As an American, I find this excerpt from a recent article written by Iain Murray, a British citizen who specializes in criminal justice issues at STATS B, the Statistical Assessment Service, a Washington, D.C.-based nonprofit, nonpartisan public policy organization. He is the author of the Encyclopaedia Britannica's article on gun control statistics, enlightening.
"... The recent International Crime Victimization Survey, which provides a good indication of overall
crime levels around the world, shows that, while crime fell dramatically during the 1990s in the United States and most of the rest of the world, it has remained steady in Britain and Australia (which also enacted a gun ban during the late 1990s).
Meanwhile, gun crimes in Britain are increasing. According to London's authoritative Sunday Times, the number of firearm offenses in Britain increased almost 40 percent from 4,903 in 1997 to 6,843 in 2000. These are still small figures in comparison to the United States, but the trend is the opposite of what might be expected.
It does not seem that Britain can be said to be a safer place as a result of the gun ban. The police there have traditionally gone unarmed, but the number of incidents in which police officers have had guns issued to them in
recognition of potential danger increased from about 6,000 in 1994-95 to over 12,000 in 1997-8.
Contd.