PAINTBALL GUNS AND CRIME

• Paintball guns resemble 'real' guns.  They can be purchased without the need for a licence or background checks etc. on the buyer.  Paintball guns are accessible and available to criminals.  It is likely that crimes involving threats with guns which are not fired and not recovered, may involve the use of a paintball or other imitation/bb/replica guns.

PAINTBALL WEAPON STORAGE

There is no legislation regarding safe storage of paintball guns and security of paintball premises can therefore be unsatisfactory. Legal owners of paintball guns, dealers and sites all contribute to gun crime when these guns are misappropriated by criminals.

For example:-

Paintball guns and pellets were among items stolen after a break in at an adventure centre in Kirkintilloch, East Dunbartonshire.  A man has been jailed for 14 months (see May 2010 Incidents).

Source: BBC 13 August 2009

Thieves stole a number of paintball guns from a centre in Farr, Highland.  A large quantity of sweets and soft drinks were also taken.

BBC: 10th July 2009

Twenty dangerous paintball guns and explosives have been stolen from a company in Harewood Forest, Hampshire.  Thieves forced open a storage unit and made off with a range of replica weaponry and ammunition.

Source: BBC 12th May 2009

OTHER CRIMES INVOLVING PAINTBALL GUNS

Mark Grey has been sentenced to a year in prison, suspended for two years, after admitting possession of an imitation firearm with the intention to cause fear of violence.  He was ordered to do 150 hours' unpaid work. He had pointed the weapon, a paintball gun, at a police officer in Ilkeston, Derbyshire, in October 2008 and told her "Come any closer and I will shoot".  She was unaware that the gun was an imitation firearm and she and her fellow officer believed it was a sawn-off shotgun.  The weapon's size and shape immediately suggested a pump-action shotgun.  Their bravery in tackling Grey was praised by the trial judge and they have been nominated for a national award for bravery (This is Derbyshire, 6 April 2010).

Source:- This is Derbyshire l7 February 2009

INJURIES ASSOCIATED WITH CRIMINAL USE OF PAINTBALL GUNS

WOMEN ATTACKED WITH PAINTBALL GUNS

A gang of young men armed with paintball guns has been taking pot-shots at prostitutes in Leicester.  The men are cruising in a car and have struck several times in recent weeks.

Source: Leicester Mercury, 22 October 2009 

VANDALISM WITH PAINTBALL GUNS

A paintball gun was fired at the window of a service station in Sudbury, Staffordshire.  A car was seen with an object pointing out of its window before the attack occurred. There had been two earlier incidents in which a paintball gun had been fired in Tutbury.  Police confirmed that the attacks are classed as firearms incidents.

A number of vehicles on the A14 around Haughley, Suffolk, have been targeted with a paintball gun.

Source: East Anglian Daily Times, 26 November 2009

PAINTBALL ENTHUSIASTS CAUSE ALARM

Members of the public are understandably alarmed and frightened when they see groups dressed up as soldiers using guns.  The cost of Police call outs to investigate these activities are considerable and are currently met from public funds not the skirmishing participants.

For example:

Residents in Marland, Greater Manchester, heard gunshots and saw men dressed in military fatigues swarming all over a former school.  The police were called.  The school was being used for paintball-style military games.  The games have now been stopped.

Source: Manchester Evening News, 27 August 2010 

The cost of dealing with incidents involving paintball guns and other imitation/bb/replica guns has to be met out of Police budgets.  Such incidents represent the hidden costs to society due to the availability of paintball /bb/imitation/replica guns.

DANGERS ASSOCIATED WITH PAINTBALLING

• Paintball pellets contain substances which are harmful to the environment, wildlife and people.  Safety advice and protective clothing is essential.  The face, eyes, throat and spine are particularly vulnerable and players should be advised not to aim for these regions. 

MEDICAL EVIDENCE

In 2006 the journal 'Injury Prevention' published a report based on a study carried out at the Indiana Academy of Ophthalmology.  The study referred to increasing numbers of injuries associated with paintball games, which accounted for 4% of the workload.  In all cases  eyesight was severely affected, bleeding and swelling being the most common problems suffered by patients.  Four patients needed urgent surgery and  in two cases the damage was permanent.  Injuries treated included:-

• Black eye
• Corneal abrasions and cuts
• Haemorrhaging of the vitreous which contains the eyeball fluid
• Retinal detachent
• Glaucoma, or increased pressure in the eye

MOORFIELDS EYE HOSPITAL LONDON

A spokesperson for Moorfields Eye Hospital expressed concerns about the increase in numbers of eye injuries caused by paintball activities being dealt with by the hospital.

Source:http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/health/552535.stm

UK PAINTBALLING FATALITY

A game of paintballing ended in tragedy when Kenneth Costin, a 39-year-old father of two died from a stroke after being hit in the neck by a paintball.  A post mortem revealed that Mr. Costin suffered a major stroke probably triggered by the velocity of the paintball. Dr. John Xeureb, Consultant Neurologist at Addenbrookes Hospital Cambridge said:  'I have listened to the evidence of the team and they sway me more with the link to paintballing..." Recording his verdict, Mr. Morris said he was satisfied it was the paintball game which led to Mr. Costin's death.

Source:  www.News.bbc.co.uk

Infer Trust is concerned that some paintballing promotional information fails to deal adequately with the personal safety issues, and paintball guns cannot always be relied upon to be accurate in delivering the projectiles to the area of body the player intended to target.

PAINTBALL GUNS USED IN LAW ENFORCEMENT

In 2004 Boston Police Department used slightly modified paintball guns to deliver pepper spray in a crowd control situation. Twenty-one year old Victoria Snelgrove was hit in the eye and died of her injuries twelve hours later.  (To read about this tragedy hover on 'Gun Types' and select 'Paintball Guns).  The Officers on crowd control duty would have had access to information regarding the vulnerability of eyes etc. when deploying weapons to disperse crowds and consequently, following the tragedy, there have been concerns regarding the inaccuracy of some paintball guns. 

The weapon that killed Victoria Snelgrove was manufactured by Fabrique Nationale de Herstal. After this fatality, several police forces, including the Seattle Police Department, discontinued use of the model FN303.  Following this there were further claims regarding the inaccuracy of this gun, and in November 2006 The Journal of Testing and Evaluation published a paper on the subject.
 
http://www.astm.org/JOURNALS/TESTEVAL/PAGES/

PAINTBALL SITES MARSHALLS/STAFF

There are concerns regarding the recruitment of staff and the awareness of health and safety issues by marshalls etc. employed to carry out safety etc. checks following a recent prosecution.

• A man has admitted firing a paintball gun at a colleague in Ratho, Edinburgh.  Calvin Blyth was found guilty of culpably and recklessly discharging a paintball gun.  His victim has suffered long-term damage to his eye after being shot.  Blyth was a paintball marshal at a paintball centre where the two men were cleaning and doing safety checks.  Blyth was given 150 hours community service (BBC, 30 April 2009).

Source: BBC, 18 March 2009