# 39 firearm-related deaths in the UK last year, firearm offences down 40% in the last decade **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [January 24, 2013, 10:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/39-firearm-related-deaths-in-the-uk-last-year-firearm-offences-down-40-in-the-last-decade/648209 "2013-01-24T10:43:07Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Capt.Ridley\_s\_Shooting\_Party](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/cc9497/32.png) [@Capt.Ridley\_s\_Shooting\_Party](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Capt.Ridley_s_Shooting_Party)\ **Post date:** [January 24, 2013, 10:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/39-firearm-related-deaths-in-the-uk-last-year-firearm-offences-down-40-in-the-last-decade/648209/1 "2013-01-24T10:43:07Z")
According to [new statistics](http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/crime/police-winning-battle-against-inner-city-gun-crime-8463957.html): > [@](#): > > Firearms offences have fallen by more than 40 percent in less than a decade, with the rise of “gun culture” in Britain’s inner cities apparently reversed because of improved police intelligence. > > Figures out next month are expected to confirm the long-term decline in gun crime which resulted in 39 people shot dead in 2011/12 compared with a high of 96 ten years earlier. Only 39 killed out of 63 million people currently living in the UK. Pretty impressive! ---
**Author:** ![gracer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/8e7dd6/32.png) [@gracer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gracer)\ **Post date:** [January 24, 2013, 11:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/39-firearm-related-deaths-in-the-uk-last-year-firearm-offences-down-40-in-the-last-decade/648209/2 "2013-01-24T11:10:44Z")
In the '60s my mum put some 6 shot in a rapist’s bum. That’s the only shooting of a human bean I’ve ever personally heard of. ---
**Author:** ![Sailboat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sailboat/32/461_2.png) [@Sailboat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sailboat)\ **Post date:** [January 24, 2013, 1:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/39-firearm-related-deaths-in-the-uk-last-year-firearm-offences-down-40-in-the-last-decade/648209/3 "2013-01-24T13:56:40Z")
Great username/post title combination! ---
**Author:** ![lieu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/c2a13f/32.png) [@lieu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lieu)\ **Post date:** [January 24, 2013, 2:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/39-firearm-related-deaths-in-the-uk-last-year-firearm-offences-down-40-in-the-last-decade/648209/4 "2013-01-24T14:07:19Z")
I remember there being a long history of hunting and clays in the UK. Is it just pistols and ‘assault weapons’ that are tightly regulated or are bolt action rifles and shotguns held in close check too? Not looking for a debate, jst curious if a distinction exists. ---
**Author:** ![Baron\_Greenback](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/baron_greenback/32/48_2.png) [@Baron\_Greenback](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baron_Greenback)\ **Post date:** [January 24, 2013, 2:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/39-firearm-related-deaths-in-the-uk-last-year-firearm-offences-down-40-in-the-last-decade/648209/5 "2013-01-24T14:25:53Z")
> [@lieu](#): > > I remember there being a long history of hunting and clays in the UK. Is it just pistols and ‘assault weapons’ that are tightly regulated or are bolt action rifles and shotguns held in close check too? Not looking for a debate, jst curious if a distinction exists. It’s not particularly difficult to legally own a shotgun. Rifles are a bit more restricted, but I know a couple of people who own some for hunting/deer culling. I suspect it depends on which part of the country you live in though - I’m guessing it’s easier to get a shotgun or firearms certificate in rural parts. It’s the local police who do the checks before a certificate is granted, which for a shotgun is basically an officer comes round to your house to check that you have secure storage/don’t have a serious criminal record/aren’t a lunatic. You need to give a reason for wanting one, but “I like to go clay pigeon shooting” is good enough. Very, very few people have legally held pistols (Northern Ireland is a bit different here), and modern fully-auto/semi-auto weapons are totally unlawful in private hands I think. ---
**Author:** ![Pitchmeister](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pitchmeister/32/3459_2.png) [@Pitchmeister](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pitchmeister)\ **Post date:** [January 24, 2013, 3:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/39-firearm-related-deaths-in-the-uk-last-year-firearm-offences-down-40-in-the-last-decade/648209/6 "2013-01-24T15:01:54Z")
With gun control that tight, how would you defend yourself if the King of England wanted to come and take over your country? Oh, wait… ---
