Greater Manchester gun crime down by 20%

Gun crime in Greater Manchester is at its lowest level since 2003, police have said.

Greater Manchester Police said there had been a 20.5% drop in reported gun crime in the past six months.

The force said overall crime had also fallen in the region over the same period.

It added that recorded crimes for robbery, vehicle crime and domestic burglary were at their lowest for a decade.

Anti-social behaviour

Police said 31 firearms were discharged between 1 April and 31 August, compared with 39 in the same period last year.

The force said there were 25,639 fewer victims of anti-social behaviour between April and September 2010.

Vehicle crime (theft or unauthorised taking of motor vehicle and theft from a vehicle) is down by 24 percent, with 3,980 fewer victims.

Figures for the past six months showed robbery was down by 21.2%, violence against the person fell by 10.1% while domestic burglary was reduced by 9.8%.

Dep Ch Con Simon Byrne said: "We are getting into the heart of communities and officers are responding directly to issues raised by members of the public.

"There is of course still more work to be done and I want to reassure the public that we will never become complacent and are under no illusions that crime is still too high."