Anyone watch Luther? Cops don't carry guns?

[susannah14]

I'm on the 3rd episode of the 2nd season...no spoilers please. I really like the show, although it is hard for me sometimes to follow the fast British accents

The last episode I watched...

Spoiler

this guy went around an office building bashing heads in with a hammer.

You'd never see that kind of stuff on a US cable channel. Very dark and gory.

One thing that blew my mind is that British cops don't carry guns? WTF? The criminals have guns but the cops don't? What kind of sense does that make? I'd be interested in hearing on that from the perspective of someone who lives in the UK. Anyone?

ETA: I'm watching on US Netflix, and the third season isn't on there yet. I think I might have to pay $7 to stream it through Amazon.

 

[maisie78]

This is a debate that rears it's head on a regular basis in this country. Officers do not regularly carry guns here in the UK and most people want it to stay that way. All forces have an armed response unit who will be deployed when there is an incident involving firearms but the decision to deploy them lies with the Control Room Inspector (at least that is the case in my county). More officers are now carrying taser which is seen as a reasonable compromise by many here. Personally I prefer our officers to not regularly carry guns. Yes the criminals have them and there is a big gun culture in many of our inner cities but I firmly believe that this culture will become worse if police become regularly armed.

Eta: I am finally watching series 3 of Luther and it's brilliant, just a shame it's only 4 episodes long

 

[susannah14]

Hey Maisie, thanks for the reply. I've become really interested in the whole firearms issue, if only to understand why it is the way it is in the UK.

I've finished watching all the episodes. I was happy with it overall, but there were a few moments I found completely unbelievable,

Spoiler

most of all when Luther was arrested for Ripley's murder,

(come on, really??) and other times when I questioned the character's motivations for their actions. A lot of times the writing made no sense to me. But on the whole, I thought the show was very entertaining...and Luther's character reminided me so much of House,

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(especially in the last 5 minutes when he was limping down the street! lol!)

So, about the gun thing, Maisie, you said you believe your culture will become worse if cops routinely carry guns. Would you be willing to explain that a little more? Do you think if cops have guns, then more criminals will have guns, and it will be a never ending cycle? I'm genuinely interested in your reasoning.

From the perspective of someone from the US, watching the show, I was incredulous when I saw the situations the detectives found themselves in with no defenses. Just some examples...(spoilers)

-When DS Gray accompanied that woman

Spoiler

up to her flat to check and make sure the murderer wasn't hiding there. DS Gray had no gun, so really she had nothing more to defend herself against a crazy murderer than the civilian did. It's just that she's labeled as a "police officer" so she is expected to be the first line of defense, but with no tools. What, is she going to karate chop some guy's gun away?

-When Luther went to the junkyard to meet the guy

Spoiler

and ended up face to face with the vigilante with a shotgun. If Luther had a gun, he could have apprehended him, and Ripley wouldn't have had to die.

-And the big one of course is,

Spoiler

Ripley's death. A police officer standing in front of a shotgun with NOTHING to protect himself. In the US that guy would've been shot. He's already killed multiple people and is threatening the life of a cop...he would've been shot and the people would've rejoiced.

These are just a FEW of the situations I saw in the last few episodes that astounded me. It seems like in every situation, the criminal has control. I understand this is a TV show yes, it's not real life, but I think that the difference between US and UK detective shows is very telling. In US detective shows, most of the show is about discovering the identity of the murderer. Apprehension is relatively easy, because all cops have guns! In Luther, I was really surprised that even when they discovered the identity of the murderer pretty early on, one or two episodes went by before they could capture said criminal, even though the cops came face to face with the criminal many times, but the criminal escaped.

Again, this is just my quest to understand something that astonishes me. I'm really interested in hearing on this from the perspective of the other side. Or just your opinions on the show in general!