Poll: Arming the UK Police

[Shoqiyqa]

I shudder to think what would have happened at some of our relatively peacefl protests if the police had been armed with guns.

Maybe not.

 

[Biodeamon]

i wonder how many people on this thread are american.

english people think differently you know

 

[PureChaos]

i'm all for it, with training. a lot of chavs don't give two shits about the police because they know there's very little they can actually do. if they chavs start getting violent and the police can pull out a gun, the chavs would think twice before starting problems

 

[Puzzlenaut]

I remember a time when they used to walk up and down the high street in Liverpool with machine guns and thinking to myself: Does increase or decrease the chance of someone being hurt?


Obviously, at least to me, the answer is that it creates more danger.

 

[Puzzlenaut]

i'm all for it, with training. a lot of chavs don't give two shits about the police because they know there's very little they can actually do. if they chavs start getting violent and the police can pull out a gun, the chavs would think twice before starting problems

you really think that? You think any unarmed Chav is actually going to think a police officer will shoot them?

If they got a baton out i might think "oh, they will beat the shit out of me if i continue to be a nuisance", if they get a gun out, I am not going to think "oh, he's going to kill me if I continue to be a nuisance"

 

[scar_47]

I believe the people and by extension police have the right to use deadly force to protect their lives and the lives of others, simply not allowing citizens to be armed does one thing making them easy targets a criminal by defenition is someone who breaks the law so a ban on guns means nothing to them. If you look at gun violence in the UK its not that much lower and their violent crime rate is much higher because criminals don't have to fear someone defending themselves with a gun. A gun is a tool we don't ban cars because people get killed by drunk drivers don't ban guns because criminals use them it just leaves us defenseless.

 

[deal]

How about this: allow your police to carry weapons in their cars; that way they wouldn't have to wait a half hour or more if they need to use them. The guns could be hidden and locked up.

 

[Nemesis729]

I voted for option 3 but I also think most cops should carry tazer guns along with that, that would've solved this pretty quickly lol

 

[omega 616]

Without being too blunt, fuck that!

Cops have guns = more guns in the UK = more kids have guns = higher death rate.

In that situation, which isn't exactly common, got dealt with without death or serious harm to anybody, so why add a gun into that mix?

I am not going to go into stats and all that but the way I see it is a simple shop lift turns into a Mexican stand off after one guy pulls a gun, the tension is so high one person breaks and pulls the trigger.

If worst comes to the worst call in the guys with the MP5's.

I do think cops should carry a bean bag/rubber bullet shottie in the boot though, just incase.

If you can resolve a situation without killing somebody, why kill them?

I think it's also quite funny how all the Americans (hyperboles FTW!) are saying "cops should have guns!"

 

[PureChaos]

i'm all for it, with training. a lot of chavs don't give two shits about the police because they know there's very little they can actually do. if they chavs start getting violent and the police can pull out a gun, the chavs would think twice before starting problems

you really think that? You think any unarmed Chav is actually going to think a police officer will shoot them?

If they got a baton out i might think "oh, they will beat the shit out of me if i continue to be a nuisance", if they get a gun out, I am not going to think "oh, he's going to kill me if I continue to be a nuisance"

it's easier to defend yourself against someone wielding a truncheon than it is being shot

 

[Jakub324]

Arm police, do NOT legalise firearms. That would just desentitise people to the idea that they can kill someone.

 

[Ironic Pirate]

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

Eh, fighting the police probably wouldn't end well. They're well trained and there's a bunch of them.

 

[Flig]

In a place like the U.K. where firearms are heavily restricted, it would make a lot more sense for the cops to just carry tazers. The only reason you would need a gun is if the criminal had a gun, which is not very likely in the U.K., and that's what the CO19 is for. A tazer gives the advantage of range, and has more stopping power than guns(a man charging you with a knife can keep coming after being shot in the torso[meth is one hell of a drug], but will drop when hit with electricity, no muscle control) without the serious injury/death that comes from a gunshot wound.

 

[Airsoftslayer93]

Personally i feel there is no need to stoop, but maybe thats because i live in sheffield, and there are alot of armed units here, im not sure about firearms, but i think all officers should have tazers

 

[Gordon_4_v1legacy]

I'm gonna go with the first option, Get the police a gun, and maybe a shotgun in the cop car. Granted this is coming from an american perspective, and I realize america is a much different place from the UK, but in cities there is always going to be the threat of a violent criminal who won't back down.

On another note, get your police some decent cop cars. It would seem most European cops use something like a Vauxal Astra, or Volvo xc930 or something... we mostly use Ford Crown Victoria cars, the Police Interceptor version, which is quite frankly a beast.

Yeah those don't work too well in the tight, twisty streets of Europe mate. Straight line, probably some of the finest vehicles available (outside the FPV F6's used as pursuit vehicles in the Australian Police ), but London has narrow, twisty streets and these are where cars like Lancer Evolution and WRX Impreza STi are at home.

Here is my suggestion:

Police to always patrol in groups of three.

Two officers equipped with:
-Telescoping Batons
-CS Spray
-Full body armour

And their current standard kit.

One Firearms Officer; armed with an automatic pistol and well as what the other two are equipped with.

An Armed Response Unit to be stationed at every police station in the country: no exceptions.

Also if they've been phased out, reinstating the 'Flying Squad' of the 70's as roaming Armed Response Unit. These will be only the most disciplined and highly trained officers because all they will do with their day is to patrol the major cities of the UK; on call for rapid response.

