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View Full Version : Five million Britons 'could get a gun'



Not_much_cop
11-09-2007, 09:45 AM
A report into gun crime in the UK has claimed that five million men know how to illegally buy a firearm.

The YouGov survey which polled 2,000 adults in England, Wales and England found that nearly a fifth of men (18 per cent) claimed they knew how to get their hands on an illegal firearm.

The figure is equivalent of five million people. One in eight of those questioned said they knew someone who had such a weapon, or had owned one in the past.

Almost half (45 per cent) believed their area was less safe than it was five years ago due to gun and knife crime.

Around a third of people (29 per cent) surveyed by YouGov for the think-tank Policy Exchange said they or their immediate family were at risk of such crimes, with the figure rising to 42 per cent in London.

Even in rural areas, 23 per cent of residents said they or their family were at risk.

The report, Gun and Knife Crime in Great Britain, claimed that gun culture now affected not just lower income groups but all sections of society in all parts of the country.

Policy Exchange research director Gavin Lockhart said: "It is clear that it is no longer just hardened criminals who have access to guns or deprived inner city communities which are affected by them.

"Britain's gun culture has become so endemic it affects huge swathes of the population, with millions of people saying they know how to get hold of illegal firearms and millions more feeling personally threatened by them.

"It is no surprise that gun crime casualties have quadrupled in the past decade, or that voters are demanding the Government take a far more hardline stance."

stickywicket
11-09-2007, 03:26 PM
when you look at the amount of drugs and illegal immigrants in the country it doesnt take a great leap of the imagination to guess how many guns are available. while im not relating gun crime directly to drugs or immigrants, these are all things which are imported illegally into this country and therefore are loosely connected. its beginning to seem that the UKs borders are more porus than a sponge and i think the problem will only get worse.
guns have always been available in the UK the problem lies with the people who are willing to use them, which it seems more and more these days to be kids. im sometimes amazed at the age of some of these kids who are not only using the weapons but who the weapons are being used on, there is something seriously wrong with this country at present, what are parents teaching their kids when they think it is acceptable to shoot or stab another kid.

y2krog2000
11-09-2007, 07:31 PM
And thats probably just the figures from asking the average Joe, imagine what the statistics would be if they included hardened criminals, drug dealers, illegal immigrants etc...

Not_much_cop
11-09-2007, 10:38 PM
when you look at the amount of drugs and illegal immigrants in the country it doesnt take a great leap of the imagination to guess how many guns are available. while im not relating gun crime directly to drugs or immigrants, these are all things which are imported illegally into this country and therefore are loosely connected. its beginning to seem that the UKs borders are more porus than a sponge and i think the problem will only get worse.
guns have always been available in the UK the problem lies with the people who are willing to use them, which it seems more and more these days to be kids. im sometimes amazed at the age of some of these kids who are not only using the weapons but who the weapons are being used on, there is something seriously wrong with this country at present, what are parents teaching their kids when they think it is acceptable to shoot or stab another kid.

I certainly remember that when i was at school, if you had a problem with one fo the other kids (Boys, as I was myself) you would meet up either after school, or if things got really bad - during school breaks, on a feild/park and throw a few punches, kicks at each other and one of you would go home a little more bruised than the other, but that was end of it. You made up afterwards and just carried on as though nothing happened.

These days, though, kids don't want to get dirty by getting a bit of blood on them, or having a few bruises etc. They all (Generally speaking) know someone who deals and knows where to or how to get hold of a weapon, be it a gun or large machette type knife, or even know someone that will do the deed for a small fee, thus removing them from the suspects lists. It is a cowards way out. Rather than stepping up to the mark and dealing with it there and then.

Just my 2p worth.
NMC