Gun crime: 'Best deterrent is the fear of being caught'

Published on Friday 27 February 2009 08:43

Evening News Comment THE high number of incidents to which Edinburgh's armed response team is being sent to deal with will again put the issue of gun crime in the spotlight.

After years of warning about the dangers of air guns and imitation weapons, the police will be heartened by the fact they are now handling fewer incidents involving them.

There will however be great concern over the apparent growing eagerness of the city's criminal gangs to arm themselves with guns.

It is no surprise to see the busiest period for the armed response unit in recent months came last autumn, at the height of violent battles between drug dealing gangs. Then, police marksmen were sent out 40 times in three months.

Since then, police have found themselves investigating potential crime gang links to the fatal shooting of 26-year-old Martyn Barclay in the Inch last month.

Criminal underworld figures now claim it is easy to buy a shotgun and ammunition in Edinburgh for as little as 300 and the possible presence of armed criminals on the city's streets is a cause for deep concern.

It is essential, however, to maintain a proper perspective on the problem.

The fact is that gun crime overall in the Capital is falling – 196 incidents last year from 220 the year before – and almost half of those incidents were linked to the drugs trade.

It is undoubtedly true that Edinburgh is still one of the safest cities to live in Britain, with the risk of falling victim to violent crime very low.

Shootings do not tend to be random attacks, the experience of police tells us, but are usually between acquaintances, who are linked to criminals.

The solution to tackling the scourge of armed criminal gangs does not lie with tighter gun controls and tougher prison sentences. The courts already have adequate powers to deal with such offenders when they are caught. The single biggest deterrent to anyone thinking of arming themselves with a gun remains the fear they will be caught and spend years behind bars.

And it is unrealistic to expect to eradicate the illegal arms trade when it often deals in still-deadly relics from the Second World War and stolen farmers' shotguns which have been secretly circulating among criminals for years.

The public should be reassured by the fact that police have a decent track record when it comes to responding to and dealing with such incidents.

But it is vital they continue to receive the resources they need to tackle the on-going problem.