Gun Policy News
Firearm violence, gun control and small arms
Brazil,Iceland,United States,United Kingdom,Denmark
Low Rates of Gun Homicide in Iceland Despite High Gun Ownership
16 May 2013
BBC News
Even though I grew up in New England, there was something novel about seeing an Icelandic blizzard. It was paralysing, with epic wind gusts that made snowflakes feel like razors.
As I dragged my bags along Reykjavik's snowy pavement, an older man in a Jeep pulled alongside me.
"You want to get in?" he asked.
It sounded crazy. Why would I ever get in a stranger's car?
Despite everything I was taught about riding in cars with strangers, I climbed in the backseat. And... (GunPolicy.org)
Read More: BBC News
37457
Spain,England & Wales
Spanish Cops Bust UK Drug Gang with Guns
13 May 2013
Local (Spain)
Spanish and British police have nabbed a hashish-smuggling ring that hid hundreds of kilos of drugs in electrical transformers before shipping them off to the UK.
Britain's Serious Organised Crime Agency (SOCA) and Spain's national police have arrested nine people and seized 322 kilos of hashish from an international organization that smuggled drugs inside industrial electrical transformers.
The joint investigation found that the drugs were purchased in Spain then... (GunPolicy.org)
Read More: Local (Spain)
37439
Scotland
Scottish Man Dies After Being Accidentally Shot in Car
9 May 2013
Daily Record (Scotland)
A young dad bled to death after an accidental shooting on his family farm.
Adam Hepburn, 22, was in his Land Rover with another man when a rifle went off.
A high-velocity bullet passed through the father-of-one's left thigh, leaving him writhing in agony.
The other man in the Freelander 4x4 dialled 999 and rushed Adam on a 10-mile trip to Hawick Cottage Hospital, which does not have an accident and emergency department.
An ambulance raced to the hospital, where... (GunPolicy.org)
Read More: Daily Record (Scotland)
37425
England & Wales
Police Forces in English Region Share Information to Reduce Gun Crime
1 May 2013
Yorkshire Post (UK)
A new database will allow police forces across the region to share information about gun crime and the number of officers trained to use firearms.
The four forces have bought a single firearms deployment and training records system, known as Chronicle, so that they can work together more effectively. It means firearms officers across the region will be trained to the same standards to avoid confusion over procedure when two forces work together.
There will also be a... (GunPolicy.org)
Read More: Yorkshire Post (UK)
37407
United Kingdom,United States,Europe
Gun Crime, Homicide Falling But Violence Still Costs UK £124b a Year
24 April 2013
Kensington and Chelsea Today (UK)
Surprisingly, the UK is 11% less violent than a decade ago but the lack of peace still has an economic impact of £124 billion which comprises both direct and indirect costs and lost productivity annually. In 2012 this was the equivalent of £4,700 per household an astonishing 7.7% of the UK's annual GDP. These figures were released today by the Institute for Economics and Peace (IEP) in the first-ever UK Peace Index (UKPI), which reveals London was beaten to the... (GunPolicy.org)
Read More: Kensington and Chelsea Today (UK)
37366
England & Wales
Gun Crime Falls 20% in London in a Year, Youth Crime Down 30%
23 April 2013
BBC News
The number of people affected by serious youth violence fell by 30% with 1,900 fewer victims over the past financial year, according to the Met.
Overall, recorded crime in London fell by about 6% with 45,000 fewer reports between 2012-13.
The Met said personal thefts have gone up by 17% on the year before, with 70% involving mobile phones being taken.
Former Met officer Mike Pannett said he was concerned how the crime reduction would continue to improve.
He said:... (GunPolicy.org)
Read More: BBC News
37363
Serbia,United States,England & Wales
Motives Unclear in Serbian Gunman's Rampage, Law Change Demanded
10 April 2013
Montreal Gazette (Québec) / Associated Press
Serbia held a national day of mourning Wednesday as police searched for possible motives in the Balkan nation's worst peacetime shooting massacre, which left 13 villagers dead and triggered demands for tighter gun-control laws.
Police say a 60-year-old veteran went on a pre-dawn, house-to-house rampage Tuesday in a village near Belgrade, including killing his mother, his son and a two-year-old cousin before shooting himself and his wife. The two are in critical... (GunPolicy.org)
Read More: Montreal Gazette (Québec) / Associated Press
37303
Yemen,England & Wales,United States,Macedonia,Croatia,Slovenia,Kosovo,Bosnia & Herzegovina,Montenegro,Serbia
Citizens in Former Yugoslavia 'Traumatised and Heavily Armed'
10 April 2013
Washington Post
SARAJEVO, Bosnia-Herzegovina — The wars from 1991 to 1999 as Yugoslavia broke up took up to 200,000 lives, turned millions into refugees and left much of the region's people traumatized and heavily armed. It was the bloodiest conflict in Europe since World War II.
The millions of weapons that remained in possession of civilians after the fighting have caused fatalities every week, as traumatized former soldiers either shoot family members or commit suicide or... (GunPolicy.org)
Read More: Washington Post
37301
England & Wales
Knife Crime Falls in British Region After Gun, Knife Crime Campaign
9 April 2013
BBC News
Knife crime in the West Midlands has fallen by a quarter, according to new police figures.
West Midlands Police said knife-related offences had fallen from 2,995 between April 2011 and 2012 to 2,237 during the following 12 month period.
It had received £1m from the government over two years to tackle the problem.
The force said incidents like the fatal stabbings of two Big Issue sellers and teenager Christina Edkins in Birmingham were "mercifully rare".
Assistant... (GunPolicy.org)
Read More: BBC News
37298
Iran,Syria,United Kingdom,Kenya,North Korea
Iran, N. Korea, Syria Block Arms Trade Treaty at Last Minute
29 March 2013
Australian (Sydney)
Iran, North Korea and Syria have held up agreement on the first global treaty on the $US80 billion ($A76.97 billion) a year conventional arms trade.
The three states twice blocked moves to adopt a treaty by consensus at the end of 10 days of arduous talks at the UN headquarters.
Kenya announced that a coalition of countries from around the world would now take the treaty straight to the 193-member UN General Assembly next week for approval. It can be passed with a two... (GunPolicy.org)
Read More: Australian (Sydney)
37253
England & Wales,Germany,Guyana
Politicians Block Guyana Gun Control Laws Despite Arms Trade Treaty
28 March 2013
Guyana Times International
Home Affairs Minister Clement Rohee has lamented that while critical steps are being taken in the international arena to hammer out an Arms Trade Treaty, locally the opposition has voted down a bill that seeks to strengthen this country's fight against illicit arms.
Negotiators from around 150 countries gathered in New York at the United Nations for a final push to hammer out a binding international treaty to end unregulated conventional arms sales, a pact that a... (GunPolicy.org)
Read More: Guyana Times International
37245
Germany,Mexico,United Kingdom,Ghana,Oceania,Europe,Asia,Americas,Africa
Arms Trade Treaty Talks Enter Stormy Final Round
26 March 2013
Rappler / Agence France Presse
More than 100 countries complained Monday that talks on a conventional arms trade treaty had gone "backwards" from a vow to conclude a strong accord on the $80 billion a year trade.
The major western powers, who expressed confidence that an accord could be reached, face tough criticism over the treaty as talks at the UN headquarters entered the final straight.
A group representing 103 countries blasted the latest text as a step "backwards."
A statement by the 103,... (GunPolicy.org)
Read More: Rappler / Agence France Presse
37236
Germany,United Kingdom,France,Mexico,Oceania,Europe,Asia,Americas,Africa,China,Russia,United States
Armed Violence Kills 66,000 Women and Girls Each Year
20 March 2013
New Zealand Herald, Associated Press
United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki Moon has urged the world's nations to agree on a strong UN treaty to regulate the multibillion-dollar global arms trade in the next two weeks, saying it will save lives and make it more difficult for warlords, organised criminals and terrorists to obtain weapons.
