Over the past few years the number of criminals willing or able to fire guns on the streets of Liverpool has dropped remarkably.
In the 2021 calendar year, there were 43 shootings recorded on Merseyside, the lowest in 21 years. The trend remained similar in 2022, but of course that does not tell the real story of what happened this summer.
In six terrible days, three people were murdered in separate incidents involving guns. First, on August 16, 22-year-old Sam Rimmer was shot in Lavrock Bank, Dingle, after he and his friends were targeted by four men on two electric bikes.
READ MORE: Yob 'crisis' with shops under siege becomes dramatic 'success story'
Five days later Ashley Dale, a 28-year-old environmental health officer, was gunned down in her own home on Leinster Road, Old Swan, in what police believe was a case of mistaken identity.
The following day, on Monday, August 22, the entire country was rocked by the news that nine-year-old Olivia Pratt-Korbel was the latest to die by gunfire in the city - again inside her own home - during a bungled gangland hit on Kingsheath Avenue, Dovecot.
The massive police response to those incidents, boosted by extra Home Office funding, appeared to cause problems for the city's underworld. However, since then there have been three more people shot in Merseyside, including the murder of 53-year-old Jackie Rutter in Moreton, Wirral, on October 30.
Two men were also shot by a gunman at a community bonfire event in Broad Hey, Litherland, on November 5, although both survived.
In such cases, the story behind how the murder weapons came to be in the hands of the killers, and where they went afterwards, are critical lines of enquiry for detectives.
But even if those guns cannot be located, their history can open up potentially fruitful areas for investigators to probe. In recent years, police forces in the UK have been able to build databases of so-called 'linked series' weapons - police-speak for guns that can be linked to more than one criminal shooting.
The body responsible for analysing whether a firearm is a linked series weapons is the National Ballistics Intelligence Service (NABIS), which works with police forces across England and Wales. Even if police investigating a shooting have not got the gun, markings on bullet heads or casings can give the game away.
As Detective Chief Superintendent Lee Turner, head of intelligence at Merseyside Police, explained at a recent media briefing, when a bullet is struck by the firing pin of a gun the impact leaves a unique marking, like a fingerprint, which can be used to compare and contrast with other shootings
The term hit the headlines in Merseyside in 2017, with the news that a Beretta 9000s self-loading pistol was recovered and found to be the "most criminally used" firearm in the UK at the time.
In an article for the College of Policing website this week, an unnamed Merseyside Police intelligence analyst explained that when the force's Firearms Investigation Team is informed that a shooting or a seized weapon involves a linked series, intelligence reports are prepared and shared around those incidents.
The detective wrote those assessments are: "Based on all incidents and nominals involved, including investigative findings (CCTV footage, vehicles involved, telecoms) and forensic results. Prison data is also researched, as firearms movement has been linked back to prison alliances."
At the recent briefing, DCS Turner said: "I think we have got nine linked series firearms [in Merseyside] at the moment. They will all be getting investigated, some have been used several times.
"The one that has been used the most, over a long period time, has been used eight times. That was used seven times in a period over a decade ago, then we didn't see it for a while, and then it has been used again on one occasion.
"So we would have done the matrix and risk around that firearm and the team would look at specific links, what was the intelligence around it last time, was there DNA? Was it sufficient when it was looked at last time, around say spent cartridges? We would then go back to the forensic science service about looking at what they can offer us in terms of new and enhanced capabilities around DNA."
Merseyside Police's work in tackling gun crime and solving cases involving shootings has been rated highly on a national level, and has even seen delegations from police forces across the world, including Sweden and Australia, coming to see how things are done here.
Detective Chief Superintendent Mark Kameen, head of investigations at the force, said recently: "We are a force that has a really strong, hard-edged approach to serious and organised crime. HM Inspectorate of Constabulary (HMIC) recognised that, we have been graded as outstanding repeatedly in the way we have tackled and managed serious and organised crime.
"The National Ballistics Intelligence Service (NABIS) have recognised Merseyside as one of the leading forces in the country in the way we tackle serious and organised crime around firearms, we have other forces coming to visit to see what we do. That is because we are relentless."
Anyone with information about guns in Merseyside can call detectives on 101 or Crimestoppers, anonymously, on 0800 555 111.
READ NEXT:
Lidl burglar's trail of blood in Chinese buffet led police straight to him
Trams could be answer to Anfield matchday traffic woes
Carer stole £115k from vulnerable widow and left her with just £87
Four-star Merseyside hotel owed over £18m when it collapsed into administration
GMB's Ben Shephard tells Kate Garraway to 'be quiet' during clash
