GUN THUGS

EIGHTY PERCENT OF GUN THUGS ESCAPE

80 per cent of gun thugs do not get the minimum five-year sentence

Just one in five thugs caught with a gun in public is sentenced to the minimum five years in prison, it has emerged. Ministers introduced the mandatory punishment for offenders aged 18 or over in 2003 in an effort to tackle the growing firearms epidemic. But despite the measure, only 21 per cent received the minimum term. Judges sentenced 1,039 for the offence in the first two years of the punishment regime, but only 218 received at least five years in jail. The rest escaped with a lighter sentence, according to Ministry of Justice statistics. Officials claim this is because so many juveniles are being caught with guns. In England, they face a mandatory three-year sentence for possessing an illegal gun. Critics said the soft sentences make a mockery of the Government's efforts to bring gun crime under control. David Davis, the shadow Home Secretary, said: "What this indicates is that the majority of these crimes are committed by youngsters under 18. "The Government's policy has failed with the group most responsible for this increase in crime." Insiders at the Ministry of Justice said courts do not always enforce five-year minimum-sentences for offenders aged 18 to 20. A judgment at the Court of Appeal stated they could be sentenced to detention only at a young offenders' institution. So far this year, seven youngsters - including Rhys Jones - have been gunned down on Britain's streets. After three teenagers were killed in London in February, Tony Blair said he wanted to lower to 17 the age at which young people could receive long prison sentences for possessing a gun. Gun CrimeGUN THUGS25 Aug 2007