Your AP story on London's crime wave (4/22, A-11) seemed to be missing a critical point. While the story pointedly notes that, "There has been a remarkable increase in ... gun-related crime in London," it completely fails to mention that England employs some of the world's strictest gun control measures.

London's Metropolitan Police Commander Robert Quick blames "a lack of emphasis on dealing with the conditions that we know generate the risk factors that drive crime."

When will the media finally acknowledge that a disarmed civilian population is itself a risk factor that drives crime? Gun control does nothing but use the police to ensure that victims will be helpless against violent criminals. This cannot help but encourage criminals to victimize people.

Trevor Clemons
Lee's Summit