There’s a fine margin between life and death. It only takes a split second for someone to be shot in Preston.
And it seems gun crime is getting out of hand.
Preston has witnessed at least ten major incidents in recent months. This begs the question: Is it safe to leave your own home?
In February, revellers were forced to flee the Club Arena on Tithebarn Street when two shots were fired by a masked man.
Meanwhile, four people have been quizzed in connection with a shooting on the Callon Estate. A 21 year-old was charged with attempted murder.
This prompted Preston’s new police chief superintendent, Peter White, to claim there are at least 100 people in the city known to be involved in criminal gangs.
According to the Lancashire Evening Post, police have seized more than 30 deadly weapons off the streets of Preston in the last 12 months.
Council Leader Ken Hudson also describes gun crime as a grave problem and said: “Clearly from a community service point of view it’s a concern. We need to stamp it out before there are any fatalities”.
But although many incidents of gun crime have been reported in recent months, is there a reason to believe these stories have been sensationalised?
A leading Chief Constable stressed that incidents involving firearms in Preston are “thankfully very rare”.
Andrew Bradbury, a press spokesman for Preston Police, believes the media should be responsible when reporting gun crime.
He said: “Reports in the papers are often not reflective of the true situation in the city. There is a danger some papers report gun crime as a sexy story to put on the front page.
“News editors have a duty to report gun crime fairly and accurately and they should be aware their coverage could have a disproportionate effect.”
Dr Niall Scott, a Lecturer in Bioethics at the University of Central Lancashire, agreed and said: “Something as serious and damaging as gun crime can’t ever have too much coverage.
“But the coverage should be more critical and less fear-mongering. There’s a close relationship between a genuine story and entertainment”.
Bradbury also played down public safety concerns by claiming law-abiding citizens are often not under threat by gun crime.
He added: “People involved in gun crime are often in gangs. In practically every single incident, one criminal or gang is targeting another.
“In around 99 out of 100 incidents, criminals are affected by gun crime. There is often just one occasion when an innocent person gets involved”.
However, Bradbury stressed this was not an excuse to compensate for the rise of gun crime. And he also touched on a strand of gun crime which has rarely come to light in the media.
“There’s been an incredible rise of people claiming to have a firearm by using BB guns or imitation weapons to generally intimidate people.
“At a legislative level these imitation weapons have often been used by criminals to rob off-licenses.
“Action needs to be taken because people buy these weapons to misuse them. When they’re misused, it could lead to someone being shot”.
Councillor Hudson also condemned the use and availability of BB guns and said they still could be used to cause serious physical harm.
Meanwhile, Dr Scott added: “It is disturbing that people use weapons to solve conflict. Holding a gun is an expression of power to some people. It’s a temper tantrum like a child holding their breath.
“We see this kind of behaviour as a rebellion against the ‘legitimate’ world. But they see our legitimacy as patronising and are simply not willing to participate in it.
“Levels of responsibility need to be addressed. I believe this should be given more attention in the media”.
So there you have it. Gun crime in Preston is a severe problem but it appears that safety fears have been exaggerated by the media.
Therefore, it’s safe to leave your own home but remain vigilant at all times. You never know who could be lurking around the corner.
Tags: gun crime, police, Preston, safety fears, sensationalism
May 15, 2008 at 12:33 am
I have to agree that fear mongering is out of control. Of course it is important to highlight the dangers of gun crime, not only as an appeal for witnesses to such crimes, but also as a way of discouraging people from using guns.
However, as with most bad news stories, the amount of incidents that have actually happened compared with the amount the public believe have happened is wildly varying.
But is that not just the nature of the news? Bad news stories get a lot of coverage. As such, the public believe the problem is bigger than it is.
If we were to take this fear mongering literally then: We are currently living in a melting earth that is too hot and will give us cancer that will contribute to the cancer we will get anyway from mobile phones that we can use to call our impoverished pensioner parents when we are kidnapped by one of the many paedophiles or gun-wielding gang members waiting around every corner.
I’m not saying these issues aren’t very real, but they are certainly blown out of proportion.