February 2007
IN RECENT WEEKS there
have been a number of calls in Scotland for tougher controls over airguns.
In 2005/06 there were 618 airgun offences across Scotland, the
highest number recorded for seven years (see
Data). During the late
1990s there was a significant fall in the number of airgun
offences but these have now increased in each of the last four
years. A recent independent survey showed that eight out of
ten Scots would support a ban on airguns (see
BBC report). On Thursday 1
March an 11,000-signature petition calling for a ban will be
handed to the First Minister Jack McConnell and two relatives of airgun
victims will address the Scottish Parliament (see
Daily Record article for
details). Sharon McMillan's two-year-old son Andrew was
killed in a Glasgow street in March 2005. Jacqueline Jack's
brother Graeme Baxter died when he was shot by a friend as they
drank together in the friend's house in East Calder in April 2006.
Solidarity MSP Tommy Sheridan has tabled a member's Bill calling
for a ban on airguns in Scotland other than for specific and
licensed use in gun clubs or for pest control (see
BBC report). He has gained
support from the Fire Brigades Union. An Aberdeen
councillor, Norman Collie has asked his fellow councillors to
consider outlawing airguns in the city (see
BBC report). The
Council's policy and strategy committee has voted 10 to 5 to give
the go-ahead to create a groundbreaking bye-law (BBC, 17
April 2007). The issue was
also raised by Dundee councillor Fraser Macpherson following an incident
this month in a McDonalds restaurant in Dundee in which two
11-year-olds were injured when a pellet gun was fired at them.
It has now been reported that
Edinburgh City Council have also begun moves to ban airguns in the
city (Evening News, 6 March 2007).
Gun Crime Measures to be Reviewed
- February 2007
THE TRAGIC DEATHS of three teenagers
in south London, shot
dead within a period of twelve days, prompted
a flood of comment by politicians and the media. The Prime
Minister Tony Blair's response has been to say that he would like to see the
minimum five-year sentence for possession of an illegal firearm to
apply to under-21s, but he repeated the view that the shootings were
not a reflection on British society as a whole and that, as
figures reproduced on this
website confirm, gun crime is falling in general.
Talks involving police chiefs, community leaders, experts and
Government ministers have been announced by Home Secretary John
Reid.
> See
Press Association article
Following a gun crime summit, chaired
by the Prime Minister and held at 10 Downing Street on 22 February,
the Home Secretary announced a three-point plan. The
Government said it would focus on three main areas for action,
Policing (ensuring the police are equipped to tackle gun crime),
Powers (giving the police and courts the powers to deal with
offenders) and Prevention (empowering communities to take action
themselves). There will be a review of the legislation of
gangs, guns and knives, including gun supply issues.
> See
Home Office News Release
A fund of £500,000 from the Home
Office will be made available to community groups tackling gun crime
and gangs. Each group is able to apply for up to £5,000.
Annual Gun Crime Figures for England & Wales
Released -
January 2007
THE
LATEST ANNUAL FIGURES for gun crime in England and Wales (2005/06)
present a mixed picture, and it would be unwise to draw too many
conclusions from them. Though there was a worrying increase in some
categories of crime, the immediate and selective conclusion of Shadow
Home Secretary David Davis and some newspapers that the figures
indicated a loss of control over gun crime is hardly supported by the
overall data. The total number of offences was in fact down by 6
percent from the previous year, something that was hardly reflected in
some of the headlines.
A
major concern was the increase in the number of robberies
involving firearms (up by 10 percent). Thirty five percent of these
(1439 offences) were street robberies (an increase of 9 percent) and
there was a large increase in robberies on residential properties (up 68
percent to 645 offences): however, the authors of the report point out
that some of the increase may be the result of a transfer from firearm
burglaries, which have seen substantial falls in the last two years
(there is a fine distinction between robbery and burglary, and crimes
are apparently only classified as burglaries if firearms are used in the
getaway). Robberies on post offices, banks and building societies fell,
following a recent downward trend (they now make up less than 5 percent
of the total number of robberies involving firearms), although there was
a slight increase in the number of offences on shops and garages (these
make up 28 percent of the total). The weapons used in robberies were
described as handguns in 70 percent of cases (but see below) and
shotguns in five percent. Five percent were known to involve imitation
guns.
Less
than 3 percent of firearm crimes resulted in a serious or fatal injury.
The number of homicides fell from 78 to 50 (the lowest recorded
since 1998/99) and the number of injuries fell by 8 percent to
5409.
Crimes involving handguns increased to 4671 (up 7 percent) and
those involving shotguns to 642 (up 7.5 percent). The majority
of the handgun crimes (3628) are recorded as being committed with a
weapon of “Type Unknown”, and so many of these offences could have
involved imitation weapons. Handguns were less likely to be fired
(fired in 14 percent of the offences) than shotguns (fired in 41
percent). Two percent of crimes involving shotguns and just under 0.5
percent of crimes involving handguns resulted in a fatal injury.
Shotguns and handguns caused serious injury in 11 percent and 4 percent,
respectively, of the crimes in which they were involved.
There
was a welcome fall in the number of recorded offences involving
imitation guns (down 3 percent to 3275 offences). However, there is
certainly no room for complacency, especially given the uncertainties
within the handgun data (see above). Imitation guns can cause injury
and did so in 47 percent of the crimes (a total of 1535 injuries were
recorded, 37 of these serious).
