Posted on 01/09/2003 5:58:16 AM PST by Lockbox
Handgun crime rises by 46 per cent
Gun crime in England and Wales soared by 35 per cent last year and criminals used handguns in nearly 50 per cent more offences, Home Office figures revealed today.
Firearms were used in 9,974 recorded crimes in the 12 months to last April, up from 7,362. In all, handgun crime rose 46 per cent year-on-year.
The figures also show the number of crimes involving handguns has more than doubled since the post-Dunblane massacre ban on the weapons, from 2,636 in 1997-1998 to 5,871 in the last financial year.
John Denham, the Home Office Minister, said: "Although crime overall remains stable, I am concerned at the significant rise that we have seen in firearm offences.
"The Home Secretary is holding a round table meeting tomorrow with key groups to make sure we are doing all we can to tackle gun crime.
"We announced earlier this week that we would be introducing a five-year minimum sentence for possession of a firearm as well as new offences to tighten up the law on air weapons and replica firearms."
Overall recorded crime in the 12 months to last September rose 9.3 per cent, but the Home Office stressed that new procedures had skewed the figures.
Research from the British Crime Survey, which interviews 40,000 people a year and is also published today, showed that less than half of adults (44 per cent) believe the criminal justice system is effective in bringing people to justice. Only 39 per cent said they believed the system was dealing with cases promptly and efficiently.
But the survey also showed crime has been falling since 1997 and the risk of being a victim is very low - around the same as in 1981.
These are other the main points from the first quarterly update on crime in England and Wales. The Home Office stressed that new procedures had skewed the figures, which are for 12 months to September 2002, unless otherwise stated.
Oliver Letwin, the Shadow Home Secretary said: "These figures are truly terrible. Despite the street crime initiative, robbery is massively up. So are domestic burglary, retail burglary and drug offences.
"The only word for this is failure: the Government's response of knee jerk reactions, gimmicks and initiatives is not working and confused signals on sentences for burglary will not help either.
a Black female reporting in England has noted that Black gun violence is escalating at greater rates than among other groups-and this violence, as in the US, is predominately Black on Black.
However, if you look at London and Birmingham (their only cities above 1 million), and compare it to America's large (1 million+) cities (NYC, LA, Chicago, Houston, Philly, Phoenix, San Diego, Dallas, and San Antonio), I'd bet we're pretty close to even nowadays.
Crime figures are more than a reflection of whether or not the people are allowed to pack heat. They are a barometer of the moral health of a nation and are simply one aspect of it.
The spiralling abortion rates, condom giveaways to school kids, weakening of parental authority over children, promotion of homosexual "rights" etc, all point to a society in decay. Briitain has been at the forefront in all these areas. When there is no respect for the human life of another, it should come as no surprise that there is also no respect for the property of another.
Britain has been eviscerated by the two-pronged fork of religious apostasy and socialist/communist politics.
There goes protection for those who obey the law. The rest will stock up on bullets. This is a great target for the crimminals.
Wanna get rich quick, or catch a piece at will? Go to England or Whales! It's free, free, free for the taking. Come one, come all - This area is unarmed!
9,974 , 9,975, 9,976, 9,977, 9,998,......
'When hand guns are illegal only outlaws will have hand guns' .... Should be changed to read, 'When guns are illegal only Islamic fanatics will have hand guns, assault weapons and weapons of mass destruction ...'
Whew, I feel much better now. Pitty the poor stupid Brits, they will have to learn the hard way.
Yes, but ours is Falling under expanded carry laws, and theirs is Rising, under Gun Control.
The differences in per capita rates could be attributed to cultural differences (ie more effeminate males.)
And what if crime continues to exponentially increase after this new law goes into effect (which it undoutedly will)? Will the death penalty for handgun possession be the next step?
Here's an idea, Limeys: Close your borders, deport all your illegal Muslims, and trash all of your handgun laws. Come to think of it, that would be a good blueprint for the U.S. as well.
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.