Poll: Arming the UK Police

[subfield]

The notion that there should be a police force at all is quite simply ludicrous. It should be clear why this is the case.

The fact that such forces exist, on the other hand, just makes me sad.

 

[iblis666]

id say they should have tasers, clubs, and spray on their person and be trained to use guns but they shouldnt walk around with guns, that isnt to say they shouldnt have them they should just keep them and riot shields in their cars.

 

[Atheist.]

You guys seriously don't have long distance tazer guns in the UK? It took what, 20 minutes to even get riot shields in play? No tear gas? I saw no bean bag shotguns.

Those are all perfectly acceptable non-lethal weapons that ALL officers should have access to. This would have ended with 2 officers rather than over 30 if you had ANY of this devices. Devices most US CITIZENS can purchase without a license.

I'm all for the banning of firearms. Assault rifles and handguns in civilian hands is just foolish. But for Police not to have effective non-lethal means of disabling a clearly insane man is a bit ridiculous.


Edit: How in the hell would you guys manage something like this :
http://youtu.be/NT_T9zytit0

 

[ThisIsSnake]

Jean Charles De Menezes? Ian Tomlinson?

We don't want America's situation, readily armed police and readily armed civilians. We understand that American's like guns and feel they need them (in case North Korea invades). Even the really shitty areas of the UK are relatively gun free and I wouldn't trust the regular police to carry guns. Leave that to the Army, TA, airport security and firearms officers.

 

[spartandude]

I vote having police not having fire arms but with special divisions having them, however i think that these spcial units should respond if called

my main concern is that with the current government there will be alot of protests and some will turn into riots, imagine what would have happened at the student riot in london if the police had fire arms there

 

[Twilight_guy]

I wish we lived in a world where police didn't need to carry guns. As it is, nutjobs can get and use guns and police need to be ready. Unless your guys are really good with the CS spray (like epic wallhax type good) I can see why a call for guns might be warranted. Lock and load UK.

 

[Aetherlblade]

I think the police should be armed, but not the people. Doing that will only get more guns to criminals, and even petty criminals and thus shootings will happen more often. Also, police are trained with those guns and know where and when to shoot.
Civilians dont have that training and might kill by accident, and of course everyone knows those american stories of kids shooting themselves with their parent's guns...

so police should get their glocks or what you brits use, but hell, keep that shit from the public..

 

[spartandude]

If the police have guns, so too should the citizens, to protect themselves from the police.

i couldnt possible imagine how that could go wrong (sarcasm)

 

[ThisIsSnake]

If the police can have guns, I should be able to.

People in the UK can't have guns? I mean that is tough. In NYC it is difficult to get a firearm for everywhere carry, but you are allowed to have one in your home for protection.

We have a different situation, America had the revolution, the civil war, 1812 etc. Guns got around and it was easier to let people keep them for self defence against the other people with guns.

In the UK we haven't had any major ground wars on home soil since the civil war (with muskets and such) so we don't have a circulation of firearms. Occasionally you get a nutter with 20 under his bed or some gang violence but they don't last too long.

 

[JoJo]

If the police can have guns, I should be able to.

People in the UK can't have guns? I mean that is tough. In NYC it is difficult to get a firearm for everywhere carry, but you are allowed to have one in your home for protection.

Lack of guns for protection isn't much of issue in the UK as most criminals don't have guns either, so we're safe in that respect ;-)

OT: No, I think our police force should remain unarmed, they do a great job as they are now and handing out lethal weapons is only going to end up causing more accidents and harm than would be prevented. Leave the guns for the specially trained squads who know what they are doing.

 

[BGH122]

I'm no conspiracy nut that owns a room full of automatic weapons, or anything -- I'm gunless. But I have always held the strong belief that the people should have the ability to be as well equipped as the government they elect. Revolution mightn't seem relevant, but there may well come a time when it is needed.

But that's just my view. I can't offer any evidence or hold up my side in a debate. I just feel that way.

No, no need to backhand it. I agree with you entirely. The most dangerous government is that which has no reason to fear its people. At least, that's my motto. I can't see the police being turned against the public any time soon in the UK (we make heavy use of 'specials' across London, warranted police officers who are just MOP volunteers but with full police powers), but it's an idea that isn't wholly preposterous and one that's definitely come to pass historically in other nations.

If the police can have guns, I should be able to.

People in the UK can't have guns? I mean that is tough. In NYC it is difficult to get a firearm for everywhere carry, but you are allowed to have one in your home for protection.

