This is one for those in the UK...

[denorios]

There's been a lot of debate this past week about whether or not police officers in the UK should be armed. I think the majority of people in this country would say 'no'; I certainly would. I don't think arming police would make them any safer, and I for one would be a hell of a lot less comfortable with more guns on the streets, regardless of

Comments

[scribblinlenore]

This is the kind of thing that happens when the police are armed:
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/08/25/empire-state-building-shooting-nypd-bullets-shot-all-nine_n_1830007.html

Especially in urban area, it's really hard to keep from injuring innocent bystanders.

[denorios]

Yeah. Exactly. I quite like the fact that when guns are involved in this country it's properly trained Armed Response Units on the scene, rather than your average beat cop.

[denorios]

Or scenarios like this?

A Houston police officer shot and killed a schizophrenic, wheelchair-bound double amputee threatening people with a pen at a group home for the mentally ill

[scribblinlenore]

Oh my God! I hadn't seen that yet. And yes. Precisely why more guns are not the answer.

[pretty_panther]

I agree with everything you said. I also think it lets the criminals win a bit? Like we're caving to their violence. Guns won't automatically stop police officers getting hurt. If the criminal has a gun, they won't advertise it so you can get yours out, they will just shoot you. If we know someone has a gun, we send armed response units. I think it would just lead to cops pulling their guns because they felt it was right and shooting someone because they think they were a threat when they weren't and it just gets messy. Plus yeah, I'd be terrified and then my shifty 'omg police guns run' would no doubt get the attention of said police.

edit: plus, I think the cock ups of the Americans recently have shown why it is a terrible idea. Lives ruined or taken for no reason.

[denorios]

Yeah, it seems like in countries with armed police the default position is to pull your gun on a suspect, regardless of whether or not you know they're armed. Which is what leads to people getting shot reaching for wallets and phones and everything else BUT guns. I don't really want to live in the kind of society where I could end up with a gun in my face just for being in the wrong place at the wrong time.

[misscam]

Police is normally not armed in Norway and I like it that way. A lot of people own guns for hunting or shooting clubs in Norway, but our number of gun homicides is very low and I think unarmed police contributes to that. Police rarely gets shot and killed here as well - we had one case some years back and that was the first in decades. He was part of an armed response team to a robbery as well.

[shishmish]

The only time that any member of the police force should be armed is if they are part of the specialised armed response teams, who are trained to handle not just guns but the heated situations that will inevitably occur when guns are needed. Every day policemen and policewomen do not need a gun, it will just make matters worse especially if it is something that can be sorted out with reasoning and negotiations.

[nebula99]

Hubby is a police officer and doesn't want to be armed. I do worry about him tackling all sorts, armed only with a big stick, but I also don't want the police carrying guns. Apart from upping the stakes, it puts a horrible responsibility on individual officers who get split seconds to make decisions, and it also puts more guns in circulation which can't be a good thing. We have armed response units and I think we have enough cops with guns for when we need them.

[denorios]

Yes, it's the responsibility on the police officers and the fact that they end up in situations they're not adequately trained for, where as you say they have split seconds to make a decision. I'd far rather those kind of decisions were in the hands of armed response units than ordinary cops, for their benefit and the benefit of those they might potentially be shooting!