Matt
Fair play to Bashie, talk about nail on the head. What's more important? 2 parents who couldn't give a monkies between them or one parent who teaches their kids respect and perspective?! Trying to stop importing firearms and equipment or changing the law will do nothing. They're trying to do that with drugs and to be fair - their struggling a little! Only way to change it is for everyone to take responsibility - kids who know better should try to influence those who don't. Peer pressure can work both ways. That goes for the grown ups too, if any of my mates wanna fight in town or whatever, they get grief from me so bad that they soon change their mind just to stop me moaning at them!!No point in pointing fingers or assigning blame, everyone needs to help coz it's eceryone's problem whether we like it or not - end of.

Bryan Williamson
The short-term solution is to crack down on the illegal import of guns and bullets. Have a dedicated unit to prevent them from comming into the country. The other socio-economic issues that contribute to gun-crime such as boredom, lack of family unit,education and employment,will take generations to change.

Bashie
It starts at home. I don't care what people say about 'underprivileged' or growing up with one parent, or not having role models. Manners and respect cost nothing. My dad died when I was 7, and my mum raised me and my little bro WELL.

I've got mates from similar backgrounds who all went on to make something of themselves too. There's too many slack parents about who are too quick to blame the police, the government, teachers or whoever else when their kid is lying in a coffin. The fact is, some of these kids are killed and injured late at night, sometimes out on school nights.

Why they hell are they out at that time anyway? Do some parenting people! Drill some respect and responsibility into your kids! You've got nobody to blame but yourselves if it goes wrong.

vicki vine
In 2004 i lost my partner and my daughters lost their dad to a black on black shooting in London. They still havent convicted the killer even tho they know who it is due to lack of people willing to give evidence because they fear from their own lives. My daughter was 2 at the time and doesnt really remember her father. I will never forget the day i had to tell my girls their dad will never come home again. That is what these people forget... the innocent kids that are left behind and how their lives will never be the same again.

Mr O
These people obviously have no respect for quite how dangerous firearms are. I've been around legal firearms since I was a kid and have had safety drummed into me since day 1.

The first thing I was shown was the mess a round makes when it exits an object. In that case it was a block of wood. Perhaps kids in the areas most affected by gun crime should be shown examples of real life gunshot wounds. Considering the grotesque effects you get in films nowadays they wont be fazed but they will understand that by the simple act of pulling a trigger, huge pain and physical damage can be inflicted.

Then perhaps at an age where they are more responsible schools could perhapse include target shooting as an activity. That way they'll learn how to be responsible with firearms and how important safety is.

And I don't want to hear how stupid an idea that is. I know for a fact that some schools already do this and are they the ones on areas where gun crime is an issue? Absolutely not.

Would you rather have young people doing this or going to kickboxing classes? I'll bet more people are maimed/killed by physical violence than gun crime every year.

Justin Baidoo-Hackman
To develop workable solutions we need to address the root problems and concern in the communities that suffer a lot of violent crime. A year ago on a BBC 1Xtra programme there was a discussion on the BBC Drama called "Shoot the Messenger".

The drama was called by some black media organisations as "The most racist drama made by the BBC, "I defended the drama as a painful but necessary start to a discussion with the cultural problems in the black community.

I also found the programme particularly painful to watch as I felt like I was the REAL lead character i.e. I was a new black secondary school teacher who worked in IT.Role models are not enough, after a year of teaching I have realised that the problems are systemic and economic as well as cultural.

The solutions that I've been developing with others are community based. In South London we've started in August, the community activism network.

We're bringing young and old together and campaigning for moral reform in our communities and educational & economic reform in our local authorities.