Hopes of reaching agreement on what would be a landmark treaty were dashed last July when the United States said it needed more time to consider the proposed accord - a... (GunPolicy.org)
Read More: New Zealand Herald, Associated Press
37202
Africa,Americas,Asia,Europe,Oceania,United States,Russia,Italy,Germany,Brazil,Switzerland,Israel,Austria,South Korea,Belgium,Spain,Turkey,Norway,Canada,United Kingdom,Australia,France,Pakistan,Yemen,Honduras,El Salvador,Jamaica
Fact and Figures: Global Trade in Small Arms
18 March 2013
al Jazeera
Diplomats from around the world have gathered at the UN for talks on an international arms trade treaty, in an effort to stop the sale of illegal conventional arms.
Similar talks held last July failed, mainly due to the objections of the US and Russia, the world's two largest arms exporters.
Al Jazeera has compiled a list of facts related to the global production and trading of small arms.
1. Authorised international transfers of small arms, light weapons, their... (GunPolicy.org)
Read More: al Jazeera
37196
United Kingdom
London Gun Murder Investigation Unit to Be Realigned, Merged
14 March 2013
Guardian (UK)
Police confirmation that they had moved the central core of Operation Trident – its dedicated murder investigation unit – to the homicide and serious crime command, effectively signals the end of Trident, the London-based organisation I founded with other community activists in the mid-1990s.
Back then, while the culture of gun crime affected whole communities and neighbourhoods, 90% of homicide victims were black, mainly black men. The police response was woeful,... (GunPolicy.org)
Read More: Guardian (UK)
37189
United Kingdom
UK Coroner Calls for Radical Overhaul of Gun Licensing
8 March 2013
Guardian (UK), Press Association (UK)
A coroner has called for radical overhaul of gun licensing at the conclusion of an inquest into a taxi driver who shot dead three members of his family before killing himself.
Andrew Tweddle described the current system as flawed, adding that it was fortuitous there had not been more incidents like the one in Horden, near Peterlee, County Durham, on New Year's Day 2012.
Michael Atherton, 42, killed his partner, Susan McGoldrick, 47, her sister, 44-year-old Alison... (GunPolicy.org)
Read More: Guardian (UK), Press Association (UK)
37185
Scotland
Scottish Man Jailed for Storing Guns and Ammo
4 March 2013
BBC News
A man who was caught with firearms and drugs at his home in North Lanarkshire has been jailed for seven years.
Police raided 50-year-old John Lucas' isolated home at Roughrigg, Airdrie, on April 27 last year.
They found cocaine worth £164,000, cannabis worth £12,000, amphetamine worth £11,000 and £38,000 in cash. They also found gun barrels and ammunition.
Wheelchair user Lucas was jailed at the High Court in Edinburgh after earlier pleading guilty to the... (GunPolicy.org)
Read More: BBC News
37139
England & Wales
UK Cop Illegally Sold Guns, Granted Licence for Killer With Abuse History
4 March 2013
BBC News
A police officer who illegally sold guns to the public played a part in granting a gun licence to a man who shot three members of his family.
Michael Atherton, 42, shot his partner Susan McGoldrick, Alison Turnbull, her daughter Tanya and then himself, in County Durham on New Year's Day 2012.
Former Durham PC Damien Cobain was convicted of misconduct in a public office in 2010 and left the force.
An inquest heard he was part of a team that dealt with Atherton's... (GunPolicy.org)
Read More: BBC News
37138
England & Wales
UK Soldier with PTSD Steals Gun, Plans Suicide
18 February 2013
BBC News
A soldier who stole ammunition and a gun from his barracks has been told he may escape jail because he had post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).
Harry Killick, 36, from Brighton, had returned to Britain from Afghanistan seven months before the thefts from a Territorial Army barracks in the city.
Lewes Crown Court judge Anthony Scott-Gall adjourned sentencing.
The court heard Killick was planning to kill himself when he stole the items.
He pleaded guilty last month... (GunPolicy.org)
Read More: BBC News
37083
Europe,Italy,England & Wales,United States
Arms Manufacturers Losing Money But Still Making Billions
18 February 2013
Yahoo (America) / Associated Press
STOCKHOLM — The world's largest arms vendors are expanding in the cybersecurity sector as austerity measures weigh on sales of traditional weapons, a Swedish peace research institute said Monday.
Sales by the 100 largest arms producing companies, excluding Chinese companies, fell by 5 percent to $410 billion in 2011, the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute said in its annual review of the industry.
The drop was mainly due to austerity measures and the... (GunPolicy.org)
Read More: Yahoo (America) / Associated Press
37079
Sri Lanka,England & Wales
UK Sells Arms To Sri Lanka's 'Brutal' Regime
18 February 2013
Belfast Telegraph
Britain is selling millions of pounds worth of arms and ammunition to Sri Lanka despite the country's dire human rights record.
Figures taken from the Government's own database show how the authorities in Colombo have gone on a buying spree of British small arms and weaponry worth at least £3m.
Some of the items sold to Sri Lanka include pistols, rifles, assault rifles, body armour and combat shotguns – despite the Foreign Office still classifying the South Asian... (GunPolicy.org)
Read More: Belfast Telegraph
37077
England & Wales,South Africa
South Africa Gun Culture in Spotlight After Athlete's Murder Charge
14 February 2013
Telegraph (UK), Video
About one citizen in every 20 owns a registered firearm and millions more weapons circulate illegally. The gnawing fear of violent crime is such that most houses are surrounded by walls and barbed wire, often electrified to deter intruders.
The wealthier neighbourhoods of Pretoria and Johannesburg are patrolled by armed guards from private security firms, who can be summoned at the touch of a panic button.
Even so, many people opt to live – like Oscar Pistorius –... (GunPolicy.org)
Read More: Telegraph (UK)
37064
United States,England & Wales
UK Officials Say Most Gun Crime Traced to Under 1,000 Illegal Guns
2 February 2013
Washington Post
LONDON — When police on a weapons raid swarmed a housing project after London's 2011 riots, they seized a cache of arms that in the United States might be better suited to "Antiques Roadshow" than inner-city ganglands. Inside plastic bags hidden in a trash collection room, officers uncovered two archaic flintlock pistols, retrofitted flare guns and a Jesse James-style revolver.
These days, that kind of antiquated firepower is about the baddest a British gang member... (GunPolicy.org)
Read More: Washington Post
37029
United Kingdom
UK Hospitals Not Sharing Gun, Knife Crime Data
31 January 2013
BBC News
A coalition pledge to make hospitals share violent crime data with police is being carried out in only a third of areas in England, an audit shows.
The government has written to hospitals and chief constables for an explanation after the Department of Health audit.
Accident and emergency departments are meant to share information about where knife or gun attacks are happening with the police and local council.
This was part of the government's programme for... (GunPolicy.org)
Read More: BBC News
37008
United Kingdom,Madagascar
UK Authorizes Guns For Madagascar Despite Diversion, Hunting Fears
27 January 2013
Mongabay / TanaNews (Madagascar)
Britain has authorized the export of thousands of guns to Madagascar, according to TanaNews.com, sparking concerns that the firearms could be used for hunting endangered lemurs.
Data from the UK government's Strategic Export Controls website shows that licenses for the export of 3,174 guns to Madagascar were granted between August 2011 and June 2012. Most of the weapons were for anti-piracy activities, but 190 sporting guns — guns specifically intended for hunting... (GunPolicy.org)
Read More: Mongabay / TanaNews (Madagascar)
36989
United Kingdom,Italy,Netherlands,Germany
British Queen's Soldiers Jailed After Attempting to Smuggle Guns
25 January 2013
Telegraph (UK)
The Queen's Royal Hussars soldiers, based in Sennelager, Germany, attempted to smuggle five guns worth £18,000 on the black market and cocaine worth £72,000 into the UK by car via the Channel Tunnel, Woolwich Crown Court heard.
