Mr McNulty said the number of incidents for which police firearms were authorised rose from 12,379 in 1996/7 to 18,891 in 2005/6 - a 53% increase.
In London, the number almost doubled during the same period, from 2,439 to 4,711, while in the West Midlands it nearly quadrupled, from 270 to 1,044...
"Firearms offences used to be rare in Britain and we associated gun crime with America. Now it is a daily concern for millions of people in our country.
You know where they ought to try this approach?
Australia.