BBC NEWS North Midlands/East West/South-West London/South North Midlands/East West/South-West London/South
BBCi CATEGORIES   TV   RADIO   COMMUNICATE   WHERE I LIVE   INDEX    SEARCH 

BBC News UK Edition
    You are in: England  
News Front Page
World
UK
England
N Ireland
Scotland
Wales
Politics
Business
Entertainment
Science/Nature
Technology
Health
Education
-------------
Talking Point
-------------
Country Profiles
In Depth
-------------
Programmes
-------------
BBC Sport
BBC Weather
CBBC News
SERVICES
-------------
EDITIONS
 Thursday, 9 January, 2003, 12:18 GMT
Rise in gun crime in the East
Gun haul
Gun crime has risen nationally by 35% in a year
Gun crime across the East has risen by more than 100 offences, new figures have revealed.

The total number of firearms offences in Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire, Essex, Hertfordshire, Norfolk, Northamptonshire and Suffolk has risen from 274 in 2000-2001 to 394 in 2001-2002.

All the counties saw increases except Suffolk which saw a drop from 22 cases to 15.

GUN OFFENCES 2002 (2001)
Bedfordshire 82 (48)
Cambridgeshire 49 (31)
Essex 98 (77)
Hertfordshire 69 (36)
Norfolk 26 (20)
Northamptonshire 55 (40)
Suffolk 15 (22)
Thames Valley 267 (198)

The figures, released by the Home Office, show that gun crimes have risen nationally by 35% in a year.

Bedfordshire and Hertfordshire saw the biggest increases in gun crimes.

The number in Bedfordshire increased from 48 to 82, and in Hertfordshire from 36 to 69.

Essex recorded the highest number of gun crimes in the East with 98 cases.

Norfolk and Suffolk had some of the lowest levels of gun crime in England.

Inspector Bob George, head of firearms training and operations for Norfolk Police, said: "Every report we get we will commit an armed response to it.

"It is probably the area of crime where the most resources are dedicated."

  WATCH/LISTEN
  ON THIS STORY
  The BBC's Andy Tighe
"The statistics are very worrying indeed"

Key stories

Background

TALKING POINT
See also:

09 Jan 03 | Politics
08 Jan 03 | Politics
07 Jan 03 | UK
07 Jan 03 | England
06 Jan 03 | Politics
Internet links:


The BBC is not responsible for the content of external internet sites

Links to more England stories are at the foot of the page.


 E-mail this story to a friend

Links to more England stories

© BBC ^^ Back to top

News Front Page | World | UK | England | N Ireland | Scotland | Wales |
Politics | Business | Entertainment | Science/Nature | Technology |
Health | Education | Talking Point | Country Profiles | In Depth |
Programmes