Lemar Loveless 26, of Brydon Walk, Kings Cross, was arrested with former colleague Trave Dyce, 22, in Folkstone as they left a Euroshuttle from Calais in two BMWs on January 25 last year.
Officers, who had received intelligence about the... (GunPolicy.org)
Read More: Telegraph (UK)
36992
England & Wales
Welsh Man Finds Over 30 Guns Hidden in Wall While Renovating
24 January 2013
Wales Online
The sheer scale of a secret arsenal of guns and ammunition uncovered hidden behind a false wall by a builder renovating a house has been revealed.
These pictures show the secret haul of more than 30 shotguns and pistols as well as hundreds of rounds of ammunition that Simon Berni, 41, was shocked to discover.
He said: "It was an incredible arsenal – full, absolutely choc-a-bloc with eight shelves of fire arms and ammunition."
Police are investigating the gun stache... (GunPolicy.org)
Read More: Wales Online
36985
Germany,France,United States,England & Wales,Switzerland,Australia
Editorial: Three Million Guns In Australia is More Than Enough
15 January 2013
Sydney Morning Herald, Editorial
It should be troubling to Australian governments that since 1988, after more than 1 million guns have been destroyed as a result of government buyback programs, numerous amnesties, voluntary returns, the banning of semi-automatic weapons and the tightening of gun import controls, the number of guns in private hands in Australia is as large as it has ever been.
It's not hard to see why. Since 1988, while governments have been running
a variety of gun control programs,... (GunPolicy.org)
Read More: Sydney Morning Herald
36938
England & Wales
British County Knife, Gun Crime Rate Halves in 10 Years
14 January 2013
BBC News
The number of people killed with knives in the West Midlands has halved since 2002, according to police figures.
West Midlands Police said the number of fatal knife incidents dropped from 20 between April 2002 and March 2003 to 10 in the same period in 2011 to 2012.
However, 12 people died in knife-related incidents between April and December 2012, and on Friday, two men were stabbed to death in Birmingham.
Ch Insp Simon Wallis said fatal incidents were "mercifully... (GunPolicy.org)
Read More: BBC News
36936
England & Wales,Jamaica
British Girl Shot Dead in Jamaica, Authorities Condemn 'Senseless' Act
13 January 2013
BBC News
An eight-year-old girl from south London shot dead when a gunman opened fire in a shop in Jamaica was a "happy, playful and popular" pupil, her head teacher has said.
Imani Green was inside her cousin's shop in the rural north coast town of Duncans on Friday when a man entered the store and an argument broke out.
Police said the man then opened fire, shooting at people inside.
Imani, from Balham, was hit and died later in hospital.
Three other people are being... (GunPolicy.org)
Read More: BBC News
36935
England & Wales
British Armed Forces Get 25,000 New Pistols
11 January 2013
BBC News
British forces are to be equipped with a new standard issue pistol for the first time in more than 40 years.
The MoD has signed a £9m contract to provide the Armed Forces with more than 25,000 new Glock 17 sidearms, replacing the Browning pistol which has been in service since 1967.
Warrant Officer 1 Mark Anderson of the Royal Marines showed the BBC's defence correspondent Caroline Wyatt the features of the new... (GunPolicy.org)
Read More: BBC News
36930
England & Wales,Djibouti,Sri Lanka,Yemen,Somalia,European Union
British Authorities Question Legality, Security of 'Floating' Gun Armouries
10 January 2013
Guardian (UK)
Private security companies guarding ships against Somali pirates are increasingly storing their weapons on so-called "floating armouries" in international waters, to avoid arms smuggling laws when they dock in ports.
About 20 ships stocked with assault rifles and other small arms as well as ammunition, body armour and night vision goggles are scattered around the Red Sea, the Gulf of Aden and the Indian Ocean, the EU naval force has confirmed.
The legal status of... (GunPolicy.org)
Read More: Guardian (UK)
36926
United Kingdom,United States
Stop the Gun Madness in the US - Opinion
1 January 2013
Washington Post, Opinion
Guns do kill people. Our national New Year's resolution must be to stop the madness.
It is shameful that gun control only becomes worthy of public debate following an unspeakable massacre such as Newtown — and even more shameful that these mass killings occur so often. What usually happens is that we spend a few weeks pretending to have a "conversation" about guns, then the horror begins to fade and we turn to other issues. Everything goes back to normal.
"Normal,"... (GunPolicy.org)
Read More: Washington Post
36876
United Kingdom,Finland,Colombia,Mexico,Western Europe,Australia,Yemen,Canada,New Zealand,United States
On Guns and Gun Law, America an Outlier Among Developed Nations
20 December 2012
Huffington Post (USA)
How freely do guns flow in the United States compared with the world's other industrialized countries?
According to GunPolicy.org, run by Philip Alpers, a firearms analyst at The University of Sydney, the United States is unusual with what Alpers described as the "two pillars" of gun control: licensing gun owners and registering weapons.
"You are basically the only country in the developed world that doesn't license gun owners across the board and you are almost alone... (GunPolicy.org)
Read More: Huffington Post (USA)
36858
United Kingdom,Japan
Why Japan Is So Safe From Guns - Opinion
19 December 2012
New York Daily News, Opinion
Everyone wants to live in a country that never has any mass shootings.
The Japanese do. So, what's their secret?
It's not hard to figure out: Japan stringently suppresses gun ownership. Even compared to the United Kingdom, whose gun controls are the most repressive of any major country in Western Europe, Japan is extreme. No rifles. No handguns. Shotguns and air guns are allowed only under a licensing system that is designed to discourage everyone but the most highly... (GunPolicy.org)
Read More: New York Daily News
36842
Yemen,Norway,Switzerland,Canada,Germany,Spain,Finland,United States,United Kingdom,Australia
Homicides Down after Tougher Gun Laws Adopted Abroad
19 December 2012
Los Angeles Times
Twelve days after the worst mass murder in Australian history, when 35 people were shot to death at Tasmania state's Port Arthur tourist mecca in 1996, the government issued sweeping reforms of the country's gun laws. There hasn't been a mass shooting since, and suicides, deaths by firearms and robberies at gunpoint have plummeted.
The results of toughened gun rules in Britain after the massacre in the Scottish town of Dunblane that same year weren't so immediate or... (GunPolicy.org)
Read More: Los Angeles Times
36841
Norway,Switzerland,Finland,Germany,Canada,Australia,United Kingdom,United States
Around the World, Gun Massacres Spurred Gun Control, Public Safety
18 December 2012
ABC News (USA) / AP
If there's anywhere that understands the pain of Newtown, it's Dunblane, the town whose grief became a catalyst for changes to Britain's gun laws.
In March 1996, a 43-year-old man named Thomas Hamilton walked into a primary school in this central Scotland town of 8,000 people and shot to death 16 kindergarten-age children and their teacher with four legally held handguns. In the weeks that followed, people in the town formed the Snowdrop campaign — named for the... (GunPolicy.org)
Read More: ABC News (USA) / AP
36854
Scotland,United States,United Kingdom,Australia,Japan
Several Countries Curbed Guns, Saw Public Safety Improve [Espanol]
18 December 2012
BBC News
[Translated summary: Three industrialised nations - Japan, Australia and the United Kingdom have dramatically reduced gun deaths after applying strict firearm laws.]
