Firearms

[billy]

Since change isn't possible in that regard, perhaps we could move the discussion on to something related which is possible? You'll stop me I'm sure if it's too far off-topic.

Should police officers be armed?

They are in many countries but not mine, though it is being called for increasingly often following several shootings of officers over the past couple of years. I expect it will happen fairly soon but I think it's a bad move which will actually result in MORE police (and members of the public) being shot and killed. I think criminals are more likely to use weapons (as opposed to merely threatening with them) when they know that the police confronting them are armed.

I also think that arming police will harden police attitudes to the public. In the same way that drivers are more aggressive than pedestrians because they're encased in a steel shell, someone walking around with instant death on their hip cannot help but feel safer in behaving aggressively than someone with a "mere" uniform.

And that such a change in attitude will in turn harden the public's attitude to the police.

It's a vicious spiral and a downward one.

in the uk we have armed response units, quite a lot of them throughout the country. the police are armed at major airports and seaports and at major security spots like downing street and other places in the country. the cop in the street is unarmed. and i think thats the best way to be. prepared bt not too prepared. everyone thinks of cops as someone who catches criminals. while their major role is more about deterrent. i think with a gun they become less of a deterrent. sounds silly i know but i think thats the case. people are less likely to talk with them in a friendly way. criminals are more likely to carry guns and use them. in the uk the cop was more a member of the community a sort of community glue if you like. while to a large extent that's changed over the years. it's still part of what many a cop in the uk is, if they were all armed i think that feeling would disappear.

[billy]

in the uk we have/had a thing called community policing. it was designed to get the public
to trust the beat bobby (cop) the way he used to be trusted pre 60's. a gun wearing uniformed cop
wouldn't garner that same kind of trust. we have cops with guns that get to the scene of a crime faster than a beat cop
for me that's the way it should be. many years ago a kid caught committing a misdemeanour would probaly get a clip round the ear and taken home to his parents who would then pay to replace or repair what was done. that way some got an extra chance not to go down the wrong path. that no longer happens which i find as sad. beat cops wearing guns wouldn't work in the uk they're already mistrusted by many as it is.