Gun & Knife crime

[Walker570]

Gun and knife crime up 14%, todays statistics report.  Now how can this be so when we, here in the UK have some of the most stringent laws covering both firearms and knives?

[The Mighty Prawn]

It's directly related to .50 bmg and MARS action rifles apparently hence why they're being moved to S5 

[Pigeon Shredder.]

There's nothing stringent in taking a knife out of the kitchen draw and then going out with it.

Stop and search being implemented more would remove some of the percentage.

As for firearms, we the legal firearm owners are the only ones stringently controlled by government, anyone else who wants one knows where to go for one off ticket.

[TIGHTCHOKE]

Another news bite that the general public believe!

[Clodhopper]

I am awaiting another round of legislation aimed at law abiding firearms holders on the back of this. It shows that something is being done. 

It far easier to clamp down on people who obey the law than those sneaky devils who commit crime ,they just don't like being found.

Not getting at the police here as they are hugely undermanned and resourced and simply do not have the capacity to perform what they need to to reduce this using legislation which already exists. Even if they do catch one of the aforementioned sneaky devils the current punishments are not harsh enough and said toad will be back out up to his/ her ( recognising equality) tricks again without a care in the world.

 

Rant over, I am off to work so I can subsidize a low life through my tax.

[old'un]

This cannot be true, as they have just had a knife and gun amnesty to get all these nasty guns and knifes off the streets.

[TriBsa]

34 minutes ago, TIGHTCHOKE said:

Another news bite that the general public believe!

Yes, spoon fed sound bites. Most will not read the report and look beyond the headlines.

This is interesting:

Quote

The coverage of the firearms collection is wide, covering offences involving serious weapons such as handguns or shotguns as well as less serious weapons such as BB guns and CS gas. While some of the increase in the number of offences involving firearms will be a genuine rise, it is likely that improvements in crime recording will also be a factor. For example, around a fifth (20%⁹) of the increase is in offences involving some of these less serious weapons¹⁰. It is likely that the police are now including these offences in their returns when previously they were being excluded. Furthermore, 28%¹¹ of the rise is due to an increase in possession of firearms offences with intent. It is possible that previously these offences would have been recorded as simple possession offences, which are not covered by this collection.

https://www.ons.gov.uk/peoplepopulationandcommunity/crimeandjustice/bulletins/crimeinenglandandwales/yearendingseptember2017#offences-involving-weapons-recorded-by-the-police-continue-to-rise

I suppose a headline of "Firearms Offences 31% Down on a Decade Ago" wouldn't serve their political purpose:

Quote

Offences involving firearms⁷ increased by 20% (to 6,694) in the year ending September 2017 compared with the previous year (5,587 offences). This was driven largely by a 20% increase in offences involving handguns (up to 2,844 from 2,375) and partly by a 14% increase in offences involving imitation weapons such as BB guns⁸(up to 1,661 from 1,456), a 36% increase in offences involving shotguns (up to 658 from 484) and a 26% increase in offences involving unidentified firearms (up to 914 from 727). The latest rise continues an upward trend seen in firearms offences in the last few years, however, offences are still 31% below a decade ago (in the year ending March 2007;

 

Edited January 25, 2018 by TriBsa

[norfolk dumpling]

Of course we believe this don't we? Police manipulate their stats to suit their needs and the public swallow it hook line and sinker.

[JohnfromUK]

2 hours ago, old'un said:

This cannot be true,

It won't be - it's a government statistic

[Scully]

The annoying thing is, is that the way crime is reported can have a very detrimental effect on firearms legislation. HO civil servants can use this information to concoct, devise and present potential legislation to ministers already sympathetic to increasing firearms legislation. 

Colin Greenwood, in his book, emphasised just how misleading and open to interpretation much of this information can be, and indeed, much of the encroaching legislation over the last couple of centuries has been based on nothing more than interpretation ( and in some cases deliberate misinformation ) of material such as this.