May 2008
A continuing problem in tackling gun crime in Britain has been the reluctance of victims to report it or witnesses to come forwards with evidence. The difficulties that the police had while investigating the Rhys Jones murder were not untypical.
Fearing reprisal and the consequences of telling the police is often given as an explanation for why witnesses do not come forward. However, it is too often overlooked that the communities wracked by gun crime often have some of the least satisfactory experiences of policing with little trust and confidence in the police. This is a problem in itself.