Gun crime explodes
By Marnie O'Neill
May 06, 2007 12:00
SYDNEY is in the grip of a wave of gun crime, with a weapon fired or used to menace innocent residents six days in every seven.
Police figures show there have been no fewer than 40 incidents involving guns across the metropolitan region since the beginning of last month.
The presence of guns in so many recent crimes is at odds with the State Government's repeated insistence that the incidence of gun crime is continuing to fall dramatically.
The armed robbers, carjackers and home invaders have not discriminated between districts of the city, striking everywhere from Double Bay to Sydney's west, from the southern to the northern suburbs.
On April 17, a security guard opened fire on two masked men after one of them had pointed a gun at the guard outside a factory at Arncliffe.
The following day, three men held up a hotel at Guildford, in western Sydney.
They assaulted a male staff member and punched a female patron in the face.
On April 20, a man brandishing a handgun walked into a Fairfield jewellery store and forced the owner to fill up a backpack with expensive trinkets.
On April 24, residents of Marlow, on the Hawkesbury River, were evacuated after reports that an "agitated'' man carrying a sawn-off shotgun had been stalking several properties.
A subsequent search of the 49-year-old man's Wisemans Ferry home allegedly netted an unregistered, shortened firearm and several rounds of ammunition.
Police Minister David Campbell expressed concern over the incidents but said police raids 10 days ago had resulted in eight armed robbery suspects being taken off the streets.
"Any level of gun crime in NSW is unacceptable, and police are working hard to catch those responsible,'' Mr Campbell said.
"Police arrested eight armed-robbery suspects and charged them with at least 19 offences.
"Armed-robbery gangs are a plague on our streets, and it's pleasing to see our police making breakthroughs and getting serious criminals behind bars.''
Mr Campbell said the Government had taken "giant steps'' towards reducing the number of illegal guns on Sydney's streets and "the thugs who carry them''.
Bureau of Crime Statistics and Research figures showed crimes involving firearms had dropped by 44 per cent since 1997, he said.
Shooting offences had fallen by 40 per cent since 2001, and shooting incidents involving handguns had dropped by about 62 per cent over the same period.
So how's that gun ban working out for you?
By Marnie O'Neill
May 06, 2007 12:00
SYDNEY is in the grip of a wave of gun crime, with a weapon fired or used to menace innocent residents six days in every seven.
Police figures show there have been no fewer than 40 incidents involving guns across the metropolitan region since the beginning of last month.
The presence of guns in so many recent crimes is at odds with the State Government's repeated insistence that the incidence of gun crime is continuing to fall dramatically.
The armed robbers, carjackers and home invaders have not discriminated between districts of the city, striking everywhere from Double Bay to Sydney's west, from the southern to the northern suburbs.
On April 17, a security guard opened fire on two masked men after one of them had pointed a gun at the guard outside a factory at Arncliffe.
The following day, three men held up a hotel at Guildford, in western Sydney.
They assaulted a male staff member and punched a female patron in the face.
On April 20, a man brandishing a handgun walked into a Fairfield jewellery store and forced the owner to fill up a backpack with expensive trinkets.
On April 24, residents of Marlow, on the Hawkesbury River, were evacuated after reports that an "agitated'' man carrying a sawn-off shotgun had been stalking several properties.
A subsequent search of the 49-year-old man's Wisemans Ferry home allegedly netted an unregistered, shortened firearm and several rounds of ammunition.
Police Minister David Campbell expressed concern over the incidents but said police raids 10 days ago had resulted in eight armed robbery suspects being taken off the streets.
"Any level of gun crime in NSW is unacceptable, and police are working hard to catch those responsible,'' Mr Campbell said.
"Police arrested eight armed-robbery suspects and charged them with at least 19 offences.
"Armed-robbery gangs are a plague on our streets, and it's pleasing to see our police making breakthroughs and getting serious criminals behind bars.''
Mr Campbell said the Government had taken "giant steps'' towards reducing the number of illegal guns on Sydney's streets and "the thugs who carry them''.
Bureau of Crime Statistics and Research figures showed crimes involving firearms had dropped by 44 per cent since 1997, he said.
Shooting offences had fallen by 40 per cent since 2001, and shooting incidents involving handguns had dropped by about 62 per cent over the same period.
So how's that gun ban working out for you?
![[rofl2]](/xen/styles/default/xenforo/smilies.vb/035.gif "ROFL2 [rofl2]")
![[rolleyes]](/xen/styles/default/xenforo/smilies.vb/042.gif "Roll Eyes [rolleyes]")
