cuchulainn
Member
Remember to use this standard of measure, boys and girls:
If gun crime goes up after gun control, it's proof we need more gun control.
If gun crime goes down after gun control, it's proof we need more gun control.
from The Guardian
http://politics.guardian.co.uk/homeaffairs/story/0,11026,1078629,00.html
If gun crime goes up after gun control, it's proof we need more gun control.
If gun crime goes down after gun control, it's proof we need more gun control.
from The Guardian
http://politics.guardian.co.uk/homeaffairs/story/0,11026,1078629,00.html
MPs urge tough measures to curb gun crime
Hugh Muir
Thursday November 6, 2003
The Guardian
Radical measures to curb gun crime and end Britain's firearms culture have been demanded by MPs, police officers and the families of victims.
A report from the all-party parliamentary group on gun crime urges the government to make more armed police available to confront the threat from criminals with guns.
MPs also call for tougher anti-gun laws, including legislation to outlaw the manufacture, sale or importation of replica guns, and tougher rules on the use of airguns.
They express deep concern at the ready availability of replicas which are being converted to fire real ammunition.
The parliamentary group also demands better policing, with more coordination and intelligence sharing between police forces and bodies such as Customs and Excise.
They warn that there is often "more communication between the gangs in different cities than the police".
The MPs also call for an overhaul of witness protection procedures to prevent criminals going unpunished because frightened communities refuse to give evidence against them.
The committee firmly reject the option of routinely arming police.
Diane Abbott, MP for Hackney North, the chairwoman of the inquiry, said: "I represent a constituency where every weekend there is a gun crime incident. That means ordinary people live in fear. It is destroying the fabric of the community."
Simon Hughes, vice-chairman, said: "We will not accept the rule of the gun. The message needs to go out that those who carry and use guns will be on the receiving end of very tough sentences."
According to Home Office figures, gun crime rose 35% in the year 2001/2 although some areas, such as London, saw a reduction last year.
Detective Chief Superintendent Jon Coles of the Metropolitan police told MPs the police were forced to confront the gun use of not only professional criminals but also those involved in "disorganised" crime.
In London 70% of the weapons seized are converted replicas, carried by young criminals who drift into the world of drugdealing "through poor education, lack of job opportunity and a desire to meet certain aspirations".
Mr Coles calls for police forces to share more compatible databases and urges a ban not just on replica firearms but on "all air weapons" as well.
In its submission, the Police Federation blames the use of firearms on drugs and social factors but also a glamorising of gun culture. It calls for a public debate on whether material which glamorises gun use should be censored.
The Home Office minister Caroline Flint said the government was planning a five-year minimum sentence for possession of an illegal firearm.
Armed with a plan
The main recommendations:
· More armed officers but no universal arming of police. Officers involved in shooting controversies to be quickly returned to duty
· Witness protection schemes to be extended to gun victims
· Review police informant system
· Doctors to follow General Medical Council guidelines and report gunshot incidents
· Ban manufacture, sale, transfer and importation of imitation weapons
· Make minimum age for possession of air guns 17. Tougher penalties for misuse
· Stricter regulation of deactivation of weapons
· Customs to prioritise fight against the importation of illegal weapons
· Closer cooperation between police and intelligence services
· Government to do more to help foreign countries stem flow of illicit guns
· Tighter controls of UK arms dealers who operate abroad
© Guardian Newspapers Limited 2003