Heya Swoop, this article indicates that reducing violence isn't quite as simple as "disarming" the public:
(From Times Online)
A United Nations report has labeled Scotland as the most violent country in the developed world, with people three times more likely to be assaulted than in America.
England and Wales recorded the second highest number of violent assaults while Northern Ireland recorded the fewest.
The study, based on telephone interviews with victims of crime in 21 countries, found that more than 2,000 Scots were attacked every week, almost ten times the official police figures. They include non-sexual crimes of violence and serious assaults.
Violent crime has doubled in Scotland over the past 20 years, per head of population, and now comparable with cities such as Rio de Janeiro, Johannesburg, and Tbilisi.
The attacks have been fueled by a "booze and blades" culture in the west of Scotland...
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Or this:
The British Crime Survey annually reports an average of 2,500,000 crimes of violence being committed every year.
A larger number of violent break-ins and assaults of home-owners is being reported than ever before.
What with a large Muslim minority largely resentful of British foreign policy and the growth of drug gangs, whatcha bet this problem not only grows in scale but also becomes more deadly in the next decade?
Regards, Shuckins