NOT GUNMEN

Dominion, Volume 28, Issue 123, 18 February 1935, Page 3

NOT GUNMEN

Gangsters in England CROOKS PREFER FISTS How Police Deal With Them In several countries the crook’s automatic seems now to be as dangerous and large almost as a machine-gun, while the political terrorist takes with him on his errands of death not only a pair of automatic pistols of the latest design and make but hand grenades and bombs. There seems, indeed, to be no limit to the amount of firearms which the criminal abroad (notably in parts of America) may use in his exploits, or to the size or general effectiveness of his weapons. Nor is the menace of the gunman entirely unknown in England. A lessened value was placed on human life in the immediate post-war years, but, although there was murder by shooting and people shot themselves, the. crook did not at this point’adopt the gun as a. means of furthering his ends. There were any amount of old service revolvers, but it is not much more than two years since the criminal who carried a firearm, and was even prepared to use it should the need arise, made his presence felt to any extent here, although before then the country had been shocked by the shooting of P.C. Gutteridge, for which callous crime Browne and Kennedy were hanged. Then, two or three years back, there began to be sufficient “hold-ups” by gunmen to cause considerable apprehension. A dangerous gang of four who wounded a police constable at Kingston who was trying to arrest them were tracked down and captured in Bloomsbury by detectives who, like themselves, were armed. There were, too, several instances of branch post offices, postmistresses and bank officials, station booking-clerks and traders being held up, often by men who had only dummy or imitation weapons but who succeeded, nevertheless, in scaring their victims. The authorities decided that a stop must be put at once to these methods, and action of two or three distinct kinds was taken. A Special Committee. To take first one of the later measures put in hand in this war on the most ruthless type of criminal, the Home Secretary appointed a powerful committee under the chairmanship of Sir Archibald Bodkin, Director of Public Prosecutions from 1920 to 1930, to go fully into the question of firearms. The report of this committee, which is eagerly awaited by the police and others concerned with the problem, will be ready this month. The committee sat for several months, hearing evidence from all kinds of experts on “the various types of firearms and similar weapons capable of being used for the discharge of missiles or noxious substances or ammunition therefor,” and in its report it will say whether, in the interests of public safety, “any amendment of the law is necessary or desirable in respect of the definition or. classification” of firearms and ammunition. Other steps to stamp out the gunman once and for all were taken. The Government acted quickly once the threat of armed robbery was a reality, and last year Parliament passed the Firearms and Imitation Firearms (Criminal Use) Bill, which provided for penal servitude up to 14 years for any person convicted of using either genuine or imitation firearms to avoid arrest or prevent another’s arrest; and for penal servitude up to seven years for any person with a firearm or imitation firearm in his possession when arrested unless he could show that he had it for a lawful object. It was stated on behalf of the Government at the time that the question of the gunman was a novel one in this country, but that the combination of the revolver and the motor-car had proved such a serious menace to the community that it had to be checked efficiently and promptly. At the same time the police issued an appeal to the public to hand over revolvers and guns which were in their possession and in respect of which they had no firearms certificate, and explained that those who did so would nut be prosecuted. The possession of firearms is unlawful for the ordinary members of the public without a firearms certificate. The result of the appeal was amazing. Thousands of firearms— Army colt revolvers, sporting guns, shotguns, antique weapons—poured in to the police. The English Way. An experienced police officer told a representative of the “Observer” that the average crook in England does not rely on firearms. If he or his gang comes up against the police,the old English method of a “rough house” is preferred, hitting with fists against fists. Ordinarily, he said, the police here go about unarmed, but if detectives are after desperate men who are known to te armed they will, of course, carry weapons. For that reason detectires undergo shooting practice from time to time. “Of course,” it was stated, “crime in this country is .not entirely without violence, but knuckle-dusters, life-pre-servers, lengths of lead piping and iron bars are resorted to and not guns.” Lord Trenchard was among the ponce chiefs who Invited people '>’> hand over firearms for which they did not hold certificates. Many dangerous automatic pistols were received in response, but included also in the collection which reached the police were oldfashioned blunderbusses, ornamental Victorian pistols with a barrel a foot long and a handle another foot long, antique guns which far years had rested in peace over fireplaces—a collection, in short, which was “worth far more from a curio point of view than as old metal.” For some days lorry loads of these extraordinary weapons left Scotland Yard for a breaking-up depot. It should lie made clear, however, that quite a lot of really dangerous pistols and revolvers were nt the same time handed over.

“Even defenceless old ladies,” “The Observer” was told, “gave up their firearms, among them widows of army officers who had retained their husbands’ revolvers. The number of lonely women who, in fact, handed over their Weapons was quite surprising. But they did not need them. The use of guns over here is practically non-existent. The danger arising from the mere handiness of revolvers and so on is much greater than anything the owner of one is ever likely to be called on to face.”