I don't know where Troy is getting his data. Every study I've seen shows that after the UK and Australia banned guns, crime went up in all areas as a direct correlation. Furthermore, extensive studies by the CDC in America have failed to find that any amount of gun control, even background checks, have any significant effect at preventing crime whatsoever. Additionally, more American studies show that as soon as a state passes "shall issue" carry laws, crime immediately and consistently drops as a direct correlation and passing "castle doctrine" laws lowers burglary. Finally, Switzerland requires all males to own a firearm and they have relatively low crime; Kennesaw, Georgia recently passed a law requiring every household to possess a firearm and crime dropped significantly in that neighborhood; recently Israel had a problem with school shootings and decided to require all teachers to carry firearms, the shootings virtually stopped and there has been no accidents or firearm thefts like America is worried about.
Anyone interested in any of these issues, I encourage you to download and read the free book located at http://www.gunfacts.info/ and peruse the site http://www.guncite.com/