Tres naciones industrializadas -Japón, Australia y Escocia- han logrado reducir dramáticamente las muertes por armas de fuego tras aplicar estrictas leyes que regulan el porte y comercio de armas que podría servir de modelo en Estados Unidos cuando ese pueblo trata de reponerse de la matanza de niños y... (GunPolicy.org)
Read More: BBC News
36852
Canada,Japan,Switzerland,Germany,Spain,United Kingdom,Netherlands,Denmark,European Union,France
Firearms Worldwide: Really Different Laws Across Countries [Francais]
18 December 2012
JOL Press (Paris)
[Translated summary: France: follows European policies - Denmark and Netherlands: total ban - United Kingdom: almost all firearms are prohibited - Switzerland: a more liberal legislation - the Japanese model: no firearm at all - Canada: the stormy debate on the right to carry firearms]
La récente tuerie de Newton a relancé une fois de plus le débat sur le port d'armes aux États-Unis. Mais quelle est la réglementation dans d'autres pays du monde ? Petit tour... (GunPolicy.org)
Read More: JOL Press (Paris)
36844
Japan,Scotland,Australia,United States
In Other Countries than the US, Laws Are Strict and Work
17 December 2012
New York Times, Editorial
Like other shootings before it, the Newtown, Conn., tragedy has reawakened America to its national fixation with firearms. No country in the world has more guns per capita, with some 300 million civilian firearms now in circulation, or nearly one for every adult.
Experts from the Harvard School of Public Health, using data from 26 developed countries, have shown that wherever there are more firearms, there are more homicides. In the case of the United States,... (GunPolicy.org)
Read More: New York Times
36831
Scotland
Scotland Wants Air Gun Owners to Have Licences
14 December 2012
BBC News
Air gun owners will need a licence under plans due to be announced by the Scottish government.
Justice Secretary Kenny MacAskill will launch a consultation on how the new licensing regime for air weapons will work.
Powers to legislate on air weapons were devolved to Holyrood under the Scotland Act 2012.
It is estimated there could be as many as half a million unlicensed air guns in Scotland.
The campaign to tighten air gun controls gathered momentum after the death... (GunPolicy.org)
Read More: BBC News
36823
England & Wales
Five UK Criminals Jailed for Plot to Sell Illegal Guns
10 December 2012
Haringey Independent (London)
Five "dangerous" criminals who plotted to sell guns have been jailed for a total of 37 years.
The men – three of whom are from Tottenham – were sentenced at Snaresbrook Crown Court on Friday after a police operation uncovered four guns and ammunition between August 2011 and June this year.
Bradley Buchanan, 25, of Flexmere Road in Tottenham, Khavi Chadee, 26, of Grasmere Road in Tottenham and Dyrell Nestor, 24, of Liverpool Road in Islington were caught when they... (GunPolicy.org)
Read More: Haringey Independent (London)
36815
United Kingdom,Nigeria,China
UK Gun Dealer Jailed for Unlicenced International Weapons Trading
5 December 2012
New York Times / Associated Press
LONDON — A British arms dealer who helped ship thousands of assault rifles and millions of rounds of ammunition from China to Nigeria has been sentenced to seven years in jail.
Gary Hyde was convicted on two counts of breaching U.K. trade controls and concealing criminal property for moving the weapons without a license and hiding more than 620,000 pounds ($1 million) in commission payments.
While the 2006 deal between the Chinese and Nigerian governments was... (GunPolicy.org)
Read More: New York Times / Associated Press
36798
United Kingdom,Scotland
Gun Crime Falls in Scotland, Authorities Warn Against Comnplacency
4 December 2012
BBC News
The number of offences in Scotland involving firearms has more than halved since 2006-07, according to official figures.
Scotland's police forces recorded 514 incidents in 2011-12, a 21% fall on the previous year and a fall of more than 50% on 2006-07.
This year's figures are the lowest total recorded in Scotland in 34 years.
Air weapons accounted for 38% of all offences - 195 out of 514 - compared with 36%, 234 offences, in 2010-11.
Justice minister Kenny MacAskill... (GunPolicy.org)
Read More: BBC News
36795
United Kingdom
UK Authorities Condemn Decision to Give Killer Licence, Guns Back
19 November 2012
Guardian (UK)
A man who shot dead three women had been allowed to keep his guns by police despite complaints of domestic violence and then threatening to shoot himself, according to a report seen by the BBC.
Michael Atherton, 42, killed his 47-year-old partner Susan McGoldrick, her sister Alison Turnbull, 44, and her niece Tanya Turnbull, 24, before taking his own life on New Year's Day. The four bodies were found in Horden, near Peterlee, County Durham.
The BBC's Inside Out North... (GunPolicy.org)
Read More: Guardian (UK)
36751
England & Wales
UK Youth with Replica Gun Risked Fatal Outcome say Police
13 November 2012
BBC News
A teenager carrying a replica pistol in Birmingham could have faced "fatal consequences" when he was caught by armed officers, police have said.
Armed officers drew their weapons when the 15-year-old reached for the gun after a chase.
West Midlands Police said they got a 999 call just after 21:30 GMT on Monday reporting a youth carrying a handgun near Moor Street station.
Ch Insp Paul Minor said the teenager had had a "lucky escape".
After the initial emergency call... (GunPolicy.org)
Read More: BBC News
36737
England & Wales
UK Soldier Caught with Illegal Ammo, Army and Medal Hopes Over
9 November 2012
BBC News
An Army marksman's hopes of Olympic gold were dashed and his career left in ruins after he illegally kept ammunition, a court martial has heard.
Warrant Officer Morgan Cook, 40, had been tipped to lead Team GB to shooting glory at the London Games, the hearing at Colchester was told.
At an earlier hearing Cook, who was based in Bedfordshire, admitted illegal possession of thousands of rounds.
He was ordered to be reduced to the ranks and dismissed from the... (GunPolicy.org)
Read More: BBC News
36733
England & Wales
UK Anti-Guns Campaigner Killed by Grandson
5 November 2012
Guardian (UK)
The anti-guns campaigner Pat Regan, two of whose six sons were shot in gang violence, was stabbed to death by a mentally ill grandson, an inquest has heard.
Rakeim Regan, who was 21 at the time of the attack, in Leeds in May 2008, suffered delusions that his grandmother, whom he had idolised, was "conspiring with police to get him", the city's coroners court was told.
He was diagnosed with severe paranoid schizophrenia after the tragedy, in which he stabbed Regan, 53,... (GunPolicy.org)
Read More: Guardian (UK)
36732
Scotland,United Kingdom
Weapons Seizures Rise as UK Police Crackdown on Gangs, Gun Suppliers
31 October 2012
Scotsman (Edinburgh) / Edinburgh Evening News (Scotland)
Silenced pistols, rifles and sub-machine gun rounds are among the firearms seized in the past year by the elite unit set up to take down organised crime in the Lothians.
Officers from the Serious and Organised Crime Unit also
recovered seven shotguns, two revolvers and two stun guns during raids on gang members and properties.
Hollow point bullets – dubbed "dum dums" – were also recovered.
The shells shatter on impact, where conventional bullets flatten, and... (GunPolicy.org)
Read More: Scotsman (Edinburgh) / Edinburgh Evening News (Scotland)
36702
Scotland
Assault Weapons Arsenal Found at Home of Scotland Gang Family
28 October 2012
Daily Record (Scotland)
An ally of the Daniel crime clan has been caught with an arsenal of guns – including three AK-47 assault rifles stashed in his loft.
Police discovered the machine guns and thousands of rounds of ammunition when they smashed into the home of Terence Carvell, 56.
Downstairs, they found dozens of legal and deactivated firearms. But upstairs in the house in Milton of Campsie, near Glasgow, they found three AK-47 Kalashnikovs and a pistol, oiled and ready for... (GunPolicy.org)
Read More: Daily Record (Scotland)
36699
Nigeria,England & Wales,China
UK Man Jailed for Smuggling Weapons, Ammo to Nigeria
27 October 2012
Daily Trust (Abuja)
LONDON — A London court yesterday convicted a British arms dealer of organising a big illegal shipment of weapons to Nigeria.
Gary Hyde, a 43-year-old retired British volunteer police constable, was found guilty of helping to organise illegal shipment of 40,000 AK47 assault rifles, 30,000 rifles, 10,000 pistols and 32 million rounds of ammunition from China to Nigeria.
