A police chief has said gun crime is falling despite fears of an increase in gang culture in big cities. Keith Bristow, chief constable of Warwickshire Police, told BBC Five Live fewer people were being killed with guns and more offenders were captured.
But Mr Bristow, who is gun crime spokesman for the Association of Chief Police Officers, said it remained a serious issue for communities.
The latest Home Office figures showed the first fall in gun crime since 1997.
However, the same figures, for the 2004-2005 period in England and Wales, also showed there were 78 deaths involving firearms, up from 68 the previous year.
Mr Bristow said: "More people are being arrested for gun crime, more guns are being seized, and at the same time the number of murders are being reduced, so yes there is a problem: a significant problem.
"But it is being tackled and we're reducing the number of people that are being harmed by gun crime.
"But that's not to say that where it affects the community it's not very significant, because it is. It's a real issue for communities."
Firearms (including air weapons) were reportedly used in 22,789 recorded crimes, the figures showed.
It also showed that more than half of firearm offences, excluding air weapons, took place in the three metropolitan areas of London, Greater Manchester and the West Midlands.
One-Minute World News 
News services
E-mail this to a friend 
Printable version 
It's a real issue for communities
