Rampant Gun Crime?
A really interesting BBC analysis on Gun Crime and the truth behind the media hysteria.
Analysis: UK gun crime figures
By Dominic Casciani Home affairs, BBC News
Another shooting, and more fears of guns on the streets of Britain - but what do we really know about the extent of gun crime in England and Wales?
Since the start of 2007, eight young people have lost their lives in shootings - six in London, one in Manchester and now the killing of 11-year-old Rhys Jones in Liverpool.
According to provisional Home Office figures, there were 58 firearms-related homicides in 2006-07 compared with 49 in the previous year. That is an increase of 18% in just one year. If we include airguns, the number of homicides in 2006-07 rises to 61. There were 413 firearms incidents that resulted in serious injury - more than one a day.
But at the same time, the trend in gun crime overall has been going down.
Overall firearms offences fell 13% in 2006-07 to 9,608 incidents - the lowest number in seven years. Firearms robberies, handgun offences and serious injuries from firearms are also down.
Just over half of all firearms offences occurred in just three major forces - the Metropolitan Police in London, Greater Manchester and West Midlands.
Drilling down into the national figures up to the end of April 2006 shows that West Midlands, Merseyside and Greater Manchester Police have all experienced drops in firearms offences whereas London has seen an increase.
The Metropolitan Police says that in the 12 months to July 2007 it saw a 3.5% rise in firearms offences - up from 3,485 to 3,607 incidents.
Nottingham is another city that has struggled with a guns label after a number of killings in 2004, including schoolgirl Danielle Beccan - but its police chiefs say public perception is at odds with reality because the city witnesses far fewer incidents per resident than other so-called gun hotspots. Figures show Nottinghamshire Police recorded one firearms-related death in 2006 and none as of August 2007.
While there has been substantial concern in recent years over the use of imitation weapons in gang incidents - not least because some can be converted into real guns - the figures show there has also been a decrease here.
Further detailed research on firearms crimes on a regional basis will be published in 2008.
What all of this means is that we cannot draw any simple nationwide conclusions about gun crime. What we can say with certainty is that gun crime is a problem that remains closely focused in some cities that have witnessed some terrible deaths.
The figures do not show that gun crime is prolific or widespread in England and Wales.
Knife crime
In fact, the most common weapon used in a violent crime in England and Wales is not a gun - but a knife.
CRIME FIGURES IN FULL
Crime in England and Wales 2006-07 [2.7MB]
There are almost four times more knife-related killings as firearms-related killings, according to recent figures.
Of the 18 violent teenager deaths in London since the beginning of 2007, 12 have been stabbings.
The Centre for Crime and Justice Studies at King's College London recently conducted some deeper analysis of the available Home Office's statistics.
It concluded that between 22,000 and 57,900 young people could have been victims of knife crime in 2004. However, it says without better official data it is impossible to know for sure - and that we need that data to improve the public debate.
The Home Office has pledged to change the way crime figures are presented to help the public better understand the impact on their area. One of the key changes is going to be separate knife crimes figures from 2008.
The question of youth
Figures show the number of young people killed year-on-year in violent crime is relatively small and volatile - apparently dramatic changes can be statistically misleading.
HOMICIDE VICTIMS AGED 5-16
1995: 44
98/99: 25
02/03: 33
05/06: 20
Source: Home Office
In 1995, 44 people between five and 16-years-old were victims of homicide. In 2005-06 the number was less than half of that - and during the in-between years it varied wildly. Crucially, four out of 10 child victims are killed by a parent.
So what about perpetrators of crime? We don't have a figure for the total number of violent youth offenders because of the way data is collected. But we do know a little about where violence figures in youth crime overall.
Almost a fifth of all crimes committed by under-18s are violent offences, second only to theft - and the number of violent crimes has risen consecutively for four years.
The vast majority are minor assaults - frightening for the victim but usually dealt with by warnings from the police.
Of last year's crimes, 39,000 offences were committed by young men and 15,000 by young women. The number of offenders will be lower because one person is very often found to have assaulted more than one victim.
