Interesting Links for 01-06-2016

[andrewducker]

Harry Potter and the Cursed Child cast photos released (tags: harrypotter ) The Untold Story Behind Saudi Arabia’s 41-Year U.S. Debt Secret (tags: saudiarabia middle_east politics oil debt money usa ) The EU’s proposed “link tax”: a modest proposal (tags: internet satire web publishing ) Study that found cell phones cause cancer in rats is

Comments

[bart_calendar]

I am astounded that there isn't a law saying you have to have an armed guard at a better shop whenever it's open.

[naath]

In England there is probably a law saying you can't have an armed guard. Going armed is not generally legal.

I'm shocked that they have only one employee in the shop though.

[danieldwilliam]

My sister used to work at a bookies and was involved in an armed robbery. Very unpleasant.

I don't think she was alone. There might have been two other staff on with her.

[danieldwilliam]

I think an armed guard would be illegal in the UK unless it was provided by the police and I don't think they have the resources.

A quick google search tells me (I think) that there are 6,866 fire arms qualified police officers in the UK out of a total of about 127,000 in England and Wales and some more in Scotland and Northern Irelend. So, about 5% of police officers are qualified to carry a gun.

I'm not aware of any rule that would permit the carrying of a gun by a guard at a shop (or a bank). Thinking back to the law on self-defence I'd suggest that going in to a violent situation when you are had armed yourself in advance might well scupper a defence of self-defence if you ended up wounding or killing someone.

[octopoid_horror]

The gambling industry here is extremely good at avoiding having any kind of spotlight turned on its practices.

[a_pawson]

I have never seen an armed guard in any bank or shop here in the UK. I suspect because it would be illegal to have civilians armed in such circumstances. Our gun laws are very strict. For starters handguns and automatic weapons are completely outlawed, as are tasers, so only the police, military or security services can carry one.

Most banks rely on defensive security to deter robberies. Bank robberies used to be commonplace, but they are virtually unheard of now because all banks have defensive security measures, such as bulletproof screens, that are either permanently in place or which rapidly come out of the floor, instantly sealing staff off from the public. It sounds to me like betting shops are a far easier target, and as they also use large amounts of cash, need to employ similar security measures to those the banks use.

[bart_calendar]

"Armed Guard" doesn't have to mean "with a gun."

A taser, a large knife, a baton, etc... would all be good defensive measures in the hands of a hired thug.

If nothing else they'd stop people from destroying the betting machines.

[danieldwilliam]

The law on knives is also pretty restrictive. You may not carry one with you unless it is for a good reason. I am not entirely sure the courts would view being an armed guard as being a good reason. I'd certainly not volunteer to find out.

https://www.gov.uk/buying-carrying-knives

The law on self-defence in England and Wales will probably cover you if you intervene to prevent a violent crime but I'm not sure I'd rely on it.

And the main reason these people are on their own is to save money. A security guard is probably going to be on a little more money than a second teller.

[bart_calendar]

Yeah but you'd think their insurance company would make it more expensive than not having a thug there.

Also if "Hey, there is a ton of cash sitting in this place and I'd really rather not get killed because of that" isn't a good reason to have a knife, I'm not sure what is.

[andrewducker]

Legally speaking, in the UK, there isn't one. Preparing for self-defence with any kind of weaponry is basically illegal. As are tasers. And any knife longer than 3" outside of the home.

[bart_calendar]

How does a pay day loan or check cashing place possibly operate without being robbed every single day?

[danieldwilliam]

Because robbing somewhere when you're not armed is pretty difficult.

[bart_calendar]

Can you keep a baseball bat in the passenger seat of your car or by your front door?

[danieldwilliam]

Not really.

An old boss of mine used to keep a long, large, metal heavy duty torch in his door storage because he'd been told by the police that keeping a baseball bat in the car would probably land him in trouble if he ever used it but a "useful tool" like a big torch that "just happened to come to hand" would be okay.

[bart_calendar]

The UK is so weird.

[andrewducker]

And yet here we are, with a murder rate 1/4 of the USA...

http://www.nationmaster.com/country-info/stats/Crime/Violent-crime/Murder-rate-per-million-people