Why British police don’t have guns

[tydas]

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-19641398

Very interesting...its also very odd how a good percentage of the public WANT the police armed while an overwhelming majority of the police themselves do not want to be armed...

"Arming the force would, say opponents, undermine the principle of policing by consent - the notion that the force owes its primary duty to the public, rather than to the state, as in other countries."

 

[bfdd]

I'm OK with them being armed, we citizens should be equally as armed

 

[tydas]

You'll shoot your eye out kid.

 

[piasabird]

I am all for the cops not being armed. However, every time somone uses a gun in a crime there should be an automatic death sentence.

 

[Jaskalas]

I am all for the cops not being armed. However, every time somone uses a gun in a crime there should be an automatic death sentence.

How do you catch them if you're not armed?

 

[schneiderguy]

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-19641398

Very interesting...its also very odd how a good percentage of the public WANT the police armed while an overwhelming majority of the police themselves do not want to be armed...

"Arming the force would, say opponents, undermine the principle of policing by consent - the notion that the force owes its primary duty to the public, rather than to the state, as in other countries."

Give it 10 years and they'll all be toting assault rifles since the cities with a large immigrant population are going to turn into war zones.

 

[kage69]

I've seen enough British police get slapped around by drunks and skinheads to feel that "verbal judo" is no longer enough. I respect their desire to not pack guns, but they should at least having something ballistic that is in the "less lethal" category.

I'd feel better about a 5'7" 140lb female office tangling with an enraged, drunken 260lb pikey if she had the option of dropping him at 20ft with a bean bag or rubber slug.

 

[tydas]

Give it 10 years and they'll all be toting assault rifles since the cities with a large immigrant population are going to turn into war zones.

Of course they are...now take your meds and go sit down...

 

[Nebor]

Of course they are...now take your meds and go sit down...

They already carry assault rifles and sub-machine guns in the areas with the highest concentrations of non-citizens, genius.

 

[monovillage]

Of course they are...now take your meds and go sit down...

How cute, you changed his post by eliminating the photo and then made a mental health comment.

It makes your post look better when you lie by omission.

 

[Smoblikat]

I love the notion of the pigs not getting guns, I dont consent to your authority so you need to have less of it. But I also like the idea of police having guns to protect people without them. In the end police need to have rubber bullets/bean bads and should be told to aim for the face/neck as an absolute last resort.

 

[mikeymikec]

I'm OK with them being armed, we citizens should be equally as armed

The officer in the article talks of extensive training being (hopefully needless to say) a requirement of arming officers, because it takes more than point and click to send responsible adults into the world armed. Yet you think that the average person should therefore be able to do the same without extensive training? Are there mandatory lobotomies being done on police when they graduate that I'm not aware of or something, to make the average person on the street so much more suitable?

Are you sure you're not saying "they get toys, I want toys too"?

 

[mikeymikec]

How do you catch them if you're not armed?

The British police have armed response units that are sent out in unusual circumstances. Do you really need to ask this question, do you think that all the armed bad guys have just been walking about shooting people for decades on end because there's "no-one there to catch them"?

 

[mikeymikec]

I love the notion of the pigs not getting guns.

Classy. Do you go around calling women "bitches" too?

 

[tydas]

How cute, you changed his post by eliminating the photo and then made a mental health comment.

It makes your post look better when you lie by omission.

Yes, that is how I normally treat insane people or sarcastic responses...so british cities turned to war zones because of immigrants?

 

[Fern]

How do you catch them if you're not armed?

There's an answer to that question:

When I lived in London many years ago I was told the Bobbies didn't carry guns because they preferred a less violent approach. Being an island, they felt no one was going to escape them. They could be patient etc. They were going to be captured one way or another.

Those were police I actually liked. Compare the experience of walking up to your typical NYC police versus a British Bobby to ask a question. I'll take the Bobby any day. There were quite friendly and helpful and you don't get that aggressive 'cop stance' from them. Too often, cops here seem like such dicks.

Fern

 

[Atreus21]

"Arming the force would, say opponents, undermine the principle of policing by consent - the notion that the force owes its primary duty to the public, rather than to the state, as in other countries."

...okay that's just a stupid thing to say.

Police are there to provide security. Security comes with the necessary use of force, which by definition is without consent.

 

[Atreus21]

There's an answer to that question:

When I lived in London many years ago I was told the Bobbies didn't carry guns because they preferred a less violent approach. Being an island, they felt no one was going to escape them. They could be patient etc. They were going to be captured one way or another.

Those were police I actually liked. Compare the experience of walking up to your typical NYC police versus a British Bobby to ask a question. I'll take the Bobby any day. There were quite friendly and helpful and you don't get that aggressive 'cop stance' from them. Too often, cops here seem like such dicks.

Fern

Well yeah, but cops here don't live on an island.

 

[spidey07]

Yes, that is how I normally treat insane people or sarcastic responses...so british cities turned to war zones because of immigrants?

You don't remember the riots a year or so ago where the police couldn't respond or control the situation?

 

[mikeymikec]

You don't remember the riots a year or so ago where the police couldn't respond or control the situation?

So... all police should be armed at all times in case a riot happens, which statistically speaking is about once every ten years?

Would you suggest all police go around in riot gear as well all the time, just in case? How about hazmat suits?

I'm trying to figure out where you were going with this point. The 2011 riots weren't even about or committed by immigrants, just thugs who wanted to go out and rob en masse.

 

[spidey07]

So... all police should be armed at all times in case a riot happens, which statistically speaking is about once every ten years?

Would you suggest all police go around in riot gear as well all the time, just in case? How about hazmat suits?

I'm trying to figure out where you were going with this point. The 2011 riots weren't even about or committed by immigrants, just thugs who wanted to go out and rob en masse.

LOL! Is that what you believe? Go google about them, why they started and by whom.

 

[jackstar7]

...okay that's just a stupid thing to say.

Police are there to provide security. Security comes with the necessary use of force, which by definition is without consent.

Security? Police are there to enforce laws and investigate crimes.

I think you're thinking of a Police State.

 

[JohnOfSheffield]

They already carry assault rifles and sub-machine guns in the areas with the highest concentrations of non-citizens, genius.

Aye, and if they expect guns to be present they will come armed regardless of where they're going.

 

[mikeymikec]

LOL! Is that what you believe? Go google about them, why they started and by whom.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2011_England_riots

Ok, care to point out what you're talking about? I kept up with it on the news at the time, I don't recall anything immigrant related.

 

[spidey07]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2011_England_riots

Ok, care to point out what you're talking about? I kept up with it on the news at the time, I don't recall anything immigrant related.

It started over an immigrant being shot by police in an immigrant neighborhood and then the immigrants, being the immigrants they are, started to riot.

Immigrants.