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Time to arm all police officers?


washerboy
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It is a very sad thing - but I don't think arming police is the right answer.  Possibly more armed police might help, but to have every policeman armed and with suitable training etc. is too much.  Carrying arms is a huge responsibility - and one many police may not want.

In my view, MUCH tougher sentences and making the risk of getting caught - and the resultant punishment a very strong deterrent is the way to go.

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12 minutes ago, JohnfromUK said:

It is a very sad thing - but I don't think arming police is the right answer.  Possibly more armed police might help, but to have every policeman armed and with suitable training etc. is too much.  Carrying arms is a huge responsibility - and one many police may not want.

In my view, MUCH tougher sentences and making the risk of getting caught - and the resultant punishment a very strong deterrent is the way to go.

This is pretty much the way that I see it . Many police officers are no more suited to carrying a firearm than many civilians. 

Sentences need to start suiting crimes , I'm all for giving anyone a second chance , were all human ,and we all mess up (especially when were young ) ,but when criminals have been committing crimes over and over again , then they really should be locked up for a very very long time , for the sake of the whole community. 

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Simple answer is NO.

Whilst every death is a tradgedy (and those who commited the offense should be severely punished), arming all the poilice will not stop them being killed.

Given the very low number of officers killed in the UK, (and excluding being run over or terrorists), an actual police officer killing is very rare and 1 death being shot by a firearm every 3 years is not a good enough reason for all police to carry when there are circa 130,000 police officers int he UK.

 

 

Edited by Stonepark
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4 minutes ago, Cranfield said:

Assuming this thread is referring to the murder of a policeman in Berkshire as he was " investigating a burglary",  I cannot understand how 10 people can be arrested. 
Are burglars going around in large gangs ?
There is a strange story behind this incident.

https://www.itv.com/news/meridian/2019-08-16/murder-investigation-after-death-of-police-officer/

 

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Having spent a reasonable amount of professional time with the police I am in no way whatsoever keen on them all being armed. I have known a select handful who have repeatedly not got into firearms training who were clear that their life’s ambition was to shoot a criminal, entirely the wrong starting point for carrying firearms.

 

A select few appropriately chosen is absolutely a good idea, what proportion of the overall workforce is probably best left to those who make such decisions for a living. 

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In this case I don’t think it would have helped. 

Some officers would rather resign than carry a firearm, and in todays society when you are investigated at the drop of a hat I’m sure some would not want the scythe hanging over them all the time.

As for training, we have one of the most accountable and well trained forces in the world, and the entry standard and educational requirements are actually rather high. 

A soldier can join the army and 12 weeks later be in charge of a firearm, different scenario and occupation but the theory is the same. 

I think one of the things that sets us apart from the world is the ability for a police officer to actually interact without doing it down the barrel of a gun 

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We won't know until the full facts or at least more details are released.

I agree that arming all officers is a recipe for disaster. Had this officer been armed, would the outcome have been any different? In the US officers are shot with their own guns. 10 v 1 is hardly fair, with or without a gun.

What I do think should be mandatory is double crewing of officers, especially on night shifts. It's simply an officer safety issue. People think twice when there is more than one person to deal with. 

The whole issue (and 2 other recent events involving police officers) are incredibly sad and only fuel the debate about people's view of law and order.

My condolences to all involved.

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We should all stand and show that all legal owners want tougher sentences and no excuses rich or poor kids. With dads or with out no more B S. Who wants to carry a gun and risk getting charged for hurting a scumbag as they will have more rights than the copper. Bring back hanging if there is a clear case of murder.

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From 1999 to 2019, 17 have died either by being runover or in vehicle crashes, 6 have been shot, 4 stabbed, 1 beaten, 4 collapsed and 1 by misadventure -Total 33 over 20 years.

From 1979 to 1998, 19 by vehicles, 16 shot, 13 stabbed, 5 beaten, 7 collapsed, 5 by misadventure and 4 by bombs Total over 20 years  - 69.

From 58 to 78,  14 by vehicles, 17 shot, 5 stabbed, 5 beaten, 7 collapsed, 3 by misadventure, 1 by bomb, total 52.

From 38 to 58, 6 by vehicles, 11 shot, 1 stabbed, 8 beaten, 4 collapsed, total of 32.

From 18 to 37 7 by vehicles, 8 shot, 7 beaten, 3 by misadventure toatl 25.

From 1900 to 1917 11 shot, 2 stabbed, 12 beaten, 12 collapsed, 3 by misadvanture total 40.

Police deaths have therefore halved overall recently with numbers being shot (main reason for potentially carrying a gun) at lowest record levels for a 20 year period since 1900.

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17 minutes ago, Gordon R said:

Rightly or wrongly, I came to the same conclusion.

Condolences to all affected by this. 

My only hope that is that IF this is  a crime carried out by a certain (travelling) element of society, that their general lawlessness is looked at and clamped down on  with full force. 

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1 minute ago, Spoonbed said:

My only hope that is that IF this is  a crime carried out by a certain (travelling) element of society, that their general lawlessness is looked at and clamped down on  with full force. 

+1 and I think the present Home Secretary may be the best chance that will happen for some time.

Edited by JohnfromUK
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Arming the Police would mean fewer officers on the ground on a day to day basis as there would inevitably be a huge increase in training required to be AFOs.

However,  I'm not against the idea of arming more Police. But I'm with the general consesus here, I would rather see more Police on the streets with harsh penalties for the true scum out there including the death sentence.

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1 hour ago, hedge said:

We won't know until the full facts or at least more details are released.

I agree that arming all officers is a recipe for disaster. Had this officer been armed, would the outcome have been any different? In the US officers are shot with their own guns. 10 v 1 is hardly fair, with or without a gun.

What I do think should be mandatory is double crewing of officers, especially on night shifts. It's simply an officer safety issue. People think twice when there is more than one person to deal with. 

The whole issue (and 2 other recent events involving police officers) are incredibly sad and only fuel the debate about people's view of law and order.

My condolences to all involved.

This👍  There was an incident  a couple of years back where a man was walking down the street with a walking stick and an officer thought it was a machete and taser him in the back

just imagine if he was a firearm officer 😕

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