- The controversial ban on the ownership of handguns which
was introduced after the Dunblane massacre has failed to halt an increasing
number of crimes involving firearms.
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- An independent report, Illegal Firearms in the UK, to
be published by the Centre for Defence Studies at King's College in London
tomorrow, says that handguns were used in 3,685 offences last year compared
with 2,648 in 1997, an increase of 40 per cent.
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- The figures will renew the debate about the effectiveness
of the gun ban, introduced by the last Conservative government and then
extended to cover all pistols by Labour after winning the 1997 general
election.
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- Legislation banning larger-calibre pistols was proposed
by the previous Conservative government in response to the murder of 16
pupils and their teacher by Thomas Hamilton at Dunblane primary school
in March 1996.
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- But Labour broadened the scope of the Act to cover smaller
handguns as well, despite opposition from the sporting community. The
law is now so restrictive that British Olympic shooting competitors go
abroad to practise because their weapons are illegal in this country.
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- The new report, commissioned by the Countryside Alliance's
Campaign for Shooting, was compiled by John Bryan, the former head of the
firearms intelligence unit at New Scotland Yard.
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- Mr Bryan said that his report cast doubt on the wisdom
of the ban. "The increase in the use of handguns by criminals since
the implementation of the 1997 Act clearly raises important questions for
policy-makers considering further controls on legally-held firearms."
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- David Bredin, the director of the Campaign for Shooting,
said: "It is crystal clear from the research that the existing gun
laws do not lead to crime reduction and a safer place.
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- "Policy-makers have targeted the legitimate sporting
and farming communities with ever-tighter laws. The research clearly demonstrates
that it is illegal guns which are the real threat to public safety."
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- The number of crimes involving handguns has increased,
mostly due to a flood of illegally imported weapons and the use of those
already in circulation before 1997.
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- The report also shows a dramatic rise in firearms incidents
in general, from 4,904 recorded incidents in 1997 to 6,843 last year.
It reveals an increase in crimes using shotguns, up from 580 in 1997 to
693 last year.
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- Offences involving air weapons show an even more startling
rise, from 7,506 in 1997 to 10,103 last year. Mr Bryan compiled the statistics
from Home Office figures and information obtained by analysing individual
forces' crime totals.
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- A firearms amnesty at the time of the ban's introduction
resulted in 160,000 handguns being surrendered to the police at a cost
of ?90 million to the taxpayer in compensation.
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- A Home Office spokesman said: "The Government did
not believe that banning handguns by itself would eradicate gun crime.
We recognise there is a continuing problem with the use of guns by criminals
and that it has increased over recent years.
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- "We are taking further measures against criminals
who use guns and we already have schemes in the pipeline to curtail illegal
gun use. These include a national register of legal guns, an intensified
effort against illegally smuggled weapons and a determination to punish
criminals who use guns."
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