The availability of guns in Birmingham has been laid bare by a Home Office report which reveals firearms can be obtained in the city for £50. Birmingham and London follow Greater Manchester and Liverpool as the cities where criminals find it easiest to get hold of firearms.But criminals from Nottingham, recently dubbed the country's "gun crime capital", had to travel to buy guns because they did not circulate in the East Midlands city.
The research, by Portsmouth University academics, discloses extraordinary details about the lives of gun-toting crooks, including their fear of getting caught with a gun which a previous owner had used in a crime. It also exposes several legal loopholes which allow criminals to get hold of ammunition, and says guns had become more available than in the past. "The criminal availability of lethal firearms has increased, particularly because of the innovations of converted imitation firearms and home-made ammunition and the re-circulation of firearms that have been used in crime," it says. "Illegal firearms have become increasingly accessible to younger offenders who appear more likely to use those firearms recklessly." It adds: "Guns believed or known to have been used in crime can be extremely cheap. "Offenders are acutely concerned about the provenance of illegal guns."