He was convicted by a jury and will be sentenced on 23 November at the Southwark Crown Court, the... (GunPolicy.org)
Read More: Daily Trust (Abuja)
36690
United Kingdom
UK Police Recover 'Mini-Uzi' in Pursuit of Suspected Thieves
25 October 2012
BBC News
A mini-Uzi machine gun has been recovered in Greater Manchester by police in an "unusual" discovery that will have "saved people's lives".
The gun was found with live ammunition by officers investigating an attempted robbery in Broughton Park, Salford.
An incident was reported on Coke Street West, at about 22:50 BST on Wednesday.
As police arrived, two men fled and one dropped a bag containing the gun in an alleyway leading to Seymour Road, after officers gave chase... (GunPolicy.org)
Read More: BBC News
36685
Bahrain,Saudi Arabia,United Kingdom
UK Sells Weapons to Bahrain, Saudi Arabia Amid Human Rights Concerns
23 October 2012
Guardian (UK), Blog
MPs have finally recognised what has been blatantly obvious for a long time: human rights and arms exports do not go well together.
This conflict always made a nonsense of the Labour government's call for an "ethical dimension" in foreign policy though the late Robin Cook did his best to try and reconcile Britain's role as one of the biggest sellers of weapons with its stated aim of protecting human rights around the world.
Now, the House of Commons foreign affairs... (GunPolicy.org)
Read More: Guardian (UK)
36696
United Kingdom
UK Authorities Propose Crackdown on People who 'Rent' Guns for Crime
21 October 2012
BBC News
A new offence of supplying a firearm will be introduced to tackle people who hire out weapons to gangs, Home Secretary Theresa May has said.
Ms May told the BBC those supplying guns were "as guilty" as those using them as the impact was just as deadly.
The maximum sentence for the offence, which will apply in England, Wales and Scotland, will be life imprisonment.
It is one of a number of measures to be outlined by David Cameron on Monday in a speech on... (GunPolicy.org)
Read More: BBC News
36665
United Arab Emirates,Sri Lanka,United Kingdom
UAE Detains Floating Gun Arsenal, Experts say Regulation Needed
17 October 2012
National (Abu Dhabi)
DUBAI - Alarm bells have sounded over the appearance of ships doubling as floating arsenals near UAE waters.
Of the estimated 12 armoury ships operating globally, at least four are known to operate off the coast of Fujairah.
They rent weapons to security companies that guard merchant vessels in the areas where pirates are active, and act as ammunition stores for security companies en route to UAE, Yemen or Saudi Arabian waters, where weapons from other countries are... (GunPolicy.org)
Read More: National (Abu Dhabi)
36660
England & Wales,United Kingdom
Licensed UK Man Jailed for 'Arsenal' of Illegal Guns, Ammo
24 September 2012
BBC News
A 48-year-old man who was caught with an arsenal of weapons in his Suffolk home has been jailed for three years for firearms offences.
Karl Dowling, 48, of Bramble Close, Haverhill, admitted possessing guns and ammunition without a firearms licence.
Dowling was arrested on 10 February after police searched his home and found a grenade, automatic firearms, shotguns and rifles.
Police also found 4,000 rounds of ammunition, Ipswich Crown Court heard.
After the grenade... (GunPolicy.org)
Read More: BBC News
36593
England & Wales
British Trial of Gunfire Sensors Ends, Police Say Inaccurate and Expensive
20 September 2012
BBC News
Police are to remove gunfire sensors put up in parts of Birmingham because of "technical difficulties".
The Shotspotter Gunshot Location System was introduced in 2010 where there was a high number of firearm incidents.
But West Midlands Police admitted in August that the system was not as accurate as it had hoped and it had missed four confirmed shootings.
Of the 1,618 alerts from the system since November, only two were confirmed gunfire incidents.
'Not carrying... (GunPolicy.org)
Read More: BBC News
36575
England & Wales
English Bar Owner Escapes Jail After Threatening Customers with Airgun
20 September 2012
Daily Mail (UK)
An English landlord who produced a gun after a row with customers at his village pub in Wales when they ordered their drinks in Welsh has escaped jail.
Gareth James Sale, 26, had denied possessing a firearm - an air rifle - with intent to cause fear of violence at the Royal Oak, Penrhyndeudraeth in the early hours of June 18 last year, but admitted the lesser charge of possessing a firearm in a public place.
Caernarfon Crown Court heard the row started after Sales'... (GunPolicy.org)
Read More: Daily Mail (UK)
36574
United States,Scotland,England & Wales,New Zealand,United Kingdom
British Police Reject Idea of More Guns Despite Deaths
19 September 2012
BBC News, Opinion
The deaths of two female police constables have brought into focus the unarmed status of most British police. Why does Britain hold firm against issuing guns to officers on the beat?
It's the single most obvious feature that sets the British bobby apart from their counterparts overseas.
Tourists and visitors regularly express surprise at the absence of firearms from the waists of officers patrolling the streets.
But to most inhabitants of the UK - with the notable... (GunPolicy.org)
Read More: BBC News
36566
United Kingdom,Malaysia,United States
Calls for Higher Enforcement of Gun Laws, Ending Smuggling
18 September 2012
New Strait Times
Crimes involving firearms are becoming too commonplace these days. Consider the following incidents, as reported in the last few weeks:
Aug 9 Robbers shot at a victim who chased them at Pandan Perdana after robbing him of a handphone and some cash;
Aug 25 A robber, armed with an automatic pistol, struck at a jewellery shop in Jalan Datuk Bandar Tunggal, Seremban;
Aug 26 Mat Keya Jusoh, a coffee shop owner, was shot dead in a drive-by shooting in Kampung Bukit... (GunPolicy.org)
Read More: New Strait Times
36571
United States,United Kingdom,Libya,Sweden,Egypt,Bahrain
British MPs Say Arms Exports Need More Oversight
17 September 2012
Guardian (UK)
British arms exports should be subjected to prior scrutiny by MPs and the risk that the weapons could be used for internal repression must be assessed much more effectively than in the past, two leading members of Labour's shadow cabinet have told the Guardian.
A radical shift in Labour's policy on the arms trade, with tougher controls, and greater transparency and accountability, is spelt out by Douglas Alexander and Jim Murphy, the shadow foreign and defence... (GunPolicy.org)
Read More: Guardian (UK)
36559
United Kingdom
UK Police Allege Rise in Drug Trade Linked to Rise in Gun Violence
11 September 2012
Guardian (UK)
Penalties for growing and selling cannabis must be toughened because a surge in the trade is driving up shootings and gang-related violence, a senior police officer has warned.
Assistant Chief Constable Andy Ward of Merseyside police, who chairs the North West Regional Organised Crime Unit, says the punishments for those caught cultivating and dealing in cannabis are not a deterrent and the drug is now causing greater problems for police than class As.
According to... (GunPolicy.org)
Read More: Guardian (UK)
36553
United Kingdom,Yemen,Egypt
Egypt Officials Let British Man with 'Bags Full of Weapons' Get on Plane
9 September 2012
Press TV (Egypt)
Officials at Cairo International Airport have surprisingly allowed a British man carrying four bags full of weapons to get on an airliner bound for the Yemeni capital Sana'a.
Metal detectors and X-ray scanners at the airport showed that the Briton had a large quantity of armaments, ranging from sniper rifles to ammunition, in his luggage, the Aden Press news website reported.
Although the security forces were immediately notified about the contents of the bags, the... (GunPolicy.org)
Read More: Press TV (Egypt)
36542
United Kingdom,France
Police Suspect Armed Gang Link to Shooting of British Family in France
6 September 2012
Telegraph (UK)
Police investigating the slaying of a British family on holiday near Chevaline in the French Alps are looking at links between the shooting and two attempted carjackings by an armed gang last night.
