Do British police support the idea of all officers carrying firearms?

[Dr_Scholl]

I'm just curious, with gun crime rising and all.

[Dave-G]

From another forum

 

:blink:

[Mungler]

Dr Scholl. I have a couple of mates in the Met and the general consensus appears to be that they don't want to be given guns - too much aggro.

 

(1) if you have a gun you are more likely to use it (the UK crime stats don't really warrant the requirement of firearms to be issued to police officers)

(2) if you do use it, you will spend the next 3 years on suspension whilst the management work out a million ways to sack you / blame you and hang you out to dry.

[Baldrick]

I've got a family friend that is a former Force firearms commander, and he is firmly against arming the average bobby. It's hard enough to train just a handful of police officers in the safe and effective use of firearms, let alone an entire force. Would standards of marksmanship be maintained if all officers were armed? I doubt it. Would the Police have a training budget large enough to ensure regular practice for all officers? I certainly wouldn't trust the judgement and marksmanship of a copper who shot circa 50 rounds per year from an issue pistol on a static range.

 

As Mung says, if a police officer fires a shot in anger, he automatically loses his ability to carry a firearm, pending the result of an internal investigation.

 

I'm sure someone like 'Old Bill' on here can shed some light from his side of the fence.

[vole]

My brother has been in the police for 20 + years.He is against routine arming because the Yob culture,rough and tumble type work would take on a whole new edge with an armed cop wrestling with a drunk.They would be forced into a very much hands off approach with the jobs where they normally get stuck in.A handgun would be a very effective weapon to break up a scrap between drunks but think of the paperwork!

[njc110381]

With all the idot stoppers out there on the market which do not use leathel force to disable your average idiot i cannot see the point of arming the local boby with a firearm because in this pc correct up there own backside governing body of ours

GOD HELP the copper that discharged one in public no matter what the reason We all now that crime and punishment is totally out of ballence imo anyone thretning an inocent person with leathel force ie firearm - knife deserves to be shot- killed by law enforcement officers as again imo this would be MORALY CORRECT (TIN HAT ON HIT THE DIRT INCOMEING )

 

 

I couldn't agree more with this statement, it's the way things should be done. The money for training is certainly an issue though. I wouldn't trust the average copper with a firearm at a range let alone in the street, some have trouble figuring out which end is the dangerous one! Imagine having to fire one of your guns in public (especially a single projectile weapon) with people around, the list of safety concerns is endless. There must be so much to consider before firing that I wouldn't want the job. That's even before having to decide whether a shot is justified for the criminal being faced! I prefer the ARV approach myself, as they have extensive enough training to at least stand a chance of not hitting an innocent passer by.

 

I watch american police on TV and wonder how they ever get away with what they do? Shooting out tyres, randomly emptying a whole clip from their handguns in the general direction of the guy they're after. You'd think that they would hit more bystanders than criminals! I have nothing against shooting a violent criminal, but it has to be done relatively safely for the general publics sake.

[J@mes]

would it be worth arming the police but not having them carry a weapon at all times? For example, having the guns locked in a safe in the boot of the car. that way if they go to the scene of a drunken brawl they can leave the guns securely locked in the vehicle, but if they go to the scene of a violent knife mugger, they can arm them selves and give chase?

 

I on the most part agree that the average copper shouldnt be armed, but with the amount of knife attacks, shootings etc (and we have lost a fair few police in recent years) are we moving towards it as a society?

[al4x]

No police officer I know wants to be armed and most of that is on the basis that if they carry guns then the average idiot they have to deal with will start carrying. Its best left to highly trained firearms officers.

They can spray offenders at the moment that I gather works quite well but you have to be pretty careful not to get a dose yourself! whether they will be armed with tazars before long is another thing and stands a higher chance of happening especially if the number of knife incidents continue to rise

[LEFTY478]

When I was 'policing' the streets of Belfast, I did so armed with a assault rifle and 200 rounds of 5.56mm.

There was of course a very good reason for this - a very real chance that at any time me or one of my colleagues may have to defend ourselves or others, from a potentially heavily armed and very dangerous criminal/terrorist treat. This seems reasonable, no?

 

We were tasked with trying to disrupt terrorists movement, stopping and searching vehicles and people - people that would if captured;

a. Not want to be. And

b. likely to use whatever means at their disposal to ensure their escape.

 

The Police in areas of London and other cities now plagued by drug fuelled gun crime are also now tasked with stopping and searching people and vehicles, with a high likely-hood of encountering armed and dangerous criminals. Criminals who have zero regard for their or anybody elses life. Our Police Officers are being asked to do this armed with a stab vest, can of CS spray, a metal trunchion and a phone number for an Armed Response Vehicle is case the brown stuff hits the fan. F___ that for a game of soldiers! I bet they're all chuffed to bits with that.

 

Arm the lot now and be done with it. We are asking the Plod to do a life-risking job without the tools they require; it's shamefull and it's morally wrong. There's no point deploying five armed officers ten minutes after they were required and another wife has been widowed and two more childred have been left fatherless.

[Baldrick]

Lefty, I think those of us that spent time in green received slightly more intensive training than would ever be received by Plod. However the comparison between Belfast and modern-day South London/Nottingham is a good one.

[al4x]

Lefty in the areas of London that have the biggest problems most half serious incidents are attended by armed officers anyway.

[Dirty Harry]

I was a police firearms officer and don't think that every officer should be armed. I think we should have more armed officers and more armed response vehicles. Maybe arm all of the response cars so if the ****e hits the fan there will be an armed officer closer to you.

I don't think that any of the uk police forces could cope with arming all officers because of all the training needed, money involved and abstractions from normal duty i.e. you would see less police on the beat.

 

Harry

[Pedro]

:blink:

 

I know some coppers I wouldn't let near a gun. When I was doing my firearms training we had a couple of blokes who were obviously not cut out for it. In the end one shot the lights out in the range ceiling, so was asked to leave. the other buckled under the pressure.

 

The trainings very good, but only takes me up to a certain level - to go any further I'd have to go back and complete another course on tactics etc.

 

A lot of my mates from the vans are now being trained on tasers, this is the way forward at the moment I feel. A much less lethal option than even the baton and leaves no lasting injuries.

 

So, no, don't arm all coppers.

 

P.

[Bazooka Joe]

I wouldn't trust the average copper with a firearm at a range let alone in the street, some have trouble figuring out which end is the dangerous one!

 

Couldn't agree more.........the amount of FEO's I've had at the door backs the above statement..........one couldn't even open a single 12g

 

I'm not saying they are all incompetent, just 99% of them. :yp:

 

BJ.

[mossy835]

can our police be trusted with guns they ither shoot them selfs or leave them on top a cars,or leave guns in toilets.

[catroofel]

i think in a way the americans have the right idea......... hold on let me explain=

 

sometimes looking down the end of a barrel is enough and we all know that the

american police like to show off their lovly armaments and i believe police officers

could use this to great affect. draw the weapon show them your serious but maximum control

in it's actual usage. just my opinion

[stevethevanman]

found this on the internet

 

 

drunks, abusive people are the main voilence the police come up against, if properly trained a standard police baton can restrain extemely well, (am told the stuff in the video is implemented in Germany) but if attacked with guns I think the police should have the option of drawing a weapon to match the assailants weapon definately, the problem is liabilty for our goverment.

 

Stevethevanman

[lurcherboy]

There are more than enough 'devices' out there that the police could employ rather than firearms.

 

If the police were to be tooled up with firearms it would only up the anti with those that they come into contact with on a proffesional basis

 

 

 

 

LB