Source: The Guardian
Published: Jan 11, 2001 Author: unknown
Posted on 01/16/2001 12:27:19 PST
Use of handguns in crime in England and Wales reached its highest level for seven years in 1999-2000.
This is in spite of the ban on private ownership of the weapons introduced in the wake of the Dunblane massacre.
There were 42 people killed with handguns during the period - more than in any other year in the 1990s.
Some 3,685 crimes involving handguns were recorded in 1999-2000, including 42 homicides, 310 cases of attempted murder, 2,561 robberies and 204 burglaries, the Home Office revealed.
The total was more than one-third (37%) up on the previous year, and the highest level since the Dunblane tragedy in March 1996, when 16 children and a teacher died.
The details were released in a parliamentary written answer by Home Office Minister Lord Bassam of Brighton.
A ban on all private ownership of handguns became law in November 1997, but handgun offences have risen each year since then.
Levels of handgun offences were higher in 1992 and 1993, at 3,997 and 4,202 respectively, but in each year there were fewer homicides than in 1999-2000.
The higher figures then were down to a far greater incidence of robberies using handguns, which reached a peak of 3,605 in 1993 before falling every year until 1999-2000, when they jumped from 1,814 to 2,561.
Published: Jan 11, 2001 Author: unknown
Posted on 01/16/2001 12:27:19 PST
Use of handguns in crime in England and Wales reached its highest level for seven years in 1999-2000.
This is in spite of the ban on private ownership of the weapons introduced in the wake of the Dunblane massacre.
There were 42 people killed with handguns during the period - more than in any other year in the 1990s.
Some 3,685 crimes involving handguns were recorded in 1999-2000, including 42 homicides, 310 cases of attempted murder, 2,561 robberies and 204 burglaries, the Home Office revealed.
The total was more than one-third (37%) up on the previous year, and the highest level since the Dunblane tragedy in March 1996, when 16 children and a teacher died.
The details were released in a parliamentary written answer by Home Office Minister Lord Bassam of Brighton.
A ban on all private ownership of handguns became law in November 1997, but handgun offences have risen each year since then.
Levels of handgun offences were higher in 1992 and 1993, at 3,997 and 4,202 respectively, but in each year there were fewer homicides than in 1999-2000.
The higher figures then were down to a far greater incidence of robberies using handguns, which reached a peak of 3,605 in 1993 before falling every year until 1999-2000, when they jumped from 1,814 to 2,561.