FATHERS AGAINST GUNS

As part of our on going commitment to our children we feel its our duty to help get these guns off of our streets and try and slow the ever increasing amount of deaths and violent crimes as a result of gun and knife crime.

It is an undenied fact that the level of gun ownership throughout the world is directly related to murder and suicide rates and specifically to the level of death caused by gunfire. The two 1997 Firearms (Amendment) Acts resulted in the prohibition of the vast majority of handguns throughout Great Britain and as direct result of the prohibition and the surrender exercise, more than 160,000 handguns were handed in to local police forces around the country. This then, mathematically speaking should mean that a reduction in the percentage of firearms on our streets should mean a reduction in the amount of murders".

Crimes involving firearms increased by 35 per cent last year to record levels, with nearly 30 incidents every day, according to new Home Office figures for recorded crime.

EPIDEMIC PROPORTIONS

A spokeswoman for Mothers Against Guns said: "This epidemic needs to be addressed by everyone in the UK. We need to educate and motivate young people to stay clear of gangs and guns. "To have a 55 per cent increase in firearms offences over the last 10 years is proof that this government is not tackling the problem properly."

Did You Know .......
.There were 21,521 reported crimes involving firearms in England and Wales in 2005/6, according to the Home Office.
.That's a 55 per cent increase on a decade earlier, when there were 13,876 gun-related offences.
.On average thats 414 gun crimes weekly.
.50 of the total firearm crimes were murders.
.7,248 were for other violent incidents against another person.
. In 2003/04 Gun-Related incidents peaked when there were 24,094 recorded offences.
.Six out of every 100 people in England and Wales are believed to own or have direct access to a gun - Thats more than in Iran.

HOW CAN YOU HELP?

If you have information about gun crime or infact any crime in your area and you're nervous about going to the police, you should call Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111. They will never ask for your name or try to trace the number that you're calling from.
There are also a number of local anti-gun crime initiatives run by police authorities and councils that you may want to get involved in. They organise activities within communities to highlight the problem.
You can call into your nearest police station to find out about groups in your area. The government's Connected programme also has details of local organisations on their website.

F2G recently caught up with young actor Andrew Spring. He played Andy in the Don't Trigger Campaign. The story portrays a situation which starts in a night club where a fight leads to his character holding a knife to mans throat. A gun is then drawn by Don-e (rival gang member) and things spiral out of control from their.
He says, "I think my role shows how gun violence can erupt out of something so small and in this case where a simple issue of pride being broken can escalate the situation.It resulted in my character getting shot.This role meant alot to me because my older cousin was killed as a result of gun crime and my brother was shot twice but luckily survived. It doesn't matter if you carry a gun to use it or just for protection it is still a gun and in the wrong situation it can kill."

You can check out more by visiting www.dont-trigger.com

"In a family situation that involves children, a father is an important component to helping the children grow and learn the ins and outs of life. Not having the father figure can leave a gaping hole in their live's and could seriously push the children in the wrong direction in later life, and I know no mother or father would want that for their children." Andrew Spring

Operation Trident

In 1998 the Metropolitan Police set up Trident as an anti-gun crime operation to help bring an end to a spate of shootings and murders among young, black Londoners.
It consists of over 300 police officers and 70 support staff .
They are advised and informed by a group of black community leaders called the Trident Independent Advisory Group as 75% percent of London's gun crime involves victims and suspects both coming from within the black communities.Trident not only works because of its partnership with community leaders but also because of its robust attitude and intelligence based policing.

Trident's commitment is:
• To work with the public to identify and target those involved in gun crime;
• To investigate and disrupt criminals who use guns;
• To work with schools, the community and other interested groups to try to prevent young people becoming involved in gun crime;
• To arrest and prosecute the criminals who provide the guns;
• To support the victims and witnesses of gun crime;
• To support the work of the Trident Independent Advisory Group and other community led anti-gun crime projects.

In the next update see what happened when we sent F2G's F.K to Compton in Los Angeles and Trenton, New Jersey to meet up with the Bloods and Crips to find out more about where this whole Gang Culture came from!!

Believe me......You dont wanna miss this!!!