UK: "Executive war games fuel illegal guns market"

[cuchulainn]

from the Independent

http://news.independent.co.uk/uk/crime/story.jsp?story=462266

Executive war games fuel illegal guns market

By Jason Bennetto, Crime Correspondent
10 November 2003

The boom in executive-style war games, such as paintballing, is providing criminals with a ready supply of guns that are being converted into lethal weapons, a confidential Scotland Yard report says.

The reports also highlights a small Derringer blank-firing pistol, which police say is easy to convert into a deadly weapon and has become particularly popular with the girlfriends of drug dealers because it is easy to hide.

The compact Kimar Derringer blank-firing pistol is "notoriously simply to convert," says the report.

"Derringers are particularly popular with female companions of 'Yardies' [Jamaican crack cocaine dealers] because of the ease of concealment."

To convert the Italian-made guns, a hole is drilled through the blocked barrel. "The whole process takes less than two hours and would cost usually around £50 in a backstreet workshop," the report notes.

The Metropolitan Police study concludes that one of the main factors behind the current spate of shootings is the conversion of replica and air weapons into pistols that fire live ammunition.

Gun crime in England and Wales has risen to record levels, with 10,250 incidents, including 80 murders, involving firearms in the year up to April.

The restricted internal report, "Tackling Gun Crime in London", was written earlier this year by officers from the Metropolitan Police's specialist crime directorate.

The report warns: "In recent years there has been an extraordinary improvement in the quality of the replica weapons available on the British firearms market, and, in particular, a rapid growth in 'air-soft', black-powder, CO2 or 'blank-firer' replica weap-ons, directed in particular at war games enthusiasts and at other 'sport shooters'.

"Replica weapons can be purchased directly from sports goods stores, gunsmiths or from Army and Navy-style market stalls, in stores dedicated to the pursuit of war game equipment and clothing, mail order advertisements that appear in gun magazines or they can be obtained from suppliers who advertise over the internet."

The air weapons are converted by drilling out the gas cartridge, which is used like a sleeve for the live round of ammunition to fit into. The airguns can be sold to anyone over 17 because they are not classified as firearms.

The Met believes most gun incidents now involve converted weapons.

The study says that the number of firearms incidents in London increased by about 700 to 5,410 in 2002. The most recent figures show that the Met secured a drop of about 14 per cent in gun crimes in the year to September.

Recent action against armourers includes a raid on a suspected mini arms factory in south-east London last Thursday. Police seized about 60 gas-fired, replica firearms that were being converted to fire live ammunition.

The firearms assessment warns: "A big threat facing the Metropolitan Police Service at present is the availability and use of converted replica weapons.

"The legal replica market of air weapons and blank firers is growing in the UK and there is no control system in place. Weapons are sold through a variety of means including sports shops, backstreet stores, magazines, mail order and the internet."

© 2003 Independent Digital (UK) Ltd

 

[Black Snowman]

Where there's a will, there's a way. There is no keeping guns from criminals. Now if the public were armed how quick would these people be to put their one-shot converted weapons out and do battle knowing that they could face an army of folks armed with real firearms?

The see but they still don't comprehend. :banghead:

 

[Kharn]

The boom in executive-style war games, such as paintballing, is providing criminals with a ready supply of guns that are being converted into lethal weapons, a confidential Scotland Yard report says.

I'd love for the chance to examine a paintball gun converted to fire real bullets, and the psych majors I know would probably love to examine the guy that'd be stupid enough to fire it.

Kharn

 

[cordex]

Kharn,
Ever see those 68 caliber glass marbles that they sell for paintball guns? Don't need to convert it to shoot real ammo.

 

[Poodleshooter]

In college, we used taped paper cones as sabots for blowgun darts in various paintball guns. You could usually put them about 2" into pine 2x4's after going though the wallboard. Educational, but dangerous.
Anything can be made into a weapon if you're ingenious enough.

 

[cordex]

Poodleshooter,
Ever try an air-compressor+blowgun? Heh heh heh.
A little tap'll do ya.

 

[GM7RQK]

This report is supposed to be from the police ??

The airguns can be sold to anyone over 17 because they are not classified as firearms.

From the Met website

"Firearm", within the definition of the Firearms Acts, means a lethal barrelled weapon of any description, from which any shot, bullet or other missile can be discharged.

And yes an air pistol is a lethal weapon according to the UK government.

makes me wonder about the rest of the 'facts' in the article.

Stephen.

 

[Iain]

"Airguns do not require a licence unless they are over the UK legal limit of 12ft.lbs muzzle energy for rifles and 6 ft.lbs muzzle energy for pistols. Providing you are within the age requirements for ownership listed below almost anybody can own one." http://f4bscale.worldonline.co.uk/gunlaw.htm

My understanding as a fellow Brit is that under the figures stated above an airgun is not classified as a 'firearm', an air rifle capable of 12.1ft.lbs is a firearm and illegal without exactly the same kind of license required to own a .22lr.

 

[GM7RQK]

AFAIK any barlled weapon exceeding the 'lethal' limit, I'm not sure what it is in FT/LBS but about 1.6 joules (and under review) is classed as a firearm although as you correctly state does not have to be held 'on ticket' (Firearms Certificate). To require a FAC an airgun must come under the Dangerous Air Weapons rules

The Firearms (Dangerous Air Weapons) Rules 1969 require that certain air weapons can only be held legally on a firearm certificate. It is possible to measure the velocity of pellets, discharged from an air weapon, by the use of an electronic chronograph. From these measurements the kinetic energy of the pellet at the muzzle can be calculated. Air weapons deemed specially dangerous have a muzzle energy in excess of:

In the case of an air pistol: 6 ft/lbs
In the case of an air weapon other than an air pistol: 12 ft/lbs

Such weapons are classified as Section 1 firearms and are required to be held on a firearm certificate. These weapons are subject to all the controls and regulations pertaining to Section 1 firearms, although the "ammunition" (pellets) are not.

I have never worked out what happens if you have a pistol with more than 6 FT/LBs, which makes it a section 1 firearm (requires a certificate) and has a barrel less than 30cm long (a section 1 firearm with a barrle of less than 30cms was banned under the 1997 Firearms ammendment Act i.e. the 'handgun ban')

Edited to add: just re-read the rule seems air weapons are excempt from the Prohibited weapons section. OOPS

Seems to me sometimes that even the police arn't sure, hence my comment about the story above, not suggesting that you needed a licence, mind you looks like you might soon, assuming they don't ban the things outright.

Oh joy

Stephen

Link to the
Metropolitan Police Firearms Enquiry Page

 

[Standing Wolf]

Gun crime in England and Wales has risen to record levels, with 10,250 incidents, including 80 murders, involving firearms in the year up to April.

Can't be true: England has banned hand guns.

 

[Mark Tyson]

Interesting. Where there's a will there's a way I guess. We all know how sandal wearing Pashtuns make machine guns out of scrap metal over there.