**Author:** ![tagos](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/bbe5ce/32.png) [@tagos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tagos)\ **Post date:** [January 24, 2013, 3:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/39-firearm-related-deaths-in-the-uk-last-year-firearm-offences-down-40-in-the-last-decade/648209/7 "2013-01-24T15:54:12Z")
> [@Capt.Ridley\_s\_Shooting\_Party](#): > > According to [new statistics](http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/crime/police-winning-battle-against-inner-city-gun-crime-8463957.html): > > Only 39 killed out of 63 million people currently living in the UK. Pretty impressive! But you have to put that against the 10,000 bludgeoned to death with lawn furniture each year though. ---
**Author:** ![Gus\_Gusterson](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/85f322/32.png) [@Gus\_Gusterson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gus_Gusterson)\ **Post date:** [January 24, 2013, 3:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/39-firearm-related-deaths-in-the-uk-last-year-firearm-offences-down-40-in-the-last-decade/648209/8 "2013-01-24T15:55:45Z")
Gun deaths are down. Are deaths down overall or have they just switched to other ways of killing each other? ---
**Author:** ![Colophon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f05b48/32.png) [@Colophon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colophon)\ **Post date:** [January 24, 2013, 4:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/39-firearm-related-deaths-in-the-uk-last-year-firearm-offences-down-40-in-the-last-decade/648209/9 "2013-01-24T16:30:26Z")
> [@Gus\_Gusterson](#): > > Gun deaths are down. Are deaths down overall or have they just switched to other ways of killing each other? We’re all about the stabbing on this side of the pond. ---
**Author:** ![Simplicio](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c37758/32.png) [@Simplicio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Simplicio)\ **Post date:** [January 24, 2013, 4:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/39-firearm-related-deaths-in-the-uk-last-year-firearm-offences-down-40-in-the-last-decade/648209/10 "2013-01-24T16:33:56Z")
> [@Gus\_Gusterson](#): > > Gun deaths are down. Are deaths down overall or have they just switched to other ways of killing each other? Homicides of all types are down by something like 50% in the last decade. ---
**Author:** ![lieu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/c2a13f/32.png) [@lieu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lieu)\ **Post date:** [January 24, 2013, 4:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/39-firearm-related-deaths-in-the-uk-last-year-firearm-offences-down-40-in-the-last-decade/648209/11 "2013-01-24T16:37:54Z")
Does that have anything to do with a cessation of “The Troubles” or has that been factored out? Apologies if my dates are off, just hoping that you’re actually seeing a certifiable decrease, especially if the reasons behind it are translatable to others. Oh, and thanks, **Baron**. ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [January 24, 2013, 4:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/39-firearm-related-deaths-in-the-uk-last-year-firearm-offences-down-40-in-the-last-decade/648209/12 "2013-01-24T16:42:56Z")
> [@lieu](#): > > Does that have anything to do with a cessation of “The Troubles” or has that been factored out? Apologies if my dates are off, just hoping that you’re actually seeing a certifiable decrease, especially if the reasons behind it are translatable to others. > > Oh, and thanks, **Baron**. The figures being discussed are really just for England and Wales. Scotland and Northern Ireland keep their own statistics. ---
**Author:** ![lieu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/c2a13f/32.png) [@lieu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lieu)\ **Post date:** [January 24, 2013, 4:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/39-firearm-related-deaths-in-the-uk-last-year-firearm-offences-down-40-in-the-last-decade/648209/13 "2013-01-24T16:46:48Z")
For some reason the link didn’t work for me before, now it is, thanks. ---