Four masked attackers tried to steal two cars in the Isere region, 50 miles away from the scene where a mother, father and grandmother were gunned down in a BMW.
Two young girls, thought to be their daughters, survived the attack with the younger, a four-year-old, hiding... (GunPolicy.org)
Read More: Telegraph (UK)
36531
United Kingdom
Reduction in Youth Knife and Gun Crime in UK After Police Crackdown
3 September 2012
BBC News
Serious violence among young people in London is falling since a crackdown on gangs began, the Met Police has said.
Youth violence was cut by 34%, equating to 1,000 fewer victims, since the launch of the Trident Gang Crime Command in February, the force said.
Knife injuries involving those under 25 are down 29%, and the times a gun has been fired has dropped by 21%.
The unit was set up to spearhead a renewed and long-term approach to tackling gangs.
Since April,... (GunPolicy.org)
Read More: BBC News
36524
United Kingdom
MP Supports UK Couple Who Fired Shotgun at Alleged Burglars
3 September 2012
BBC News
An MP has said two householders should not be prosecuted for protecting their home after they were arrested for firing a gun at alleged burglars.
Alan Duncan, MP for Rutland and Melton, said the case was "straightforward" and the married couple from Welby were defending themselves.
Leicestershire Police were called by the man who said he had fired a shotgun at a group of intruders.
One of the suspected raiders called an ambulance. Another went to hospital.
Officers... (GunPolicy.org)
Read More: BBC News
36523
Scotland,United Kingdom
UK Mail Considers Ban on Posting Guns
31 August 2012
BBC News
Plans by Royal Mail to ban the posting of guns and component parts from its services would lead to rural businesses closing, gamekeepers have claimed.
Royal Mail has launched a consultation proposing a ban on the transport of all firearms, including sporting guns.
It said it was acting to ensure its terms and conditions were consistent with existing firearms legislation.
But the Scottish Gamekeepers Association (SGA) argued the move would directly lead to rural job... (GunPolicy.org)
Read More: BBC News
36515
United Kingdom
Official Data Shows Almost 3,000 Guns Lost Or Stolen In UK
29 August 2012
BBC News
Nearly 3,000 guns were lost by or stolen from people registered to hold them in the past five years, according to figures obtained by the BBC.
More than half of these weapons were shotguns.
The data was released following a Freedom of Information request to the Home Office.
The Gun Control Network, a group which raises awareness of the dangers of guns, called the figures "horrendous and frightening".
A Home Office spokesman said firearms legislation protects public... (GunPolicy.org)
Read More: BBC News
36511
United Kingdom,Iraq
UK Police Seize Assault Weapons Smuggled from Iraq by Ex-Soldier
20 August 2012
Daily Mail (UK)
A former soldier has been jailed for 10 years after smuggling a cache of guns and ammunition from Iraq into the UK in a tank.
Ricardo McKenzie joined the Army in April 2001 as a private in the Princess of Wales's Royal Regiment, 1st Battalion, but sneaked the weapons into the UK in 2006.
The 35-year-old served in Iraq before being discharged from duty in September 2008, but was arrested on October 28, 2011, after a police raid on two homes in south London.
Inner... (GunPolicy.org)
Read More: Daily Mail (UK)
36487
United Kingdom,Scotland
UK Remembers Hungerford Mass Shooting, 25 Years On
18 August 2012
BBC News
"People just want to forget about it, but they can't," says Bryan Geater, whose daughter was nearly killed by gunman Michael Ryan 25 years ago.
Say the name Hungerford and most people will associate the town with the events of Wednesday, 19 August, 1987.
That summer afternoon Ryan, a 27-year-old unemployed labourer, killed 16 people, injured 15 more and then turned the gun on himself to end a six-hour shooting spree.
He changed the lives of residents in the west... (GunPolicy.org)
Read More: BBC News
36475
England & Wales
British Ballistics Experts Explain How Tracing Guns Reduces Crime
15 August 2012
BBC News, Audio
The National Ballistic Intelligence Service officers explain how their work contributes to the reduction in gun crime in England and Wales.
The number of people killed from gunshot wounds in England and Wales fell to 39 last year from more than 100 a decade ago.
Home Affairs correspondent Danny Shaw spent time with the National Ballistic Intelligence Service to find out how their work is contributing to this reduction in gun crime.
Officers reveal the research into... (GunPolicy.org)
Read More: BBC News
36467
United States,United Kingdom,Australia
Australian State Considers Gun Law Change, Allow Teens to Hunt Alone
14 August 2012
BBC News
A plan to change the law in Australia could see children as young as 12 hunting by themselves. Is that a sensible step or a dangerous one?
Condemned by some as a bloodthirsty move to impose a violent culture on children, authorities in Australia's most populous state are considering a plan to allow under-18s to hunt feral animals on their own with knives, dogs and bows and arrows.
The hunting lobby in New South Wales says the proposal will encourage more families to... (GunPolicy.org)
Read More: BBC News
36465
United Kingdom
UK NRA Boss Calls US NRA Fanatical: LaPierre 'Made Me Physically Ill'
9 August 2012
Telegraph (UK)
On the rainy summer's morning that I arrive at Bisley, a sprawling collection of colonial buildings and rifle ranges set in 3,000 acres of Surrey heathland, news is breaking about a policeman who has been shot dead in Essex. An unfortunate coincidence, this, given that I've come here not to write about gun crime but to meet some typical – that is to say, non-deranged – gun owners.
In a clubhouse which has silver trophies in display cabinets and sepia photographs of... (GunPolicy.org)
Read More: Telegraph (UK)
36457
England & Wales
Unlicensed Welsh Man on Trial for Hidden Gun Stash, Expanding Ammo
9 August 2012
South Wales Evening Post / This is South Wales
A man has gone on trial accused of possessing illegal guns at a luxury West Wales hotel.
Steven Pearce, 44, was arrested by police in December 2011 while travelling in a Bentley convertible near Cross Hands.
He is now on trial at Swansea Crown Court after denying possession of two guns without proper authority, a 9mm semi-automatic Walther P1 pistol and a 9mm Tula Tokarev pistol.
The guns were both discovered in a holdall, hidden under a bed in a guest room at the... (GunPolicy.org)
Read More: South Wales Evening Post / This is South Wales
36450
United Kingdom
700 US Mayors Demand 'Less Silence, More Courage' on Gun Control
5 August 2012
Guardian (UK)
A group of US mayors joined forces with survivors of the Tucson gun rampage on Sunday to step up their campaign for tighter gun controls in the wake of the recent mass killing in Aurora, Colorado.
Mayors Against Illegal Guns, the bipartisan coalition of more than 700 mayors including New York's Michael Bloomberg, released a television advertisement during Olympics coverage and the US's top politics shows calling for president Barack Obama and his rival governor Mitt... (GunPolicy.org)
Read More: Guardian (UK)
36437
United Kingdom
Gun Homicide Drops Again in Britain: 39 Shot Last Year, Down from 96 in 2001
27 July 2012
Economist
Stockwell, in south London, is famous for two things: Portuguese restaurants and gun crime. Last year, at the Asian-run Stockwell Food and Wine store, a five-year-old girl, Thusa Kamaleswaran, was shot and paralysed in a botched attack by the Brixton-based GAS gang (which stands for Guns and Shanks, or knives) on the Stockwell-based ABM gang (All 'Bout Money). The shooters were three young men, who arrived on bicycles and fled the same way, leaving security camera... (GunPolicy.org)
Read More: Economist
36391
Eastern Europe,United Kingdom,Germany
UK Gangs Use Fake Guns, Real Ammo, Police Blame Smuggling
17 July 2012
Manchester Evening News (UK)
A tide of converted replica firearms began flooding the underworld in the first decade of the 21th century.
In the late nineties and early noughties, the weapon of choice had been the machine gun, as automatic weapons, many of them from former Eastern Bloc countries, were smuggled to the port of Liverpool before washing up in Manchester's gangland.
