Police Killing

[Frizz]

After seeing on the news, an officer was shot dead, and another injured, what's your opinions on arming the police?

I'm all for it personally. As i'm looking to be a part of the police in the near future, i'd like to know that i'd atleast be a little bit safer, when presented with such a situation.

Thoughts pls!

 

[Tom]

I was in Leeds today, it wasn't me guv

I'm shocked at this. But that doesn't mean that I think we should be arming our police. For me, its a slipperly slope. Better to have good intelligence, and armed response units. I don't think that in this situation those policemen being armed would have made a real difference to the outcome.

 

[Ch3tan]

Yes have more armed officers. Not the whole force, but a larger amount who are trained to at least carry arms for now.

With the actions of criminals now, who would rather fight than simply leg it, I feel the police need something more than a stick.

I would feel safer if more officers were armed, you could argue that this will breed a gun culture amongst criminals, but you could also argue that this is already there.

 

[Wazzerphuk]

Arming police in this country is possibly the most stupid idea possible.

It'd be more dangerous and cause more gun crime than there is currently.

 

[Embattle]

The thing is that even if those two officers were armed there is still a good chance they would of both been shot.

 

[Darthshearer]

The worse thing is I live about 1min work MAX from where it happend and man its scarey shit!

The Police know who has done it they left 1 car before the shooting in Roundhay Park and then shot the police men and then left a the hijacked car 2minutes away from Roundhay Park! Talk about giving your lead away!

 

[Sar]

The police here (NI) are armed iirc, and there isn't a huge amount of gun crime (outside of the terrorist incidents natch).

 

[Embattle]

Ripped from BBC:

1980 to 1989 - 30 officers killed
1990 to 1999 - 18 officers killed
2000 to present - eight officers killed

 

[Tilda]

I was in Leeds today, it wasn't me guv

I'm shocked at this. But that doesn't mean that I think we should be arming our police. For me, its a slipperly slope. Better to have good intelligence, and armed response units. I don't think that in this situation those policemen being armed would have made a real difference to the outcome.

I agree, I see arming the police as the slipery slope towards a US type society. Where everybody carrys a gun gun related crime is rife. Thats just something I personally don't want. Although I think there already is a gun culture to some extent, I think that increasing police armament would only lead to its proliferation.

Tilda

 

[Deadmanwalking]

A few weeks back on BBC, during the Guns and Gangs season. There was an excellent Documentary on the 9mm and it's impact on crime/police.

Most police in America only carry 9mm sidearms, all fine and dandy for stopping your everyway small time criminal but useless against more organised (and armed) criminals.

The point was that as all the police had these sidearms then criminals needed a new edge over them and so got their hands on semi-automatic and automatic weapons (Assault rifles etc). And the normal police with said 9mm handguns were as good as running at them with sticks. The only people who had much chance were heavily armed and well trained ARUs.

Now we have ARUs in this country and it should be kept this way, but with more of them. Otherwise we are heading towards a similar situation as in many parts of the US.

 

[Summo]

Arming police in this country is possibly the most stupid idea possible.

It'd be more dangerous and cause more gun crime than there is currently.

Totally agree. Nothing more to add. I'm borrowing Wazz's brain.

 

[weevil]

The police are armed in most places now, like airports and those sorts of places and noone would wanna mess with them, when i was in teeside airport waiting for my flight, saw them 2, felt like cs and i was on cs_747 wouldnt wanna mess with em tho, kitted up to the fkin eye balls with 2 pistols each, mp5 each and god knows how many grenades and stuff on their belts

 

[Deadmanwalking]

felt like cs and i was on cs_747

They should have shot you for that alone

 

[SawTooTH]

Watch Bowling for Columbine.

 

[Gumbo]

Watch Bowling for Columbine.

I did when it was on a couple of weeks ago. The strange thing was that he demonstrated that there were far far more guns per person in Canada, and yet far less gun crime. And then kept on banging on about the volume of guns being the problem. That made little sense to me as it is blatently the society, not the hardware that is the problem, if you use the guns/per/people stats from Canada as a comparison.

Now I'm not saying I agree or disagree, though those who know me will know what I think, but that did seem some pretty flawed journalism.


On the police getting shot note, I heard on the news that he shot them while he was sitting in the back of the patrol car. Now there is a procedure that needs updating, or should have been followed, one way or another. Be prepared next time you get stopped for speeding to be banged down hard on the bonnet and told to 'spread em'. Just start to worry when they pull on the latex gloves.....

