Campaigners argue gun crime 'isn't going anywhere' in South Yorkshire
335 incident involving firearms discharges have taken place across Sheffield, Doncaster, Barnsley, & Rotherham between 2020 - 2025
Campaigners working to end violence in South Yorkshire & North Derbyshire tell us gun crime is a 'problem' which 'isn't going anywhere'.
Figures released recently by the Office for National Statistics suggest one person is shot in South Yorkshire on average every two weeks.
Data released earlier this year by the ONS shows that between 2020 & 2025 - South Yorkshire Police received 335 reports of firearms discharges.
109 people were injured in this time frame.
Rates have been going down every year since 2020 though.
Anthony Olaseinde works with young people across South Yorkshire to try & prevent youth violence:
"Gun shots can go wherever.
"Imagine living next door to a targeted property.
"The trigger could get pulled a split second too late and it could've gone through your window and hit one of your loved ones.
"It's very scary and very daunting.
"It's a problem that is always going to be there, I think.
"I'd like to see more support around those affected by it.
"It'd be good to see a heavier police presence in the communities which are regularly affected by gun crime.
"That would help people feel safer.
"Once people start getting involved in violence, it starts to speak.
"The person that is willing to be the most violent speaks the loudest.
"I think the most violent act of all is gun crime, isn't it?
"The issue we're seeing more normal, everyday people becoming victims to gun crime - it's disgusting."
A South Yorkshire Police spokesperson said:
“We know that gun crime will rightly cause concern in our communities, especially when incidents involving firearms take place close to home. We want to be very clear - gun and violent crime has no place in South Yorkshire.
"In 2020 we set up our dedicated Armed Crime Team as a response to a rise in firearm enabled criminality. Since this bespoke team was established, we have seen a considerable reduction in firearm discharges and firearm offences.
"The team proactively work to target people we know have links to firearms, as well as organised crime groups who are often responsible for the vast majority of firearms offences.
"We want our communities to be safe from the danger posed by firearms and the Armed Crime Team is constantly gathering intelligence to remove guns from our streets and take action against those involved in this criminality.
"We also have teams of detectives who work under Operation Fortify, which is our dedicated response to combatting serious and organised crime. They map the organised crime groups operating across South Yorkshire and work proactively to disrupt their activity and limit their influence.
"But we can’t tackle firearm enabled criminality alone. We need to know who is involved in gun crime and where they are storing guns.
"With your information we can execute more warrants, arrest more suspects, send our officers on more armed deployments, recover more guns and put more offenders behind bars.
"If you have some information which may be useful, please don’t keep it to yourself. You can pass this to us in complete confidence by reporting it online or via 101.
"We understand not everybody is comfortable talking to the police directly. Crimestoppers is an independent charity – you can contact them anonymously on 0800 555 111 or report online at crimestoppers-uk.org. No-one will know you have contacted them."
You can view the figures below: