Guns and Gangs

Graeme McLagan lifts the lid on a hugely unreported but important modern day problem - an expensive problem on both in terms of money and young lives. After terrorism, the single greatest worry for law enforcement agencies is gun crime, and in particular the so-called 'black on black' shootings.

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In Guns and Gangs Graeme McLagan lifts the lid on a hugely unreported but important modern-day problem ? an expensive problem both in terms of money and young lives. After terrorism, the single greatest worry for law enforcement agencies is gun crime, and in particular the so-called ?black on black? shootings. The statistics are shocking. Black people are the victims of three-quarters of the capital`s gun murders and non-fatal shootings. The shooters in eighty per cent of cases are also black. Most black gun crime occurs in London, but Bristol, Manchester and the West Midlands are also affected; gun crime has become a national concern. Guns and Gangs traces how the trend first started in the late 1980s and early 1990s with the emergence of the so-called Yardies and crack cocaine, and the consequent turf wars. Since then the Police have launched numerous operations to tackle the problem, the big turning point for which came after the murder of black teenager Stephen Lawrence. Most of these operations have been kept secret over the years.
Now, however, Scotland Yard is prepared to open up Operation Trident in an unprecedented way, allowing McLagan exclusive access to files and case histories, showing how black gun crime is being confronted in a joint effort by police and the black community. In 2004, there were the first welcome signs of black gun crime decreasing, but the easy availability of guns and community violence in other areas of society means that this problem is far from solved. This fascinating in-depth study, containing interviews with police officers, victims, their families, witnesses, lawyers and perpetrators, highlights this under-explored phenomena and offers valuable insights into the psychology behind this disturbing form of crime.