Gun Crime

Unlike in America, there is little debate between pro-gun control and pro-gun ownership lobbies in the UK. There is general public consensus against ownership of handguns, which is enforced under strict legislation. Guns for sport are more readily accepted, but are controlled by a strict licensing regime.

Background

Despite these strong sentiments, the UK has not averted gun crime by any means.

Particularly prominent within public memory is the Dunblane massacre. In 1996 a disturbed former boy-scout leader named Thomas Hamilton shot dead sixteen young children and their teacher at Dunblane Primary School before turning the gun on himself. This was the second time in a decade that unarmed civilians had been slaughtered by a legally licensed gun owner.

The combined impact and subsequent public outcry motivated the Conservative government at the time to amend the existing legislation on gun ownership. The Firearms Amendment of 1997 completely banned handguns for private ownership.

Fourteen years after Dunblane, the mass killings in Cumbria carried out by another lone gunman, taxi driver Derrick Bird, once again provoked shock, horror and disbelief across the UK. Twelve people were shot dead on 2nd June, 2010, before the perpetrator, another licensed gun owner, turned the gun on himself. The Home Secretary acknowledged that the shootings would prompt further debate on Britain's gun laws.

Controversies

Despite the handguns ban imposed under the 1997 Firearms Amendment, research carried out following the implementation of the act saw a 40 per cent increase in the number of gun crime incidents in the UK.

While the number of homicides from gun crime remained largely static for over a decade, 2007 proved a decisive year for this issue. A wave of gang related incidents were committed by teenagers against other teenagers, with some high profile cases ending in fatalities. London, Manchester and Nottingham were most notably affected.

In August 2007, these attacks culminated in the murder of an 11-year-old Liverpool schoolboy, Rhys Jones, hit whilst playing football outside his local pub. Following a lengthy police investigation and a trial lasting over two months, an 18 year old youth, Sean Mercer, a member of the 'Croxteth crew' gang, was convicted in December 2008 of the murder and sentenced to life imprisonment.

Other gang members were convicted of offences connected with the murder, including 21 year old James Yates, whose initial seven year sentence for providing the handgun used by Mercer was increased by the Court of Appeal to 12 years.

The then prime minister, Gordon Brown, came under constant pressure to resolve the issues driving these murders. Commentators highlighted a range of social problems which might be responsible including inner city poverty, family breakdown, and the absence of positive black role models in the UK.

The government also faced questions over the apparent availability of guns, which had remained strong despite the handgun ban. Some commentators also suggested the government's legislation, specifically punishments for carrying a gun, were exacerbating gun crime amongst the young.

Following the mass killings in Cumbria on 2nd June, 2010, Home Secretary Theresa May confirmed that two weapons had been recovered by police, a shotgun and a .22 rifle, and that the gunman, Derrick Bird, had held a shotgun licence since 1995 and a firearms licence (for the .22 rifle) since 2007.

Ms May pledged that when the police had completed their investigations, the Government would lead a debate on the country's gun laws, engaging with "all interested parties" and allowing MPs to contribute to the debate.

Statistics

Offences involving the use of a firearm continue to make up a small proportion of recorded crime.

In 2008/09, firearms were used in just 0.3 per cent of all recorded crimes, or one in every 330.
Overall, firearms were reported to have been used in 14,250 recorded crimes in 2008/09, an 18 per cent decrease on 2007/08, and the fifth consecutive annual fall.
Firearm offences, excluding air weapons, decreased by 17 per cent, to 8,208.

There were 39 fatal injuries resulting from offences that involved firearms in 2008/09, the
lowest recorded by the police in 20 years.
Fatal and serious injuries decreased by 20 per cent from 541 in 2007/08 to 432 in 2008/09.
Overall, firearm offences involving any type of injury were down by 41 per cent in 2008/09, from 4,164 in 2007/08 to 2,458 in 2008/09.

Handguns were used in 4,275 offences during 2008/09, a rise of two per cent on 2007/08.
There was a large fall in the use of imitation weapons, which fell by 41 per cent to 1,511.
The number of firearm robberies decreased by ten per cent in 2008/09, to 3,617, the lowest recorded since the introduction of the National Crime Recording Standard in 2002/03.

Firearm offences, excluding air weapons, were geographically concentrated in three police force areas: Metropolitan, Greater Manchester and West Midlands (by way of comparison, just under a quarter of the population reside in these three areas).

One police officer was seriously injured and a further eight slightly injured by a firearm while on duty in 2008/09. This overall total of nine compares with the 21 to 24 injuries that were recorded in each of the previous four years, and is the lowest since 2000/01, when seven were recorded.

Source: Home Office Statistical Bulletin - 10th January, 2010

Quotes

"Mass killings as we experienced yesterday is - fortunately - extremely rare in our country. But that doesn't make it any the less painful, and it doesn't mean we shouldn't do everything we can to stop it happening again. Where there are lessons to be learned, we will learn them. Where there are changes to be made, we will make them. "

Home Secretary Theresa May's statement to the Commons on the Cumbrian shootings - 3rd June 2010

"Every legitimate firearms owner, along with the rest of the country, is still in shock after the appalling events in Cumbria, and our thoughts are with the community and the affected families.
"Inevitably questions are being raised about the UK's firearms licensing laws. Those controls are amongst the toughest in the world. ... We welcome the Government's commitment to take a cautious approach to any review of firearms laws... The UK needs a working firearms licensing system which balances use with public safety. "

Simon Clarke, spokesman British Association for Shooting and Conservation (BASC) - 3rd June 2010