Introduction

The issue of guns being used for criminal purposes is not new to society and have been used since there invention by both criminals and law abiding citizens alike. There has been, however, an alarming increase within the United Kingdom were guns have been used during criminal offences. As stated before, guns have always been available to the criminal fraternity, so why has there been a sudden increase in their use within the United Kingdom. This article will assess the whether there has been an explosion of gun crime in the United Kingdom over the past two decades. The facts and figures that support the assertion that gun crime is on the increase will need to be examined first. There are many sources which have released conflicting statistics regarding the escalation of guns used in criminal activities. If the general overall perception is that gun crime is on the increase, the factors for this belief will be assessed next. There are the obvious sociological implications regarding why gun crime has exploded, however, is this rise due to the fact that guns are easier to get hold of in today