Strathclyde Police have apparently missed their targets on seizing guns & ammunition, which were some 60% below the numbers set by the Chief Constable, Steven House.
The Scotsman reports :
Gun seizures fall short of target
Published Date: 08 April 2009
By michael howie
SEIZURES of firearms by Scotland's biggest police force are running well below targets set by its chief constable, a new report reveals.
Steven House, head of Strathclyde Police, last year set a target to increase seizures of firearms and ammunition by more than a third – in response to a growing problem with gun crime connected to organised criminal gangs in the west of Scotland.
But a report to be discussed by the Strathclyde Joint Police Board tomorrow reveals that, between April and December, only 42 seizures were made – 60 per cent below the target of 106 for the whole year.
The police and the board have for the first time agreed to use a "traffic light" system to assess the force's performance against a range of targets.
The report gives the force a "green light" on the number of people caught carrying knives – 2,526 last year, 8.6 per cent above the target.
The force also hit its targets cutting robberies and solving more serious assaults.
But a "red light" is shown on catching people with other offensive weapons – which was 21.7 per cent below the target – and cutting domestic abuse attacks involving repeat offenders.
Councillor Paul Rooney, the board's convener, said: "Police authorities have a duty to monitor how well their force is achieving against the targets."
The report comes as Labour politicians call for a national knife amnesty to tackle the country's blades culture.
The party's justice spokesman, Richard Baker, called on Justice Secretary Kenny MacAskill to back an amnesty after a similar scheme ordered by Grampian Police netted more than 1,000 knives and other weapons.
A Scottish Government spokesman said it would support any measure that cuts knife crime.
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