ABSTRACT
The relationship between technological development in firearm design, manufacture and marketing and the deadly consequences of firearm misuse on the streets can be extremely close. The murder of Trooper Lee Rigby and the Paris 2015 shootings probably represent two ends of a weapon technology spectrum in terms of contemporary terror threats. In Paris the gunmen were in possession of powerful AK47-type assault rifles. A more serious source of criminal firearm supply has concerned converted weapons. The scarcity and difficulty in accessing factory quality weapons undoubtedly explain the growth of illegally converted weapons. Imprisoned firearm offenders interviewed in the course of a Home Office research study knew that such weapons were undoubtedly inferior in many respects but they are also cheaper and more available. In some respects the diversification of the United Kingdom mixed economy of illegal firearms is a result of more effective intelligence-led, partnership and community policing suppressing both demand for and supply of illegal firearms.
