Reacting to the publication of annual crime figures for England and Wales Diane Abbott, Chair of the All Party Parliamentary Group on Gun Crime, today renewed calls for a complete ban on imitation weapons and called for tougher sentences for offenders.
Whilst British Crime Survey figures show an overall reduction in crime, gun crime has risen by 10% in the last year, and the use of imitation weapons has increased by 66%.
Abbott, who is also Labour's Prospective Parliamentary Candidate for Hackney North and Stoke Newington said: "It is regrettable that tougher gun laws have driven up imitation gun crime. I am very concerned about the wide availability and easy access to replica weapons and the purposes for which they are acquired."
Abbott went on: "The new figures confirm what the APPG on gun crime has long recognised, namely that a complete ban on imitation weapons and tougher penalties are required. It is very difficult to distinguish a replica gun from a genuine one and the experience of being on the end of a replica barrel no less traumatising."
Abbott added: "I welcome the 5 year mandatory sentence for carrying a real gun but urge the 6 months sentence for replica gun offences to be toughened. I call on a Labour government to include these necessary measures in their Violent Crime Reduction Bill as pledged."