§ Mr. Laurence RobertsonTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what action he is taking to reduce gun crime; and if he will make a statement. [146615]
§ Mr. Charles ClarkeThe use of firearms in crime in this country is low in relation to overall national crime figures and international standards. Nevertheless; the Government fully understand public concerns about the criminal misuse of guns and are committed to supporting the police and Her Majesty's Customs in their work to combat this problem through a range of measures which include
Proactive intelligence gathering on sources of weapons used in crime through the Forensic Science Service, the National Criminal Intelligence Service and Her Majesty's Customs and Excise;Targeted policing measures against particular groups of criminals associated with armed violence;The establishment of national database of certificate holders and the possibility of recording the registration details of all legally held firearms;Local and possibly national amnesties to reduce the number of illegal guns in the 'grey market' which might fall into criminal hands;Good security in respect of legally held firearams to prevent them being stolen;Wider controls on de-activated weapons to prevent them being restored to working order;Stronger intelligence sharing between the enforcement authorities and the reputable gun trade.The Government are also supporting international efforts to negotiate a United Nations protocol against the illicit manufacture of and trafficking in firearms.
546WArmed crime cannot be tackled in isolation from other criminal activities, in particular wider violent crime. Our strategy for tackling Violent crime through a wide-ranging action programme was published earlier this month.