Police Hit At Rappers For Making Guns Glamorous (UK)

Gaby Hinsliff, Martin Bright and Jason Burke
Sunday January 5, 2003
The Observer

Music industry bosses came under furious attack last night from police for glamorising firearms as the Home Office called an emergency summit to tackle Britain's gun warfare culture. Record companies that market rap music to young people have flatly refused to co-operate with the Metropolitan Police in tackling teenage attitudes, Assistant Commissioner Tarique Ghaffur revealed, blaming a 'backdrop of music' for influencing alienated young men.

The emergency summit was called after the fatal shooting of two teenage girls, caught in the crossfire between rival gangs outside a New Year's Eve party in Birmingham. It has focused national attention on gun crime, in particular why some young men feel they need to carry a gun.

Ghaffur singled out the influence of often violent rap music which glamorises gun culture.

'These are young men at an impressionable age, lacking maturity and boundaries,' he said, accusing record companies of hiding behind artists' 'contractual arrangements' in refusing to release their stars for anti-gun campaigns. He also called for 'shoot-'em-up' style video games, such as PlayStation's new car chase game The Getaway, to be banned and revealed that routine armed patrols will be deployed on inner-city streets as a visible deterrent.

Ghaffur said guns were 'fashion statements' for the young, influenced by rap and garage artists such as south London's So Solid Crew. Yet among artists approached by police to front anti-gun campaigns, only Ms Dynamite agreed.

His comments came as police intelligence sources warned of a new wave of gun smuggling from the Balkans in the past month, with 20 Uzis discovered in a single haul in Dover.

The emergency summit of police, probation officers, academics and others is to be hosted by the Home Secretary, David Blunkett, next week and will tackle issues ranging from the Balkan gun smuggling to a ban on realistic replica firearms.

Ministers are particularly interested in ways of dissuading teenagers from wanting to carry firearms.

'We don't have a gun culture like the United States, and Ministers want to take action before we get to that stage,' said one Home Office source.

His comments came as police in Birmingham were studying CCTV footage of the area around the hairdressing salon where Charlene Ellis, 18, and Latisha Shakespear, 17, were killed and two others injured on New Year's Eve. Charlene's twin, Sophie, remained in hospital under armed guard, while the girls' cousin Cheryl Shaw, 17, has been discharged.

The killings apparently took place after rival gang members arrived at the party two hours before the 4am shootings, prompting some guests to leave for fear of violence. Rewards totalling £35,000 have been offered for information.

Figures to be released on Thursday will show that firearms incidents soared again in 2002 and are rising faster than previously.

One in seven gun crimes in London now involves 'respect' shootings - punishments for minor slights such as disputes over women - not traditional drugs or robbery. The Metropolitan Police say gun use is spreading beyond black Yardie-style gangs: 'black-on-black' crime has remained relatively steady in London, but is rising among other communities. Police are particularly concerned about Albanian and Turkish gangs using automatic weapons.

Under police pressure Blunkett is preparing a clampdown on dummy replica guns used in up to a third of 'gun crime', terrifying victims who do not know they are not real. Officials are seeking a solid legal distinction between replicas and children's toys.

New curbs on children buying airguns are also likely, while Blunkett will tomorrow announce five-year sentences for carrying guns or reactivated weapons - guns supposedly rendered obsolete, illegally converted back to fire live rounds - in public.

He also called for 'shoot-'em-up' style video games, such as PlayStation's new car chase game The Getaway, to be banned

Hopefully this brilliant anti-crime initiative will have the same positive effect on the laborites which President Ford's WIP buttons (Whip Inflation Now) had for the GOP.

And pardon me if that WIP button business is just false liberal propaganda. Is it?

Typical government response. blame everyone but the perp. The U.K. response to crime has been to tell the victim he shouldn't have been out so late, shouldn't have so much cash on her or angered the perp by trying to defend himself.

Also, the U.K. has reduced punishments to a laugh and the coppers would rather take a tea break than go out and stop crime. Those cameras everywhere in London are blind eyes as far as preventing or catching criminals. They are grand at peeping at pretty girls.

And pardon me if that WIP button business is just false liberal propaganda. Is it?

They were 'WIN' buttons and they were instantly taken to be evidence of Ford's not being ready for prime time. Probably correctly.

The British anti-gun snit is so laughable. The "gun culture" is quite alive in my little Idaho town. Concealed carry is common. People don't "wear guns" as fashion statements. Firearms related crimes are rare.

Guns in Britain are novelties. They are a worn as a rebellious statement against the harsh prohibition by the government. It is no surprise to see petty disagreements in gangs that are flippantly "solved" by use of a firearm. The "gang" culture is full of losers who can't have a reasonable conversation with a difference of opinion. The "losing" party in a debate is "dissed" and exacts retribution with a firearm.

Britain's first error was admitting people whose cultural standards are so different from what was the "norm". They now reap the consequences of "diversity". The liberals valued "diversity" over "unity". The BBC once described the country as "hideously white". No more. The liberals also seem to value government control over individual freedom. Forcing gun control by government mandate yields the old cliche..."When guns are outlawed, only outlaws will have guns".

Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.