Another example why gun control doesnt work.
Posted: Sun Jan 16, 2011 1:32 am
Came across this article yesterday in the newspaper.
A good statistic for Pro RKBA lobby.
Murder rate in London is lowest since 1978, but gun killings rise
http://www.thisislondon.co.uk/standard/ ... gs-rise.do
Fewer people were murdered in London last year than at any time since 1978, new figures reveal today.
The Metropolitan Police said 125 victims died violently, down from 132 the previous year.
But gun murders were up 11 to 29, blamed partly on a rise in gang killings and a worrying trend for more teen- agers to use guns.
Senior police officers say the fall in murder figures reflects an overall down- ward trend over the last decade.
But there is still concern over the number of teenage murders, which rose by three to 18 last year - although the 2009 figure was significantly lower than 2008. The Met figures for homicides in 2010 also reveal:
Gun gang murders in the black community up from eight to 15.
Nine fewer knife murders, at 49, and killings with other weapons, such as blunt instruments, down from 24 to 15.
The number of victims killed by strangulation or punches down from 28 to 24.
Police say the rise in gun crime murders in the black community, being investigated by Operation Trident, was marked because it followed the lowest ever total in 2009.
Det Ch Supt Hamish Campbell, head of the Met's homicide operations, said London's murder rate had been falling for seven years. He added: "Policing and factors like CCTV have changed. I think these things have a cumulative effect in bringing murder down.
"It shows that London is a safe place to live, work and visit. The fall is the work of many people and organisations but the public remains essential in help- ing to arrest and convict suspects."
Police stress that the majority of the murders - around 70 - were so-called domestic cases where the victim and assailant are known to each other.
Kit Malthouse, the deputy mayor for policing, said: "This is good news but we are never complacent and we want to drive the numbers down further.
"We still face the issue of teenage homicides but we are continuing to apply pressure to that problem and while we face a bumpy ride we are making progress.
"I think the reasons for the fall are threefold. First, there is a huge concentration on removing weapons from the streets so the weaponry of murder is much more difficult to come by.
"Then there is an increased concentration on dealing with domestic violence - and the brilliant record of the Met in catching and convicting murderers is a real deterrent."
The continuing battle against youth gangs is reflected in the rise in teenage murders but police say the figure is still well below the 29 young people murdered in 2008. However, one concern is that six teenagers were shot last year, compared with just one in 2009.
There were no race hate killings, compared with five in 2009.
And so far more than 80 per cent of all the murders committed last year have been detected.
A good statistic for Pro RKBA lobby.
Murder rate in London is lowest since 1978, but gun killings rise
http://www.thisislondon.co.uk/standard/ ... gs-rise.do
Fewer people were murdered in London last year than at any time since 1978, new figures reveal today.
The Metropolitan Police said 125 victims died violently, down from 132 the previous year.
But gun murders were up 11 to 29, blamed partly on a rise in gang killings and a worrying trend for more teen- agers to use guns.
Senior police officers say the fall in murder figures reflects an overall down- ward trend over the last decade.
But there is still concern over the number of teenage murders, which rose by three to 18 last year - although the 2009 figure was significantly lower than 2008. The Met figures for homicides in 2010 also reveal:
Gun gang murders in the black community up from eight to 15.
Nine fewer knife murders, at 49, and killings with other weapons, such as blunt instruments, down from 24 to 15.
The number of victims killed by strangulation or punches down from 28 to 24.
Police say the rise in gun crime murders in the black community, being investigated by Operation Trident, was marked because it followed the lowest ever total in 2009.
Det Ch Supt Hamish Campbell, head of the Met's homicide operations, said London's murder rate had been falling for seven years. He added: "Policing and factors like CCTV have changed. I think these things have a cumulative effect in bringing murder down.
"It shows that London is a safe place to live, work and visit. The fall is the work of many people and organisations but the public remains essential in help- ing to arrest and convict suspects."
Police stress that the majority of the murders - around 70 - were so-called domestic cases where the victim and assailant are known to each other.
Kit Malthouse, the deputy mayor for policing, said: "This is good news but we are never complacent and we want to drive the numbers down further.
"We still face the issue of teenage homicides but we are continuing to apply pressure to that problem and while we face a bumpy ride we are making progress.
"I think the reasons for the fall are threefold. First, there is a huge concentration on removing weapons from the streets so the weaponry of murder is much more difficult to come by.
"Then there is an increased concentration on dealing with domestic violence - and the brilliant record of the Met in catching and convicting murderers is a real deterrent."
The continuing battle against youth gangs is reflected in the rise in teenage murders but police say the figure is still well below the 29 young people murdered in 2008. However, one concern is that six teenagers were shot last year, compared with just one in 2009.
There were no race hate killings, compared with five in 2009.
And so far more than 80 per cent of all the murders committed last year have been detected.