Limerick branded Europe's murder capital
20/04/2008 - 10:10:07Limerick has been branded the official murder capital of Europe.
The Sunday Independent claims the la-*test*-('") killings in the city have boosted crime figures giving it the highest homicide rate in Western Europe.
According to the la-*test*-('") CSO data, Limerick has a ratio of more than seven homicides per 100,000 population.
Glasgow in Scotland, which previously had the highest homicide rate in Western Europe, recorded just over 5 killings per 100,000 people.
Firearms are a major problem here, with gardaí seizing over 500 guns a year - that is 10 times more than they recovered from republicans during the Troubles.
In the past 10 years, the number of deaths as a result of gunshot wounds has risen fivefold.
Operation Anvil, which was set up in May 2005 has recovered almost 1500 firearms to date - most of these were seized in Dublin and Limerick.
However, despite the rise in gun crime a WHO study rates Ireland as the safest country in Europe.
Source: http://breakingnews.ie/ireland/?jp=mhojideyeyql&c=