The MAC-10 was a particularly deadly weapon favoured by the gangs of Longsight and Moss Side.
One Manchester gang... (GunPolicy.org)
Read More: Manchester Evening News (UK)
36345
Falkland Islands,Argentina,Bahrain,United Kingdom
Arab Spring Demands Change in UK Small Arms Export Policy - Report
13 July 2012
Al Arabiya / AFP
Britain must exercise more caution in granting licenses for the export of arms to authoritarian regimes such as Bahrain in light of the Arab Spring uprisings, a parliamentary report has urged.
A Commons select committee review of export controls also revealed that Britain's Foreign Office (FCO) is concerned about the sale of equipment to Argentina amid tensions over the Falkland Islands, the Guardian reported Friday.
Select committee chairman John Stanley said the... (GunPolicy.org)
Read More: Al Arabiya / AFP
36329
Angola,Africa,West Africa,Venezuela,Iran,Egypt,Algeria,South Sudan,Liberia,Germany,France,China,United Kingdom,Russia,United States,South Africa
For Africa, Ammunition Control Deserves Global Gun Trade Treaty Focus
9 July 2012
IRIN (UN News)
JOHANNESBURG — For a couple of hundred dollars or less an arms dealer can illegally source a blank end user certificate with the required signatures and stamps - needed to transfer weapons across international borders - and "if no one checks its authenticity (often the case) he can ship his wares to the world's hotspots with minimal risk, for maximum profit," a report by the Small Arms Survey (SAS) said in 2008.
Since then "not much has changed" Glenn McDonald, based... (GunPolicy.org)
Read More: IRIN (UN News)
36317
Israel,Taiwan,United States,Sweden,Germany,France,United Kingdom,Oceania,Europe,Asia,Americas,Africa
Talks Begin at UN on Global, Legally Binding Arms, Ammo Trade Treaty
4 July 2012
Associated Press
UNITED NATIONS — The world's nations began a final push Tuesday for the first legally binding global treaty that would regulate the international arms trade and try to prevent the transfer of weapons to armed groups and terrorists.
The 193-member U.N. General Assembly is expected to approve the treaty, which has been in the works since 2006, when the U.S. voted against the resolution that launched the process. The Obama administration later reversed the George W.... (GunPolicy.org)
Read More: Associated Press
36301
Oceania,Russia,Europe,Asia,Americas,Africa,United States,Syria,Egypt,China,United Kingdom
UK to Push for Ammunition Control in Arms Trade Treaty
28 June 2012
Independent (UK) / Press Association (UK)
Britain is to push for ammunition sales to be covered by new international arms trade controls despite strong resistance from the US.
The UK sees the inclusion of ammunition as an essential element of the proposed Arms Trade Treaty and will negotiate hard for it when a month-long conference opens at the United Nations in New York next week.
But the British delegation faces opposition from a number of countries including China, Egypt and Syria but also its traditional... (GunPolicy.org)
Read More: Independent (UK) / Press Association (UK)
36286
United Kingdom,Germany,Ukraine,Sudan,China,South Sudan
Amnesty Accuses Sudan, China, Ukraine of Fueling Conflict in South Sudan
27 June 2012
Sudan Tribune (France)
JUBA — Amnesty International on Thursday accused China, Sudan and Ukraine of allegedly supplying military weapons to both South Sudanese Armed Forces (SPLA) and opposition groups, triggering scores of indiscriminate attacks in parts of South Sudan.
The organization, in its latest report, entitled South Sudan: Arms supplies fueling violations in forgotten conflict, examines the impact of responsible supplies and misuse of weapons, munitions and armaments that resulted... (GunPolicy.org)
Read More: Sudan Tribune (France)
36281
United Kingdom
Uzi, AK47 and More Seized by West Midland, UK Police Over Last 12 Months
27 June 2012
Daily Mail (UK)
This shocking array of firearms is just part of the terrifying arsenal of weapons seized by a police force in just the last year.
The deadly haul of guns collected from the streets of the West Midlands include an Uzi, AK47 and an exact replica of the handgun used by Saddam Hussain.
The myriad of over a hundred fierce firearms - some of which are modified or homemade - have been seized by, or been surrendered to, West Midland's Police over the last 12 months.
The... (GunPolicy.org)
Read More: Daily Mail (UK)
36279
United States,United Kingdom,Russia,Germany,France,China,Africa
The 'Big Six' Arms Exporters - Amnesty International
11 June 2012
Amnesty International (London)
DOCUMENT
1. China
There are few official statistics on the Chinese arms trade but the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute estimates that accounts for around 3 per cent of the global trade in conventional arms.
Countries supplied
Recipient countries over the past decade have tended to be developing countries with poor human rights records including Algeria, Angola, Bangladesh, DRC, Guinea, Egypt, Indonesia, Iran, Iraq, Jordan, Kenya, Libya, Myanmar,... (GunPolicy.org)
Read More: Amnesty International (London)
36235
Sierra Leone,Yemen,Syria,Algeria,Iran,Somalia,China,Belarus,Italy,Germany,Bulgaria,Austria,Russia,Tunisia,United Kingdom,United States,Qatar,Sudan,Africa,Libya,Egypt,France
An Arms Buyback for Libya? – Analysis
9 June 2012
Eurasia Review (EU/Asia)
The Libyan civil war of early 2011 was one of the bloodiest conflicts in recent history, with an estimated 30,000 killed and 50,000 injured. While Muammar Gaddafi's death marked a watershed moment in Libyan history, the months of frenzied violence that preceded it saw a massive buildup of arms and munitions in the country. In the months leading up to and after his fall, Gaddafi's arms warehouses all across the country became unsecured; such was the level of... (GunPolicy.org)
Read More: Eurasia Review (EU/Asia)
36228
France,United Kingdom,Somalia,Afghanistan,Egypt,Syria,United States,Africa
Excluding Ammunition from Arms Trade Treaty 'Totally Irrational' - Oxfam
30 May 2012
Oxfam International (Oxford), Media release
Excluding ammunition from new international Arms Trade Treaty would be "totally irrational"
Global sales of ammunition are worth more than $4 billion and are growing at a faster rate than trade in guns, yet there is virtually no regulation in place to control where the bullets end up, according to international agency Oxfam, in a new report today.
The report, 'Stop a Bullet, Stop a War,' has been published ahead of this summer's Arms Trade Treaty negotiations in New... (GunPolicy.org)
Read More: Oxfam International (Oxford)
36192
United States,France,United Kingdom,China,Pakistan,Venezuela,Cuba,Iran,Algeria,Egypt,Russia,Syria,Oceania,Europe,Asia,Americas,Africa
New Global Arms Treaty Must Set Tough, Legally Binding Rules - Oxfam
29 May 2012
Chicago Tribune / Reuters
LONDON - States must set legally binding global rules on weapon and ammunition sales, aid agency Oxfam said on Tuesday, ahead of a United Nations summit to agree an arms treaty to prevent arms reaching human rights violators.
Citing the example of Syria, which has continued to receive arms shipments even as it is accused of killing more than 9,000 civilians in a crackdown on a popular uprising, Oxfam said it is vital that regulations on weapons sales are... (GunPolicy.org)
Read More: Chicago Tribune / Reuters
36186
Scotland
In Scotland, It Is Cheaper to Hold a Gun Licence than a TV Licence
29 May 2012
STV (Glasgow)
Scottish ministers want the power to cap the number of guns that can be owned by any one person after figures hit a record high.
The number of licensed firearms in Scotland has risen by almost a fifth in the last ten years but there are fewer licensed owners.
This suggests that there are more guns concentrated in fewer hands, with the average gun owner holding about three weapons each.
