Gun crime in Nottinghamshire halves in a decade

Police chiefs have welcomed a dramatic fall in gun crime across Nottinghamshire.
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Latest figures show crimes involving firearms in the county have dropped more than 50 per cent in just more than a decade.

Lockdowns and other coronavirus restrictions contributed to gun crime dropping nationally in the year to March, but police forces across England and Wales still logged thousands of offences.

The National Police Chiefs' Council said there is more work to be done nationally to stop those intent on carrying weapons and prevent the ‘terrible consequences’ of gun crime.

There were 10 firearm offences for every 100,000 people in the Nottinghamshire policing area in 2020-21 – down from 12 the year before.There were 10 firearm offences for every 100,000 people in the Nottinghamshire policing area in 2020-21 – down from 12 the year before.
There were 10 firearm offences for every 100,000 people in the Nottinghamshire policing area in 2020-21 – down from 12 the year before.

There were 118 crimes involving firearms in Nottinghamshire in 2020-21, or 10 firearm offences for every 100,000 people, down from 12 per 100,000 people the year before and 23 in 2007-08, the year police force level records began, when the force recorded 240 gun crimes.

The force has dealt with 1,763 crimes involving firearms since 2007-08. The data covers crimes involving lethal firearms like shotguns and handguns and non-lethal weapons such as stun guns, but excludes offences involving air weapons.

The figures show weapons were discharged or fired 59 times during incidents recorded by Nottinghamshire Police last year.

Chief Inspector Sam Austin, of the force, said: “Gun crime is at an all-time low across Nottinghamshire and this is a result of pre-planned operations along with the preventative work the force is doing to help take firearms off the streets.

“Such crimes are thankfully incredibly rare, but are always treated with the utmost seriousness.

“Reducing the availability of firearms and taking guns off the streets is a priority for Nottinghamshire Police.

“Firearm discharges have reduced across Nottinghamshire whilst the number of illegally held firearms seized by us proactively has increased.

“We treat reports of firearms offences incredibly seriously however, protecting communities from this threat cannot be achieved by enforcement action alone and that’s why we encourage anyone with information about illegally held firearms to contact the police.”

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Handguns

Nationally, more than 1,000 people were injured and dozens died as a result of gun crime in 2020-21, when forces in England and Wales tackled 5,700 firearms offences.

Robberies and violent attacks made up more than half of all gun crimes, with offences most common on the streets.

The largest proportion of crimes involved handguns, while weapons were fired in more than half of the incidents recorded. Victims were most likely to be in their 20s.

A Government spokesman said it was recruiting 20,000 extra police officers and had given forces greater powers to stop and search, in an effort to tackle the issue and remove dangerous weapons from the streets.

He said the country had some of the toughest gun controls in the world and that firearms offences made up a small proportion of recorded crime, adding: "We know that everyone in Britain deserves safe streets, homes and communities."

Gun crime dropped nationally by 14 per cent compared with 2019-20 and has fallen significantly over 13 years – last year, it was 42 per cent lower than in 2007-08.

An NPCC spokesman said any loss of life or injury from offensive weapons is ‘one too many’, adding: “These figures reflect important on-going work by police and our partners to reduce the number of deaths, injuries and other serious incidents due to armed criminality.”