Guns in London?

Read of a recent shooting of a 15year old somewhere at Ladbroke grove. My time in the UK last year as an intern gave me the impression that guns don't exist in London/UK (a culture shock at the time—couldn't believe there were places on earth where a policeman expected to be taken seriously without wielding a gun in public). What category of criminals/gangs are likely to actually own guns in London?

13 Comments
 

Guns exist in the UK, the same way any other illegal contraband exists. People are also allowed to own guns for hunting.

The police also have guns, just not random officers.

 
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Criminals, street gangs, drug dealers, OC and other folks like this exist in all countries. They will probably have guns and other weapons. This isn't new or specific to London or the UK.
Finance people usually live in well-off neighborhoods with low crime.

The larger public are not allowed to carry any prohibited items in public and this makes life a little bit safer in the UK. You don't have a "second amendment" in the UK or any real way of defending yourself in most scenarios, but I also believe that these scenarios are very rare.

Like the other poster said, there are armed police units, gang units, counter-terrorism units, (..) who all have rapid access to firearms and they will be there within minutes if needed.

 
Gumball3000

Criminals, street gangs, drug dealers, OC and other folks like this exist in all countries. They will probably have guns and other weapons. This isn't new or specific to London or the UK.
Finance people usually live in well-off neighborhoods with low crime.

The larger public are not allowed to carry any prohibited items in public and this makes life a little bit safer in the UK. You don't have a "second amendment" in the UK or any real way of defending yourself in most scenarios, but I also believe that these scenarios are very rare.

Like the other poster said, there are armed police units, gang units, counter-terrorism units, (..) who all have rapid access to firearms and they will be there within minutes if needed.

Finance people live in areas with low crime? Don’t think living in south or Shoreditch constitutes as low crime. Even areas like south Ken has a bunch of watch crime. 

 
WallStreetScientist

Finance people live in areas with low crime? Don’t think living in south or Shoreditch constitutes as low crime. Even areas like south Ken has a bunch of watch crime. 

My post was in comparison to US cities. Yes, there is crime in London. But it's generally less crime than in the US, specifically for crimes involving firearms.

Maybe I was lucky, but I haven't witnessed any crime in London in the years I have lived there (Chelsea, Mayfair, Putney, and Fulham)

 

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