Offences involving airguns still make up the largest proportion
of gun crime. There was a further fall to 10,347 crimes (a decrease of
12 percent), but this still represents nearly half of the total number
and is unacceptably high. In the vast majority of incidents (92
percent) the weapons were fired, and although the proportion of these
which resulted in injury is significantly lower than with other guns,
airguns were responsible for a total of 1 fatality, 117 serious injuries
(23 percent of the total number caused by all guns) and 1029 slight
injuries (30 percent of the total).
Guns
(including air weapons) were used in 0.4 percent of all recorded
crimes. Britain does not suffer from the high levels of gun crime
experienced by other countries with weaker gun laws, but more should be
done, and we would urge the Government to continue to take every
possible measure to ensure that guns of all types are never easy to
obtain. Whilst tough penalties for those who commit gun crime are
important, it would be far better for society and for the individual
victims if the crimes were prevented by maintaining tough restrictions
on the availability of guns.
> see
Home Office Report
> see Data
The
latest Quarterly Report,
which includes provisional data for the year ending September 2006
(six months later than the Annual Report), shows a further
decrease in the number of offences involving guns (excluding
airguns). The number of offences was 14 percent lower than
in 2004/05.
Sussex Police Reveal Shocking Figures on
Children and Imitation Guns - January 2007
ACCORDING TO SUSSEX POLICE children
as young as 11 are committing gun crimes every day across the
county. Almost 130 children have been caught by police with
imitation guns or BB guns in public in the past two years.
The Police warned that people found in possession of the weapons
in public were putting their lives in danger and wasting police
time. Five teenage girls, including one aged 14, had
committed firearm offences, more than 50 youths had been found
with imitation firearms, and more than ten teenagers had been
reprimanded for using a firearm or imitation firearm to intimidate
the public. Campaigner Maggie Smeeth, who has tried to
tackle the sale of BB guns in Brighton as part of an action group
which included Brighton and Hove City Council's trading standards
team and the police, organised an amnesty day for BB guns.
She said that without a total ban on the sale of BB guns children
will still be able to get hold of the guns. "Parents need to
be told these guns are not toys". According to
The Argus (1 January 2007) a
Home Office report has warned that a quarter of those who went on
to commit serious gun crime had "first experienced airguns and BB
guns, typically in their early teens."
Study Highlights the
Use of Converted Imitation Weapons by
Criminals - December 2006
A RESEARCH TEAM has conducted a study
commissioned by the Home Office in which a total of 80 criminals aged 18
to 30 and who had been convicted under the Firearms Act were interviewed
in jail. The research found that converted imitation firearms were
more widely available than purpose built weapons. Gavin Hales from
the University of Portsmouth and a member of the study team, said
that this "reflects the fact that real guns are hard to get hold of and
attempts to reduce them have worked. Why would you use an
imitation when you can get a real gun?" The main sources of
firearms were found to be illegal importation, the burglary of guns and
the conversion of imitation guns. Prices ranged from £20 for an
imitation firearm and £50 for a shotgun to £1000 and above for a
purpose-built handgun and between £800 and £4000 for an automatic
firearm. Most gun possession and use was related to the illegal
drugs market. Whilst rightly concluding that the illegal use of
firearms is not a singular problem the report concludes that some
findings point to clear recommendations, such as greater efforts to
tackle the availability and conversion of highly realistic imitation
firearms.
> see
Full Report
International News:
In Switzerland Army Weapons "Kill 300 People a Year" - December 2006
MORE THAN 300 PEOPLE are killed
every year by army guns in Switzerland, according to a study by
criminologist Martin Killias. The weapons play a central
role in suicides and family killings, of which Switzerland has a
grim history. Together with private guns the army weapons
were used in 36 per cent of domestic murders. In Switzerland
army rifles, issued to all able-bodied Swiss men, can be kept at
home with ammunition during their army service. The results
of the study are at odds with the picture of a safe Switzerland
often painted by the gun lobby, where keeping more guns at home is not
linked to higher rates of gun death.
> See
Report in Swiss Info
Police Forces Warn Parents not to
Buy Imitation Guns for their Children at Christmas
- December 2006
FOR THE PAST FEW YEARS during the period before
Christmas police forces around the country have found it necessary to issue
warnings urging parents not to buy ball bearing guns and other replica
weapons as Christmas presents for their children. Despite the
inclusion of measures in the Violent Crime Reduction Act 2006 to ban the
sale, import and manufacture of imitation guns they are still on sale and
once again police this year are concerned about the serious consequences of more of these weapons
falling into the hands of children. In some areas such as Burnley,
Pendle and Rossendale police have introduced a Christmas amnesty and
recommended that youngsters who have BB guns should hand them in at police
stations.
> see
This is Lancashire article
> see
West Yorkshire Police Press Release
> see
Article from Greater Manchester
Other forces who have issued warnings include
those in Dorset, Somerset and Leicestershire.
International News:
UN General Assembly Approves a Resolution on the Global Small Arms
Trade - December 2006
THE UN GENERAL ASSEMBLY has approved
a resolution that could lead to the first international treaty on
controlling the trade in gun and other small arms. The
resolution was approved by a vote of 153-1 with 24 abstentions.
The United States was the only country to vote against it.
The resolution asks the secretary general to seek the views of the
192-member General Assembly on the feasibility of a comprehensive
treaty "establishing common international standards for the
import, export and transfer of conventional arms".
> See
Report on Yahoo News
