How would you sort out gun crime?

How would you sort out gun crime?

Oona King (Author and Former Member of Parliament) gives expert video advice on: How would you sort out gun crime?; Do you think the Olympics are going to be worth the cost?; Why don't people trust politicians? and more...

I would say there are short term answers to gun crime, and long term answers. Short term answers are around the availability of weapons, that goes to the trade that is coming from the various parts of the country, it's about border control. It's then about on the ground - why are guns available so freely in certain areas? It's about whether you can make guns amnesties realistic. How do you actually get through to the fourteen year old that is packing a weapon? Do you really think they're all going to watch Crime Watch and say, "Oh, yeah. I'll turn up and hand my piece in." And so I think on a short term level there are things you can do. Personally, I believe the long term approach is much more important. It's about education, it's about ensuring that young people aren't so disaffected to start with, that they feel they've got no other solution than to have a weapon on them. And that means reducing the amount of insecurity that young people have, and insuring that there are more youth services on the ground.