Should uk police carry guns?

[Jaylynne]

So they have no training what so ever on firearms? Just the other task force that have to be called in?

 

[special_kala]

I dont think so, a normal police officer wont ever touch a gun i guess. I think its a separate course they do ontop of the standard training, same with driving, riot control etc

 

[special_kala]

The police at my airport carry guns.

 

[PinkEmily]

Nope, they have no training on firearms that i am aware of. They just call for the firearms unit, which are regional based so they can take a while to arrive.

 

[PinkEmily]

Yeah, airport police have guns too.

We have Tazers. I think they are planning to make all Police Officers have them, eventually.

 

[Andypanda6570]

After taking the test to become a PO they have to go through the Academy , that is where they learn about guns, how to handle them and all sorts of other stuff like seeing a suspect for even a minute and knowing almost every detail of that suspects clothing, features, tattoos and so on. They are not just handed a fire arm and sent on their way, it is extensive training and some even drop out..

 

[chell5544]

Unfortunately not I have a lot of respect for our police as I think sometimes they feel useless we had an incident in our area a couple of months back where a man was walking around a street with a machete threatening people in their homes and two police had to sit in their car and wait for over an hour for armed response to turn up

 

[pinkpolkadot]

Unfortunately not I have a lot of respect for our police as I think sometimes they feel useless we had an incident in our area a couple of months back where a man was walking around a street with a machete threatening people in their homes and two police had to sit in their car and wait for over an hour for armed response to turn up

In situations like this I think all police being armed with tazers would help matters.

 

[Kess]

I would be horrified if our police had guns.

As PPs have said, armed police encourage armed criminals - guns don't have a place in our culture (outside of hunting, and even then rare) and I want it to stay that way. I also think if police had guns, they would be less likely to do what they currently do very well - use conflict resolution skills to bring a peaceful end to conflicts. When you have a gun it's too tempting to use it, too easy to see it as the best solution. It also makes lesser options seem less of a big deal, e.g. tasers which a lot of our police carry but rarely use. On American cop shows I see a lot of threatening with guns, and I've seen horrible videos of US police tasering people repeatedly for tiny tiny infractions - possibly a result of fear that the victim/perp might have a gun, but also IMO due to the idea that the most extreme response to any given situation would be to kill the person, so taser seems much less if that makes sense? That introduction of an "us and them" tone to the police/public relationship would be sad. Our police are very respectful and low-key with people, and I like that.

I would also worry how hard it might be to screen applicants to avoid hiring into the force people who just want to be tough and play with guns IYSWIM? In America you can get a gun as a member of the public, here you can't really, and you certainly can't carry it around etc, so the attraction would be there where it probably isn't as much in the US.

As a PP said, there are bad cops everywhere, even though they are outnumbered by good cops. The police have enough power atm that bad cops can do damage with, giving them the option to kill people is not a good idea IMO.

 

[Andypanda6570]

See for us in the U.S. it would be horrifying if they didn't have guns and had to call another unit to come in with guns. To us that is not our way, like your way is your way. I think if this has been your norm for so long then why even change it, but again that is just my opinion. I could not picture a PO detaining a murderer, drug-dealer, rapist and so on with nothing else than a gun. How does the police detain a suspect while waiting for another unit to arrive? I love learning about different ways in different countries like I said it is not what I am used to but I would still like to know about it..

 

[Andypanda6570]

I would also like to add a police officer can't just shoot someone and then call it a day. Most police officers will never have to shoot their gun for the 30yrs they actually have on the job. After a gun is drawn and fired what happens is another unit of police called IAD ( Internal Affairs Division) comes in to make sure all was justified as far as the shooting, witnesses are called tapes are played and all is reviewed. Most officers have cameras and voice tapes rolling even when they make a traffic stop, so a lot of things are recorded, Plus I am only talking for New York, there are a lot of cameras on the street itself . so it is pretty hard for an officer to even shoot someone without going through a slew of investigations afterwards..

 

[Kess]

See for us in the U.S. it would be horrifying if they didn't have guns and had to call another unit to come in with guns. To us that is not our way, like your way is your way. I think if this has been your norm for so long then why even change it, but again that is just my opinion. I could not picture a PO detaining a murderer, drug-dealer, rapist and so on with nothing else than a gun. How does the police detain a suspect while waiting for another unit to arrive? I love learning about different ways in different countries like I said it is not what I am used to but I would still like to know about it..

They don't wait for another unit to arrive, they arrest people all the time with no guns needed. They just go up to the criminal and take hold of them and put handcuffs on them. If the criminal resists, they have training in how to physically control people in that circumstance. The only time the Armed Unit would be called is in the very rare occasion that the perpetrator had a gun. The average rapist, murderer or drug dealer isn't armed in the UK, or is only armed with a knife or other melée weapon, which the police have training on how to handle.

 

[chell5544]

See for us in the U.S. it would be horrifying if they didn't have guns and had to call another unit to come in with guns. To us that is not our way, like your way is your way. I think if this has been your norm for so long then why even change it, but again that is just my opinion. I could not picture a PO detaining a murderer, drug-dealer, rapist and so on with nothing else than a gun. How does the police detain a suspect while waiting for another unit to arrive? I love learning about different ways in different countries like I said it is not what I am used to but I would still like to know about it..

The only time armed response is called is if they suspect that the suspect is carrying a weapon detaining murderers, rapists and drug dealers who they don't believed to be armed they will usually just force them to the floor and arrest them
They use police helicopters and lots of sniffer dogs to help track down people who are running most people will comply when they have a huge dog running for them lol

 

[louandivy]

but if the police were armed then more criminals would feel the need to be armed.

EXACTLY! The level of gun crime in the U.K does not justify the need for police to carry guns. Completely irrational.

 

[Lina]

Also just to add, 80% of police have admitted to NOT wanting to be armed.

 

[special_kala]

Have to say i am incredible proud of our police force and think that its a real credit to them that they are so well trained that we dont need guns (99% of the time)

Not saying other countrys police arnt well trained though

 

[Rhi_Rhi1]

Yes .

 

[vaniilla]

my dad is an ex-police officer and he thinks that it's the fine the way it is with only special teams having guns, it's one of the main reasons he hated being a police officer in Italy. I think if regular police had guns then the likely-hood of people who otherwise might have been dealt with pepper spray might get shot instead, they constantly have to justify their actions/amount of force used as it is and a gun would just add unnecessary stress, I think it can also be counterproductive - surely more criminals would carry weapons if they knew they would be up against armed police? Lastly for me I feel it would take away the power behind it, the fact that it is used as a last resort by only a few means it is only reserved for rare cases, I would hate for guns to be thought of as commonplace.

 

[marley2580]

No they shouldn't, I totally agree with many of the previous posters reasonings for saying no. Armed police would likely still have been murdered in this situation, the guy used a grenade!

 

[lhancock90]

I see both sides.

I think the police need to be better protected. People seem to be becoming more and more violent and our police remain as unprotected as ever. BUT. If you arm the police, the criminals will be better armed. Bigger guns and bullets? They will get bigger guns and bullets! Better armour? They'll find a weapon to tear through it.. its a neverending battle.