A Scottish Government spokeswoman said they would like to see fees reviewed amid... (GunPolicy.org)
Read More: STV (Glasgow)
36185
Germany,United Kingdom,Asia,United States,Australia
Illegal Guns a Booming Trade through International Mail Order Services
27 May 2012
Courier-Mail (Brisbane)
Thousands of guns - some broken down into 30 pieces - are being seized by Australian Customs as criminals use the internet to widen their networks.
Gun pieces hidden in bags of screws, tools and car parts are being found by scans, as soaring international mail deliveries become an increasing challenge for authorities.
The Sunday Mail can reveal that more than 4000 guns, parts and magazines were seized by Customs between 2008 and 11.
The internet is being used for... (GunPolicy.org)
Read More: Courier-Mail (Brisbane)
36184
Russia,France,China,Oceania,United Kingdom,Europe,Asia,Americas,Africa,Germany,United States
Arms Trade Treaty: Will World Waste an Extraordinary Opportunity?
24 May 2012
Guardian (UK)
I often write a reflective piece to accompany the publication of the Amnesty International annual report on the state of the world's human rights, and as a result I have an archive of reflective pieces which read as a chronology of progress and problems charted over the last decade. We shall see whether the 2012 report will be the one that came just months before the world secured a binding, bulletproof arms trade treaty in the negotiations due to take place in July, or... (GunPolicy.org)
Read More: Guardian (UK)
36180
Russia,China,United States,United Kingdom,Congo (DRC),Myanmar,Iran
UK Minister Calls for International Support on Arms Trade Treaty
17 May 2012
Guardian (UK)
The international arms trade has become the greatest threat to development and has to be controlled by a tough treaty to regulate weapons and munitions sales, a government minister warns.
In a speech to the Institute for Strategic Studies thinktank, Alan Duncan, the minister for international development, will urge allies such as the US to set aside their concerns and sign up to the comprehensive arms trade treaty (ATT), which will be hammered out during a month-long... (GunPolicy.org)
Read More: Guardian (UK)
36143
United Kingdom
High Number of Guns on Island of Jersey, for Small Population
2 May 2012
BBC News
There are three times as many guns per head of population in Jersey than in England and Wales, according to the police.
The States of Jersey police said there were more than 9,700 guns in the island, with a population of 97,857.
The guns in Jersey are kept by 1,800 registered owners.
One islander owns more than 300 weapons but the police said they were a World War II enthusiast and all the guns had historical significance.
Home Affairs Minister Senator Ian Le... (GunPolicy.org)
Read More: BBC News
36098
South America,Asia,Turkey,United Kingdom,Mexico,United States
Proposal to Relax Export Restrictions on Firearms in U.S. Unpopular
2 May 2012
Wall Street Journal
U.S. homeland-security and law-enforcement agencies have objected to
Obama administration proposals to relax export restrictions on
high-powered firearms, threatening a centerpiece of the president's
trade and national-security agenda.
The agencies, in internal memos viewed by The Wall Street Journal,
warn the changes could help arm drug cartels and terrorists and make
it harder for the U.S. to crack down on gun-trafficking.
The arms proposal is part of a broader... (GunPolicy.org)
Read More: Wall Street Journal
36097
Oceania,Asia,Americas,Africa,United Kingdom,United States,Europe,Spain
New Forensic Technique Tags Firearm Type with Gunshot Residue
9 April 2012
United Press International
ALBANY, N.Y. -- A new forensic technique using lasers may allow investigators to match gunshot residue to a specific caliber of firearm, U.S. and European researchers say.
The new technique could lead to a stronger link between a suspect and a firearm, they said.
Researchers in Spain used spectroscopy to analyze six kinds of ammunition, assessing propellant from unfired cartridges then compared these spectra to the signature in residue from fired guns, ScienceNews.org... (GunPolicy.org)
Read More: United Press International
36018
Panama,Liberia,Oman,Yemen,Egypt,Saudi Arabia,Mauritius,Seychelles,Mongolia,Djibouti,Madagascar,United Arab Emirates,United Kingdom,Somalia,Kenya
Anti-piracy Security Firms Keep Guns in Floating Armouries to Avoid Law
22 March 2012
Associated Press
NAIROBI, Kenya — Private security firms are storing their guns aboard floating armories in international waters so ships that want armed anti-piracy guards for East Africa's pirate-infested waters can cut costs and circumvent laws limiting the import and export of weapons, industry officials say.
Companies and legal experts say the operation of the armories is a "legal gray area" because few, if any, governments have laws governing the practice. Some security... (GunPolicy.org)
Read More: Associated Press
35956
United Kingdom
Border Force Warns All Ships Entering UK: They Must Declare Guns on Board
16 March 2012
BBC News
Three shotguns and ammunition have been seized from the crew of an an oil tanker which docked in Milford Haven.
Officers from the Border Force boarded the Panamanian-registered ship for a routine search.
Members of the Chinese and South Korean crew told them the weapons were being carried as self-defence against pirates in the Indian Ocean.
But the Border Force is warning all ships entering UK waters they must declare any firearms on board.
The weapons were seized... (GunPolicy.org)
Read More: BBC News
35917
Germany,Chad,Yemen,Egypt,Libya,France,United Kingdom,United States,Sudan,Belarus,Oceania,Europe,Asia,Americas,Africa,Syria,Russia
Towards an International Control of Arms Trade, NGOs Concerned [Francais]
19 February 2012
Le Monde (France)
[Translated summary: As negotiations were launched this week in New York on the Arms Trade Treaty, Amnesty International, CCFD-Terre Solidaire and Oxfam France are concerned about the risk of a "Treaty at a discount ".]
La vente d'armes à un régime qui réprime sa population, comme le fait aujourd'hui la Russie à l'Etat syrien, sera-t-elle bientôt illégale ? C'est l'enjeu des négociations qui devraient aboutir, en juillet, à New York, à la signature d'un... (GunPolicy.org)
Read More: Le Monde (France)
35854
Sudan,China,Egypt,Bahrain,Libya,Germany,United Kingdom,Russia,United States,Oceania,Europe,Asia,Americas,Africa
At Last, the World Acts to Control Global Arms Trade, UN Talks Begin this Week
12 February 2012
Independent (Dublin)
The global arms trade, which produces two bullets for every person on the planet every year and the weapons that kill 1,500 people each day, is facing the first worldwide effort to control it. An unprecedented treaty that would attempt to restrict arms sales is expected to be drawn up at talks in the United Nations this week.
A campaign for such an agreement, begun six years ago by Nobel laureates, faces attempts by the United States and Russia to water the treaty... (GunPolicy.org)
Read More: Independent (Dublin)
35825
Uganda,Europe,Asia,Americas,Africa,Turkey,Scotland,United Kingdom,Oceania
Dunblane Father Urges End to Global Gun Trade Killing 1500 a Day
12 February 2012
Daily Record (Scotland)
A global campaign to control the trade in deadly weapons will be stepped up at Glasgow University tomorrow when anti-gun campaigner Dr Mick North - whose daughter Sophie was killed in Dunblane tragedy in 1996 - leads a new push by Oxfam and Amnesty towards a United Nations arms treaty.
Here, he explains why the issue means the difference between life and death.
_________
Next month marks the 16th anniversary of my daughter's death.
Sophie was just five when a gunman... (GunPolicy.org)
Read More: Daily Record (Scotland)
35822
Germany,United Kingdom,China,Nigeria
British and German Arms Dealers Involved in Arms Shipment to Nigeria
8 February 2012
Daily Trust (Abuja)
British prosecutors recently vowed to pursue a legal case involving the shipment of large cache of weapons, allegedly from China and destined for Nigeria, after a London judge threw it out.
Those involved in the trade are said to be British and German arms dealers. Mr Gary Hyde, a 42-year old retired British volunteer police officer, is accused of conspiring with his German business partner Karl Kleber for the illegal shipment of 40,000 Ak47 assault rifles, 30,000... (GunPolicy.org)
Read More: Daily Trust (Abuja)
35808
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