Home Secretary announces new gun controls

Jan 10 2008 by Caroline Innes, Liverpool Daily Post

A BAN on deactivated guns could soon be introduced, Home Secretary Jacqui Smith announced today during a visit to Liverpool.

Ms Smith said she wanted to protect the public and allow police to remove black-market firearms from the streets.

She is also understood to have met the parents of 11-year-old Rhys Jones, who was shot dead on August 22 while returning home from football practice.

The Home Secretary’s visit was part of the tackling gangs action programme and coincided with Merseyside police conducting a series of dawn drug and gang related raids in North Liverpool, where a number of firearms were seized.

She said: "Gun crime, though thankfully rare, is a problem in some areas of the country.

"I want to balance protecting the public with the rights of responsible collectors of deactivated firearms.

"I will shortly consult on a way forward to allow genuine curators to collect legitimate firearms while giving the police and other enforcement agencies the powers they need to get black market firearms off our streets.

"Tackling gun crime is key to making people feel safer and more secure in their communities.

"We already have the tightest controls in Europe but there is more we can do to remove the threat of gun crime."

Typically, a deactivated gun has its barrel sawn down the middle and a metal rod is then welded inside to make it incapable of discharging a bullet.

Police estimate some 120,000 of these deactivated guns are in circulation in the UK.

The proposal to only allow genuine collectors legal access to deactivated guns comes after police raised concerns many are being used in crime.

During her visit to Liverpool the Home Secretary met Detective Chief Inspector Steve Moore, the Merseyside police lead on gun crime, for a full de-brief on the day of action in the city.

She also met Detective Superintendent Stephen Brougham from the Witness Assistance Unit to discuss their provisions for witness protection to encourage witnesses to come forward.

Ms Smith went on to visit the Norris Green and Croxteth areas of Merseyside where she met young people, residents, police and staff working in the Alt Valley Community Trust.

She added: "Organisations like the Croxteth ‘Communiversity’ skills centre are doing a fantastic job to help vulnerable young people turn their lives around, equipping them with skills and qualifications for the future and steering them away from crime and disorder."

She then visited Croxteth Community primary school to meet the children to talk to them about how they are affected by gang related crime and hear how the police are working with them and their parents to address their concerns and to try to prevent them becoming involved in gang activity.

Chief Constable of Merseyside police Bernard Hogan-Howe said: "I welcome the Home Secretary’s support in the fight against gun crime.

"Introducing stricter controls on the possession of deactivated weapons makes the law fit today’s challenges.

"Giving the Serious Organised Crime Agency a priority to help in this fight is essential.

"We have achieved a great deal in Merseyside already - but around the country we need to take guns out of the hands of criminals."

Concluding her trip the Home Secretary was due to travel to Bebington in the Wirral, to meet the Area Commander Chief Superintendent Jon Ward and members of Wirral’s Joint Community Safety Team.

After visiting the One Stop Shop in Bebington Village the Home Secretary will board the Borough’s Respect Bus to hear more from the team about how they are working together to tackle anti-social behaviour.
 
carolineinnes@dailypost.co.uk