German MEP visits GMP Armed Crime Unit

Date published: 24/11/2006

Gisela Kallenbach, a key German Member of European Parliament visited Greater Manchester Police’s Armed Crime Unit to discuss gun crime in Greater Manchester and to look at some of the guns recovered through Operation Carbon, which have been imported from Europe and converted and sold on to criminals in the region.

Ms Kallenbach is the Rapporteur on the Directive on the control of the acquisition and possession of weapons in the Committee for Internal Market and Consumer Protection.  She has come to the region at the invitation of Arlene McCarthy MEP who is the Labour Euro MP for Greater Manchester and Chair of the same committee.

In October 2006, Arlene McCarthy MEP and officers from GMP visited Brussels to present the problems this region and other parts of the UK face with the influx of weapons from Europe.  Gisela, from Germany, is responsible for compiling a report for the Internal Market and Consumer Protection Committee on the control and acquisition of guns and is visiting Greater Manchester to better understand the issues.

Ms Kallenbach said: "I wanted to use my visit to Greater Manchester to listen to the people who are dealing with the impact of gun crime and to see for myself some of the weapons that have been recovered.  Such facts will definitely provide input for my report."

Detective Inspector John Lyons, from GMP’s Armed Crime Unit said: "Almost half of the weapons recovered by GMP are converted from guns that were originally made to fire blanks or CS Gas.  It is essential that we stop these weapons from getting into the hands of criminals and one of the ways we can do that is by tackling the source of the guns.  These weapons are being produced legally in Europe, however it is when the guns are brought into this country that they are being converted into lethal weapons.  

"The trip to the European Parliament went well and we are really pleased that Gisela Kallenbach has come over from Germany to look at the extent of the problem.  GMP is committed to reducing firearms incidents and ridding Greater Manchester’s streets of guns.  This is just one part of the work of Xcalibre and by working together, we aim to make it harder for criminals to bring these weapons into the country, which will potentially stop another young innocent life being lost."