 

[Randomorific]

Why should we arm police with firearms when there is very little gun crime, I cant remember the statistics because I looked some time ago but the rate of killings with firearms in the UK is incredibly low. Arming the police, I feel is pointless, it simply leads to criminals buying guns to combat the police, then when the police increase firepower, criminals make efforts to as well. Also I think that arming police would lead to lots of officers abusing there new-found powers and lots of people joining up due to the promise of a gun.

In that situation, which isn't exactly common, got dealt with without death or serious harm to anybody, so why add a gun into that mix?


I think it's also quite funny how all the Americans (hyperboles FTW!) are saying "cops should have guns!"

Basically this, why add another danger into an already potentially dangerous situation?

Also that video is incredibly skewed in favour of OP's views, yeah alright 30 officers is an overreaction but how many times do you see a bloke walking around with a machete? It's not exactly an everyday occurance and officers are bound to go a bit overboard trying to cope.

Finally I dislike the number of Americans, especially on the first few pages of comments saying things along the lines of "I feel safe knowing that these people are patrolling the streets" and then posting a picture of a guy with a huge machine gun, we in Britain DO have those officers who have guns and use them except they have to be called out.
Also I find it funny that the Americans who are saying that they feel safe live in a country with an incredibly high crime rate and the highest percentage of there citizens in jail of any country in the history of the world (Sourcing QI for that fun fact at the end)

 

[Baradiel]

I was honestly surprised at the results of this poll. All police should be armed?

I'm blaming those results on the large population of Americans on this site ('blame' probably isn't the best choice of wording) who have lived all their lives with constantly armed police officers, and it's the norm for them.

Whenever I've been abroad to countries with armed police, I'm terrified. I'm not committing any crimes, and I'm not scared of guns (I shoot .22 rifles occasionally at my local range), but something about armed police scares the shit out of me. I shouldn't have to fear the people who are supposed to be protecting me.

Yeh, having constantly armed police might make a few cases of violence less serious, but it's a double edged sword; we have the odd news story of someone being shot, but they are few and far between. Having an unlicensed firearm is an instant ticket to prison, so many gangmembers don't take the risk, and stick to knives (not the best solution, but still). Giving officers guns increases the chances of more criminals using firearms, which would lead to more gun-related deaths. Action and reaction.

CO19 does a good enough job whenever there are occasions worth their use. I personally (and this is purely my opinion) prefer the majority of police to not have firearms constantly.

 

[Wadders]

Arm police, do NOT legalise firearms. That would just desentitise people to the idea that they can kill someone.

Legalize firearms brits! It'll be the first step to reclaim your government and keep the IRA out!

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.

My sentiments exactly. If guns were suddenly made legal I know there would be a hell of a lot of crime and killings, mostly because in my area there isn't a great deal for youths to do.

ARGHH!

But, Firearms are legal in the U.K., always have been.

God dammit how many times do I have to tell people this!

OT. I doubt I'm gona say anything that hasnt already been said, but I think the way we arm our police works just fine. The control of Firearms makes gun crime lower than it might be otherwise, and we do have armed response units with rifles and handguns, albeit not always available as the OP has demonstrated.

Maybe a few more less than lethal weapons would be a better approach, maybe a few beanbag shotguns and tasers and the like in police stations, not automatically issued, but present and close at hand if they are needed.

 

[Lord Doomhammer]

I'm gonna go with the first option, Get the police a gun, and maybe a shotgun in the cop car. Granted this is coming from an american perspective, and I realize america is a much different place from the UK, but in cities there is always going to be the threat of a violent criminal who won't back down.

On another note, get your police some decent cop cars. It would seem most European cops use something like a Vauxal Astra, or Volvo xc930 or something... we mostly use Ford Crown Victoria cars, the Police Interceptor version, which is quite frankly a beast.

i say pfffft to that good sir.

besides if Hollywood movies have taught me anything its that US cop cars can't go round corners and are prone to flip over and explode

And exactly whats gonna happen to those nice pretty sports cars when you hit a deer doing 90.

 

[orangeban]

Of course police in Britain need firearms. The legal system is tough in this country, but in a really relaxed way. The criminals incarcerated often end up having better lives than most people living in the middle class. It's a joke that inmates can get leather couches, plasma screen TV's and all the food they can eat (all at the expense of the tax payer I might add.)

Firearms won't solve our hideous legal system, but it will take us one step forward. For example, a Policeman is not allowed to make contact with a suspect in an aggressive way. Now, the suspect can lie, and say it was aggressive for example. In which case the officer would be stripped of his title, and fired. And the suspect is eligible to apply for compensation, and a formal apology, and an inquiry into the state of the police attitude. Absolute joke.

Police should be tough to enforce the law in a country like this. Because it's out of control.

No way, no how is the life for prisoners better than most middle-class peoples life.
People don't seem to get that prison's main punishment isn't not having TV or radio or books, it is the restrictions on liberty that is the real punishment. Follow the law and you have freedom, otherwise...

Also, do you know that we have a reason for not treating the prisoners like shit? If you make prison all about punishment (give prisoners little nice things, or none at all) then they are much more likely to reoffend, which is why we focus on rehabilitation instead. So your tax-payers money is actually going to prisoners, so that they stop commiting crime.

Secondly, suspects are innocent until proven guilty. That rule is golden and must always be enforced. No one has the right to be abused in anyway if they're perfectly law-abiding citizens. And even if someone does claim they were touched aggressively, they spend a long time making sure this was true (why would anyone not claim they were aggressively touched if they would instantly get let off?)

Also, you are living in some kind of parallel earth Britain my friend if you think (I presume you mean) crime is out of control. It really isn't, our crime rates are low, low enough that my consituencies party was focusing on "youth deliquents" and Anti-Social Behaviour Orders as part of it's law and order schtick. If they can focus on that, then other crime isn't too much of a problem.