One may apply to own a .22 rifle or some limited shotguns for private use (i.e. no, you mayn't have an AA-12 for 'pest control'), but it's generally declined if one lives in the city. This was due to a massive overreaction to a school shooting some years back. Dunblane was horrific tragedy, but these few isolated incidents (whilst horrendous) are heavily reported whereas crimes foiled or abandoned due to fear of armed MOP reprisal aren't.

Are you effen kidding me?
Does anyone remember Iain Tomlinson? No? Mkay....
ARV's are trained very well from what I've seen - I've never heard of them killing innocents. This is fine.

Give every EDL-member bobby boulders with a beer belly and a hatred of hippies a gun and we are up shit creek.

Also more guns in the UK means ... more guns in the UK. Look at our murder statistics, look at amuricuh's. The poliss lose things, sell things after hours and have stuff nicked from them: crack, smack, cars; let's not make it crack, smack, cars, and guns, eh?

As I mentioned farther up (no offense intended, I rarely read through too), directly comparing statistics between countries is tricky because so many other factors produce those stats. For instance, the UK has amongst the best social security and public healthcare in the world, the US barely has either. You're not going to starve or die of easily preventable disease in the UK no matter your circumstances, not so for the US.

Whilst Tomlinson's death was a tragedy and in my mind a clear abuse of police powers (the shove is acceptable if people are deliberately attempting to detain the police at a scene where MOPs are in danger, but not that hard and the baton shouldn't have even been extended, let alone used), that doesn't equate to 'all coppers are abusive and want to hurt MOPs'. How are the Police supposed to protect the public if they need to deploy their entire regional force to detain a single man? Think of all the crimes that probably occurred in those 20 minutes whilst all the officers were at one location.

Lack of guns for protection isn't much of issue in the UK as most criminals don't have guns either, so we're safe in that respect ;-)

But most criminals do carry a deadly weapon that we're currently unable to extricate without seriously endangering ourselves or the public. Organised criminals (even as loosely as gangs) do tend to carry, or be in possession of, deadly weapons.

This haul was found under, London based, 'Hoxton Boys' associate's bed last month:

 

[erztez]

Come to think of it, civilians should be allowed to pack heat too...as long as they can prove they can use it as well as the cops.
Where I live, no problem
My accuracy rating is 91, you need 70 to get a job as a cop and their average is 79

 

[Vault101]

as I understand britan has alot fo social problems, I all for it to be honest

 

[88chaz88]

Do I want armed police bullying their way through like in the US or any other third world nation?

Nope.

Keep our forces unarmed. Obviously exepting the specially trained squads.

 

[BGH122]

It is easy to get palmed off as a gun nut at the mere mention of this sort of thing. You'll have to forgive me for being coy

Sadly that's true. Not only insane militia fear government collapse/usurping and the downwards spiral into a police state.

I wish we lived in a world where police didn't need to carry guns. As it is, nutjobs can get and use guns and police need to be ready. Unless your guys are really good with the CS spray (like epic wallhax type good) I can see why a call for guns might be warranted. Lock and load UK.

Sadly, that isn't the half of it. The guy in the video was CS sprayed by eight separate officers. Lot of good that did. CS spray doesn't work: it makes people feel slightly nauseous and blinded. A blinded guy wildly swinging a machete is a menace.

 

[Mantonio]

No, I don't think they should.

You Americans have to take into account that it's different over here. First off, if you're more than 15 minutes from a police officer it's because you've climbed Ben Nevis.

Second, you've got to remember that the average criminal doesn't have a gun. The above average criminal doesn't have a gun. An organised criminal will have maybe an old shotgun with the barrels sawed off. From a purely economic and practical standpoint, we don't need them.

That isn't to say that I think that once a police officer gets a gun, they'll all turn into twitchy, shoot first ask questions never types. But we don't need to arm them further. What good will it do?

as I understand britan has alot fo social problems, I all for it to be honest

Like what? Where did you hear this? And how is it related to whether cops should carry guns?

Yeah and instead UK has one of the highest knife crime rates in the world. Relegating guns to the backseat doesn't just make all crime go down.

Can I see your citation?

 

[EllEzDee]

Wait, so because the guy in the video has a deadly weapon, he deserves to die?
Imagine in another, far more common situation, where rather than mental illness, the perpetrator's off his face on booze? Does this mean he should die? He's not in control of his actions is he?
If the police had firearms, the man in the video would be dead. At least he still has a chance at life.

If the coppers had guns, it'd be just as bad as America, where innocent people are regularly killed by antsy or downright stupid police officers who shouldn't even have such a powerful fucking weapon.