Only 1,500 resulted in some form of detention - nine involved a life detention order
Analysis: UK gun crime figures
By Dominic Casciani Home affairs, BBC News
Another shooting, and more fears of guns on the streets of Britain - but what do we really know about the extent of gun crime in England and Wales?
Since the start of 2007, eight young people have lost their lives in shootings - six in London, one in Manchester and now the killing of 11-year-old Rhys Jones in Liverpool.
According to provisional Home Office figures, there were 58 firearms-related homicides in 2006-07 compared with 49 in the previous year. That is an increase of 18% in just one year. If we include airguns, the number of homicides in 2006-07 rises to 61. There were 413 firearms incidents that resulted in serious injury - more than one a day.
But at the same time, the trend in gun crime overall has been going down.
Overall firearms offences fell 13% in 2006-07 to 9,608 incidents - the lowest number in seven years. Firearms robberies, handgun offences and serious injuries from firearms are also down.
Just over half of all firearms offences occurred in just three major forces - the Metropolitan Police in London, Greater Manchester and West Midlands.
Drilling down into the national figures up to the end of April 2006 shows that West Midlands, Merseyside and Greater Manchester Police have all experienced drops in firearms offences whereas London has seen an increase.
The Metropolitan Police says that in the 12 months to July 2007 it saw a 3.5% rise in firearms offences - up from 3,485 to 3,607 incidents.
Nottingham is another city that has struggled with a guns label after a number of killings in 2004, including schoolgirl Danielle Beccan - but its police chiefs say public perception is at odds with reality because the city witnesses far fewer incidents per resident than other so-called gun hotspots. Figures show Nottinghamshire Police recorded one firearms-related death in 2006 and none as of August 2007.
While there has been substantial concern in recent years over the use of imitation weapons in gang incidents - not least because some can be converted into real guns - the figures show there has also been a decrease here.
Further detailed research on firearms crimes on a regional basis will be published in 2008.
What all of this means is that we cannot draw any simple nationwide conclusions about gun crime. What we can say with certainty is that gun crime is a problem that remains closely focused in some cities that have witnessed some terrible deaths.
The figures do not show that gun crime is prolific or widespread in England and Wales.
Knife crime
In fact, the most common weapon used in a violent crime in England and Wales is not a gun - but a knife.
CRIME FIGURES IN FULL
Crime in England and Wales 2006-07 [2.7MB]
There are almost four times more knife-related killings as firearms-related killings, according to recent figures.
Of the 18 violent teenager deaths in London since the beginning of 2007, 12 have been stabbings.
The Centre for Crime and Justice Studies at King's College London recently conducted some deeper analysis of the available Home Office's statistics.
It concluded that between 22,000 and 57,900 young people could have been victims of knife crime in 2004. However, it says without better official data it is impossible to know for sure - and that we need that data to improve the public debate.
The Home Office has pledged to change the way crime figures are presented to help the public better understand the impact on their area. One of the key changes is going to be separate knife crimes figures from 2008.
The question of youth
Figures show the number of young people killed year-on-year in violent crime is relatively small and volatile - apparently dramatic changes can be statistically misleading.
HOMICIDE VICTIMS AGED 5-16
1995: 44
98/99: 25
02/03: 33
05/06: 20
Source: Home Office
In 1995, 44 people between five and 16-years-old were victims of homicide. In 2005-06 the number was less than half of that - and during the in-between years it varied wildly. Crucially, four out of 10 child victims are killed by a parent.
So what about perpetrators of crime? We don't have a figure for the total number of violent youth offenders because of the way data is collected. But we do know a little about where violence figures in youth crime overall.
Almost a fifth of all crimes committed by under-18s are violent offences, second only to theft - and the number of violent crimes has risen consecutively for four years.
The vast majority are minor assaults - frightening for the victim but usually dealt with by warnings from the police.
Of last year's crimes, 39,000 offences were committed by young men and 15,000 by young women. The number of offenders will be lower because one person is very often found to have assaulted more than one victim.
Only 1,500 resulted in some form of detention - nine involved a life detention order
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