The deaths of three people during a blaze at a hotel in Newquay, Cornwall, are being treated as murder, police have said.
Gun crime rose by 4% in official figures recorded by police in England and Wales, the Home Office has said.
There were 10,182 firearms offences in the year to September compared with 9,755 in the previous 12 months.
Separate statistics showed the number of recorded drug offences jumped 21% in the third quarter of last year.
More on crime from MSN UK
Police in the worst knife-crime areas of Britain are to be told to prosecute anyone found carrying a blade, Prime Minister Gordon Brown said.
Police are hunting the brutal killer of a 77-year-old widow who was attacked in her own home.
Police are considering employing controversial text message tactics to trick rape suspects into incriminating themselves, it is reported.
A murder inquiry is under way after a man was stabbed to death, police said. Officers were called to Atlantic Road in Brixton, south London, at 7.40pm on Saturday to reports of three men stabbed in a market place.
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Crime in your area
- Has crime got out of control where you live?
- Yes, I am constantly in fear of being a victim of crime.
43% - There is crime but there is not a crime epidemic.
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