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Scotland: New gun control sought "as gun culture g
Josey1
Member Posts: 9,598 ✭✭
New curbs call as gun culture grows
348 people were injured or shot dead last year
HELEN PUTTICK
FRESH calls were made yesterday for action to curb the country's weapon culture after new figures revealed an alarming rise in the number of people killed and wounded by guns.
The Scottish Executive research report showed 348 people were shot dead or injured last year compared to 306 in 2000 - a rise of 14%. The number of criminals accused of wielding guns, which had been pushed below the 1000-mark, also rose during 2001 to 1030.
SNP shadow deputy justice minister Michael Matheson said the figures followed statistics revealed by his party two weeks ago which highlighted a 500% increase in convictions for carrying offensive weapons. He added: "Justice minister Jim Wallace must awaken from his slumber and take action to tackle the growing problem of weapon carrying in Scotland." Scots Tory justice spokesman Lord James Douglas-Hamilton added: "I am shocked by the sheer scale of the increases."
He said statistics suggested the sentencing policy was failing and called for "an urgent review. It is time to strike fear of detection and deterrence into criminals before they strike fear into innocent law-abiding citizens."
The number of fake guns identified by police went up19% last year compared to 2000, partially causing the overall increase in firearms offences.
Mr Wallace yesterday ex-pressed his concern about this escalation, saying it is "no less terrifying for a victim to be staring down the barrel of a replica gun". However he stressed the number of alleged offences involving firearms was still half of what it was 10 years ago.
Over the last decade, levels have fluctuated with significant dips in1997 and 1998 - the years following the Dunblane tragedy.
More than half the alleged offences involving firearms logged in 2001 took place in the Strathclyde, and Lothian and Borders experienced the second highest number.
Yesterday, Lothian and Borders Police confirmed it had experienced an increase in the number of fake guns on the streets. The force organised a hand-in of weapons in response, and warned those wielding imitation guns risk being shot by police.
Ian Dickinson, assistant chief constable and head of special operations, said: "We have thought about it quite a lot and frankly no-one knows why more people are carrying imitation firearms. Without trivialising it, it is almost the same as why all the school children in an area suddenly have marbles.
"There is no indication most are being used deliberately in crime. They are being carried to increase someone's sense of standing or power maybe."
Neil Paterson, director of operations for Victim Support Scotland, said he was surprised by the 10% jump in firearms statistics.
He said: "Clearly victims perceive anything involving a firearm as potentially life threatening and the repercussions can be quite profound."
Earlier this week, Mr Wallace told a conference he would back the police in their fight against knife crime. It emerged earlier this summer that convictions for carrying a knife in Scotland have soared 350% in four years.
- Sept 13th
http://www.theherald.co.uk/news/archive/13-9-19102-23-56-26.html
"If cowardly and dishonorable men sometimes shoot unarmed men with army pistols or guns, the evil must be prevented by the penitentiary and gallows, and not by a general deprivation of a constitutional privilege." - Arkansas Supreme Court, 1878
348 people were injured or shot dead last year
HELEN PUTTICK
FRESH calls were made yesterday for action to curb the country's weapon culture after new figures revealed an alarming rise in the number of people killed and wounded by guns.
The Scottish Executive research report showed 348 people were shot dead or injured last year compared to 306 in 2000 - a rise of 14%. The number of criminals accused of wielding guns, which had been pushed below the 1000-mark, also rose during 2001 to 1030.
SNP shadow deputy justice minister Michael Matheson said the figures followed statistics revealed by his party two weeks ago which highlighted a 500% increase in convictions for carrying offensive weapons. He added: "Justice minister Jim Wallace must awaken from his slumber and take action to tackle the growing problem of weapon carrying in Scotland." Scots Tory justice spokesman Lord James Douglas-Hamilton added: "I am shocked by the sheer scale of the increases."
He said statistics suggested the sentencing policy was failing and called for "an urgent review. It is time to strike fear of detection and deterrence into criminals before they strike fear into innocent law-abiding citizens."
The number of fake guns identified by police went up19% last year compared to 2000, partially causing the overall increase in firearms offences.
Mr Wallace yesterday ex-pressed his concern about this escalation, saying it is "no less terrifying for a victim to be staring down the barrel of a replica gun". However he stressed the number of alleged offences involving firearms was still half of what it was 10 years ago.
Over the last decade, levels have fluctuated with significant dips in1997 and 1998 - the years following the Dunblane tragedy.
More than half the alleged offences involving firearms logged in 2001 took place in the Strathclyde, and Lothian and Borders experienced the second highest number.
Yesterday, Lothian and Borders Police confirmed it had experienced an increase in the number of fake guns on the streets. The force organised a hand-in of weapons in response, and warned those wielding imitation guns risk being shot by police.
Ian Dickinson, assistant chief constable and head of special operations, said: "We have thought about it quite a lot and frankly no-one knows why more people are carrying imitation firearms. Without trivialising it, it is almost the same as why all the school children in an area suddenly have marbles.
"There is no indication most are being used deliberately in crime. They are being carried to increase someone's sense of standing or power maybe."
Neil Paterson, director of operations for Victim Support Scotland, said he was surprised by the 10% jump in firearms statistics.
He said: "Clearly victims perceive anything involving a firearm as potentially life threatening and the repercussions can be quite profound."
Earlier this week, Mr Wallace told a conference he would back the police in their fight against knife crime. It emerged earlier this summer that convictions for carrying a knife in Scotland have soared 350% in four years.
- Sept 13th
http://www.theherald.co.uk/news/archive/13-9-19102-23-56-26.html
"If cowardly and dishonorable men sometimes shoot unarmed men with army pistols or guns, the evil must be prevented by the penitentiary and gallows, and not by a general deprivation of a constitutional privilege." - Arkansas Supreme Court, 1878
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