 

[MrCoffee]

I did when it was on a couple of weeks ago. The strange thing was that he demonstrated that there were far far more guns per person in Canada, and yet far less gun crime. And then kept on banging on about the volume of guns being the problem. That made little sense to me as it is blatently the society, not the hardware that is the problem, if you use the guns/per/people stats from Canada as a comparison.

The problem with America is the permanant underclass they made from all those years of slavery and the general mess there economy is in. Moore makes these points in Bowling for Columbine and never claims that the number of guns is the only problem but just points out how it probably isnt helping.

 

[Furr]

Bowling for Columbine was good though. And when it had that little cartoon with the KKK and NRA that was intresting i thought.

 

[Froggeh]

Stupid idea if you ask me. Police in this country can deal with the vast majority of situations without the use of firearms - they are simply not needed, as long as the level of gun crime stays at the relatively low level that it is at now.

 

[mank!]

Arming police in this country is possibly the most stupid idea possible.

It'd be more dangerous and cause more gun crime than there is currently.

Seconded. Its not as if arming the police in the US has done any good either.

 

[Miles_Binck]

Guns are more readily available on the street to people who want one and they are getting cheaper to buy (whether its a converted replica or imported from Eastern Europe) so if you look at that side of things then yes arm the police force.

Personally i'm against arming the police force, (stating the obvious) guns in whoever's hands do more harm than good. All you need is one trigger-happy cop and well will have problems.

 

[Deadmanwalking]

Guns are more readily available on the street to people who want one and they are getting cheaper to buy (whether its a converted replica or imported from Eastern Europe) so if you look at that side of things then yes arm the police force.

Yes, but at the moment it is mianly small caliber less dangerous weapons. Small Handguns, old rifles etc.

In America for the criminals to "combat" the armed cops they have moved on to Assault rifles, Higher Caliber Pistols and even Fully Automatic Guns and Sniper Rifles.

 

[Ch3tan]

You all forgot though that in it's a right to own a gun in the US. It is not over here. You cannot say that arming the police in the Us led to more criminals with guns, they probably had the guns anyway. Its a different situation in the UK, and you wont know what will happen unless you actually arm the police and see.

 

[Deadmanwalking]

You all forgot though that in it's a right to own a gun in the US. It is not over here. You cannot say that arming the police in the Us led to more criminals with guns, they probably had the guns anyway. Its a different situation in the UK, and you wont know what will happen unless you actually arm the police and see.

And if we are right? And gun crime increases.. then we are buggered.

 

[Ch3tan]

Gun crime is increasing anyway. Yes it may act as a catalyst, but it may do the opposite and make the police less laugable in the face of criminals.

 

[Deadmanwalking]

Gun crime is increasing anyway. Yes it may act as a catalyst, but it may do the opposite and make the police less laugable in the face of criminals.

As i pointed out above ^^ the criminals won't just give up guns if all police carry them. They will try and get better and bigger guns and it will just escalate out of control.

No arming them is wrong.

 

[SawTooTH]

I did when it was on a couple of weeks ago. The strange thing was that he demonstrated that there were far far more guns per person in Canada, and yet far less gun crime. And then kept on banging on about the volume of guns being the problem. That made little sense to me as it is blatently the society, not the hardware that is the problem, if you use the guns/per/people stats from Canada as a comparison.

Now I'm not saying I agree or disagree, though those who know me will know what I think, but that did seem some pretty flawed journalism.


On the police getting shot note, I heard on the news that he shot them while he was sitting in the back of the patrol car. Now there is a procedure that needs updating, or should have been followed, one way or another. Be prepared next time you get stopped for speeding to be banged down hard on the bonnet and told to 'spread em'. Just start to worry when they pull on the latex gloves.....

And which model do you think we most resemble, the anally polite Canadians, or the Gun obsessed gangland shooting Americans.

 

[Deadmanwalking]

And which model do you think we most resemble, the anally polite Canadians, or the Gun obsessed gangland shooting Americans.

Would explain why they are so polite. If your not they shoot you.

 

[Shovel]

I'm with DMW:

If you arm all the police, then Joe average bank robber feels he needs something bigger (or something at all: Gets a gun rather than a knife, say). Special units and so forth - yeah, go for it. More training for regular officers? Yep, bring it on. But arming each and every policeman adopts a dangerous attitude. If you carry a gun, it means you expect to need to use it - and guns are far too destructive to roll over an accept as a product of modern society.

 

[Patriarch]

In addition to all the other reasons against arming police, think of the cost. To give firearms training and equip every police officer in England with a gun would be very expensive.

 

[Furr]

What is needed is that the judicial process becomes alot together. If you kill someone intentionally then you should be locked away for life.

Bring back corporal punishment and starting hanging the bastards.