**Author:** ![tagos](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/bbe5ce/32.png) [@tagos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tagos)\ **Post date:** [January 24, 2013, 4:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/39-firearm-related-deaths-in-the-uk-last-year-firearm-offences-down-40-in-the-last-decade/648209/14 "2013-01-24T16:47:12Z")
> [@Gus\_Gusterson](#): > > Gun deaths are down. Are deaths down overall or have they just switched to other ways of killing each other? Homicide rate has been falling steeply. Lowest level in 30 years. The UK is generally less keen on the whole murdering people thing than the USA. Our murder rate is a quarter of the USA’s. Plus we don’t have the accidental shooting deaths. We’ve ferociously cracked down on guns and we’re ferociously going after knives with [similar success](http://www.parliament.uk/briefing-papers/Sn04304). I would not dare to carry around the sort of knives kids routinely had when I was young. I’d be looking at serious consequences. But the gun horse has bolted in the USA so it’s not practicable to de-gun. I’d have a gun if I was in the USA. The UK is lucky that there has never been a gun culture so cracking down on gun ownership was both easy and relatively non-controversial after a couple of massacres. IMHO it is still too easy to get a shotgun licence. Also being an island it’s been much easier to keep guns out. And being very urbanised it’s also easier to crack down on knives with aggressive stop and search in inner city areas. I don’t think any of this can be applied to the USA though. For whatever reasons guns have a real cultural significance and there are so many in private hands there’s simply nothing to be done about it. ---
**Author:** ![lieu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/c2a13f/32.png) [@lieu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lieu)\ **Post date:** [January 24, 2013, 4:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/39-firearm-related-deaths-in-the-uk-last-year-firearm-offences-down-40-in-the-last-decade/648209/15 "2013-01-24T16:54:12Z")
**Tagos** , that’s exactly what I was thinking as I was reading the article. In the UK for a variety of reasons there still is something that can be done to restrict and deter proliferation. In the US the horse has left the barn already. The debate on control in one will have little resemblance to that in the other. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [January 24, 2013, 5:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/39-firearm-related-deaths-in-the-uk-last-year-firearm-offences-down-40-in-the-last-decade/648209/16 "2013-01-24T17:19:22Z")
> [@Capt.Ridley\_s\_Shooting\_Party](#): > > 63 million people currently living in the UK. > [@tagos](#): > > Our murder rate is a quarter of the USA’s. Interesting. The population of the UK appears to be about 1/5 that of the U.S. One would expect the murder rate to be 1/5 or less, and not 1/4. ---
**Author:** ![Simplicio](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c37758/32.png) [@Simplicio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Simplicio)\ **Post date:** [January 24, 2013, 5:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/39-firearm-related-deaths-in-the-uk-last-year-firearm-offences-down-40-in-the-last-decade/648209/17 "2013-01-24T17:21:46Z")
> [@Johnny\_L.A](#): > > Interesting. The population of the UK appears to be about 1/5 that of the U.S. One would expect the murder rate to be 1/5 or less, and not 1/4. “Rate” is usually per-capita. ---
**Author:** ![gracer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/8e7dd6/32.png) [@gracer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gracer)\ **Post date:** [January 24, 2013, 5:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/39-firearm-related-deaths-in-the-uk-last-year-firearm-offences-down-40-in-the-last-decade/648209/18 "2013-01-24T17:25:56Z")
> [@tagos](#): > > IMHO it is still too easy to get a shotgun licence. Why? Do you have stats? I’m just curious how many of those deaths are shotguns then… Or if they even cause any real problems? Or did I just scare you with stories of my mum 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Baron\_Greenback](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/baron_greenback/32/48_2.png) [@Baron\_Greenback](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baron_Greenback)\ **Post date:** [January 24, 2013, 5:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/39-firearm-related-deaths-in-the-uk-last-year-firearm-offences-down-40-in-the-last-decade/648209/19 "2013-01-24T17:26:46Z")
> [@Johnny\_L.A](#): > > Interesting. The population of the UK appears to be about 1/5 that of the U.S. One would expect the murder rate to be 1/5 or less, and not 1/4. Absolute numbers, yes, but not rate which is per capita ---
**Author:** ![Leaffan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/leaffan/32/299_2.png) [@Leaffan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leaffan)\ **Post date:** [January 24, 2013, 5:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/39-firearm-related-deaths-in-the-uk-last-year-firearm-offences-down-40-in-the-last-decade/648209/20 "2013-01-24T17:46:08Z")
I also hear people talk about better first-response times, better paramedic training, better surgical techniques, better hospitals, etc. I wonder how the attempted murder rate looks? [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/39-firearm-related-deaths-in-the-uk-last-year-firearm-offences-down-40-in-the-last-decade/648209.md?page=2)