Poll: Should UK police be given guns as standard issue?

[demonsbanenathan]

I like to think about it this way.

Would I rather be afraid of Criminals, individuals who operate outside the law and who are not only not protected by most of it, but are actively pursued..

..Or afraid of Police, individuals who operate within the law and have it's fullest protection, and who are overlooked or cleared of wrongdoing at all costs.

Which group has the most power? Which group could do the most damage to you?

I'd rather be attacked by a criminal and legally be able to defend myself with whatever force necessary to protect my life- than be beaten, tased or shot to death by a Police Officer and be legally required to not defend myself, nor take any action in my defense.

 

[pulse2]

Police don't always need guns. Look what happens when one man gets hit with a baton and dies, the whole of London goes haywire, could you imagine if police started shooting into crowds?

Guns are stupid, people who condone guns are stupid in my opinion. Situations can be resolved without having to fire bullets at people like a asshat. What happens if innocent people are amongst them?

 

[demonsbanenathan]

In Denmark
The standard service handgun is the H&K USP Compact 9mm pistol.
For special tasks the H&K MP5 sub-machine gun is used.
Officers are also equipped with batons and pepper spray cans.

Low crime rate and all police officers still carry a gun.

Yeah, that isn't because of what particular gun your officers have.

It's because your country has one of the highest quality of life scores in the entire world.

Happy, successful, educated, wealthy people = low crime rates.

 

[Nikolaz72]

What the fuck. I mean im usually 'against' the people having guns. But Brittian is the only country where the police doesnt have guns and crimes there seem to be sky-high.

 

[Dragunai]

The riots in London started because a cop shot an innocent man and killed him.
So let's give them MORE guns and make it worse ^_^

We have armed response units and London cops are typically issued fire arms as standard anyway. We also have So 19 and so on.

Giving street cops fire arms would be a poor decision.
Just change the law so the cops can actually DO something when in a situation with crooks.

 

[demonsbanenathan]

But Brittian is the only country where the police doesnt have guns and crimes there seem to be sky-high.

Where is "Brittian" ? Do you mean Great Britain, the major island of the British Isles, which isn't a country?

And I can honestly say that crime in my country does not concern me on a day to day basis, nor do I feel afraid of it, and that the perception here is that crime is not "sky - high".

And are we really the only country that doesn't arm the majority of their police? I'm kind of proud of that.

 

[Ammutseba]

They should stop being corrupt and the upper class should stop being such ass-hats.

 

[SilentCom]

I would have to say no, given British culture is different than American culture. However, given the circumstances of the rioting, I would have to say that police officers should be given access to more than just pepper spray and what not in case of an emergency. Maybe guns shouldn't be standard issue, but should be something they are trained and allowed to use when sh!t hits the fan.

 

[TheOmenCorpse]

terrible idea, gun control is never perfect, sooner or later some would end up in a chav's hands and he cause unnecessary deaths, also it justifies the "I need it for protection" idea which is just foolish, in england you are four times more likely to commit suicide that to be killed by someone, let it stay that way

 

[b3nn3tt]

What the fuck. I mean im usually 'against' the people having guns. But Brittian is the only country where the police doesnt have guns and crimes there seem to be sky-high.

Britain is far from the only country where the police aren't armed. And crime really isn't sky high, it's not like the riots are an everyday occurence. This is an extremely rare thing, and in no way justifies arming the police force.

 

[JamesStone]

How can giving guns to the police forces be classified as "good"? The police wouldn´t fire against simple rioters, and if you arm the police, obviously the other side will also arm itself to defend themselves against the police, and then instead of simple riots, we would have big mass shoot-outs, with probably many civilian casualties. Sorry if I´m having trouble to imagine how that would improve the situation.

 

[The_root_of_all_evil]

The riots in London started because a cop shot an innocent man and killed him.

TBF...the protests started because the cops shot a drug dealer who was waving a gun at them.

The riots started after the protests.

 

[Thaluikhain]

Where is "Brittian" ? Do you mean Great Britain, the major island of the British Isles, which isn't a country?

And I can honestly say that crime in my country does not concern me on a day to day basis, nor do I feel afraid of it, and that the perception here is that crime is not "sky - high".

And are we really the only country that doesn't arm the majority of their police? I'm kind of proud of that.

Ah, "Brittian" might refer to Brittany, in what is now France. It used to be "Lesser Britain", back when "Great Britain" had a different meaning way back then.

They arm their police, and have loads of riots. Burning the odd police car does not really compare to destroying Gendarmerie stations.

Seriously, one outbreak of rioting in London and people assume it's the norm for the whole UK.

 

[Dragunai]

The riots in London started because a cop shot an innocent man and killed him.

TBF...the protests started because the cops shot a drug dealer who was waving a gun at them.

The riots started after the protests.

DAMMIT I got lied to AGAIN.
That's the last time I trust you... Daily ... mail... *sigh*

Eitherway the riots were inevitable. The country has been in such a sorry state for so long now all it was going to take was 1 rock... or in this case, bullet.

 

[miketehmage]

Let's tally your post.

Murder in Britain? NONE last night. America? 81: http://www.nytimes.com/imagepages/2007/04/21/weekinreview/20070422_MARSH_GRAPHIC.html

Let's remember for a second that the population in Britain is FAR lower than that of the USA, try taking a single state for example, for a better test, or find a way to turn these statistics into percentages rather than raw numbers that don't give an accurate view to anything.

 

[Death_Korps_Kommissar]

One of reasons why the riots started was due to the police shooting someone in the head.More guns would make this even worse

Please remember that the officer only returned fire. He was just a better shot than the punk with the gun.

OT: Nope, get out the water cannons or something but we do not need more guns.

Actually he wasn't returning fire. It's now known that he shot twice at the man who did have a gun but never shot it.

 

[Fetzenfisch]

Sure lets give up the last bit of civilisation and copy the perfectly working US police. HEy a guy with a knive walks down the street,lets shoot him down 6 times.
Weapons to deal with a riot? are you effin crazy?Move to Syria if you want that kind of shit.
THe second police reacts with firearms on a civil riot, is the second every people with half a brain starts to revolt as a whole. We had that in the 60s/70s here and the result was years of bombings and assassinations.
and to be honest, if i would be the vitness of a policeperson shooting down a demonstrator, i would happily not see whatever happens to said officer later.maybe even not be part of it.

 

[imnot]

THats a terrible idea, be ashamed.

 

[Booze Zombie]

Any copper can apply for a handgun, it's just that if some criminal shanks you, they've got a gun now and then they shoot some more cops with guns and their mates are armed and... yeah.

Guns are restricted for a reason.