[Philthechill]

Following the brutal running-down of that traffic policeman it would never have happened if the policeman had been armed.
He would have drawn his gun, ordered the numerous other people, involved, to lay face-down on the road, told the car-thief, who killed him, to get out of the vehicle and join his fellow thugs on the road, call for assistance and keep the gang 'covered' 'til reinforcements arrived.

We are constantly being told, "The majority of police don't want to be armed!". I don't believe this for one minute!

THIS is the 21st Century and respect for 'authority' is virtually non-existent so the police have to reassert their 'position' and arming them is the first step. Phil

 

[Ron Stringer]

Arms proliferation is such a successful solution to every problem I just can't think why it hasn't been tried before. That works so-o-o well in the USA.

 

[expats]

Exclamation Time to arm ALL Police!

NO!

 

[BlythSpirit]

told the car-thief, who killed him, to get out of the vehicle and join his fellow thugs on the road, call for assistance and keep the gang 'covered' 'til reinforcements arrived.

Would have had to be some bobby to do all that after he was "killed" !

 

[Philthechill]

Arms control----

Arms proliferation is such a successful solution to every problem I just can't think why it hasn't been tried before. That works so-o-o well in the USA.

----between the US and here is MUCH more different Ron.

In the US the "Second Amendment" allows ANYONE to bear arms which is why there are so many mass-shootings there.

Firearms have always been 'controlled' as I well-know! Even back in the 1950's getting a Firearms Certificate was quite difficult. I belonged to a Gun Club wherein we carried-out target-shooting.

MY rifle was a BSA Martini International which had an aperture foresight and a Parker-Hale 'adjustable' back-sight. As I was 17 my eyesight was pin-sharp and I used the smallest aperture on the back-sight which enabled me to shoot a regular '98'.

(Apropos that 'proficiency'. It stood me in good-stead when I was looking-after some Meteor 8's for HM The Queen for a couple of years as, when I went on 'The Range' firing various guns, I shot so well with the Lee-Enfield .303 I got my crossed-rifle 'Marksman' badge which attracted a magnificent 6d a week wage-rise).

The local Bobby would come round to our house occasionally to check my gun was in there as it was not allowed to go anywhere. It would be simply propped-up in the Hallway unlike later where anyone who had a gun had to have a steel gun-cabinet BOLTED to a brick wall.

The Dunblane mass-shooting changed the 'Gun Ownership Law' and it is impossible to own a gun now.

Yes there ARE illegally-held guns in Britain but I don't think if ALL police-officers were armed it would cause the problems they have in the US.

Most Police in Europe are armed and you don't get the mass-shootings prevalent in the US. Phil

 

[Philthechill]

Note the---

Would have had to be some bobby to do all that after he was "killed" !

---comma's 'separating' the 'who killed him' from the main text.

THIS makes that phrase a 'separate' entity to that main text.

Brackets may have been a little-more obvious but the comma's do just as well. Phil

 

[expats]

.............Yes there ARE illegally-held guns in Britain but I don't think if ALL police-officers were armed it would cause the problems they have in the US..........Phil

Police shoot and kill about 2 or 3 people a year in the UK; I'd still call this country 'safe'.
If police were armed the numbers of those shot by police would rise but would we, as a society, be any safer?

 

[Charles Mattress]

Days of Dixon of Doc Green are gone,maybe so.
Arming police will only see massive rise in gangs,wanting shoot out with cops.

 

[Charles Mattress]

Dixon of dock green days are gone.
Arming cops...no way,will see rise in gangs with more hardware.

 

[Philthechill]

WHY will there----

----be a massive rise in gang-related shootings being confidently touted by so many on here should our Police be armed?

In 2017, throughout Germany, (where the Police ARE armed), fourteen people were shot dead and 39 injured.

So why should this Country be any different?

Here it's a rare day goes by without reading about someone being KNIFED-to-death.

That, surely, shows how few guns there are in Britain!!

Along with arming the Police, too, capital punishment MUST be brought back. The most precious thing we all possess is our life and, should someone take your life away then they must lose theirs too.

A VERY simple equation. Phil

 

[Ron Stringer]

My reference was not to the killings in the USA of civilians by civilians, nor the killing of police officers by civilians, rather the number of killing by police of civilians - particularly Afro-American and Hispanic civilians.

 

[RayL]

Along with arming the Police, too, capital punishment MUST be brought back. The most precious thing we all possess is our life and, should someone take your life away then they must lose theirs too.

I think the police are in a special position in that regard and their lives should be protected by a known and understood penalty of capital punishment. A rational criminal would then pause and think before attempting to harm an officer.

 

[Duncan112]

But there may be an increase in "Suicide by Cop" https://www.pfoa.co.uk/articles/suicide-by-cop
The wisdom of Solomon would be required to decide on the universal arming of police, think on the Officer forced to make the decision to shoot, Cressida Dick may well sleep soundly, I'm not sure I would.

 

[Irvingman]

A rational criminal would then pause and think before attempting to harm an officer.

I think the flaw in that statement is that most criminals do not think rationally, especially when under pressure. The will not be thinking of the possible consequences of their actions as they pull the trigger. They will fire whether the penalty is capital punishment or prison. So capital punishment is not really a deterrent. IMHO!
John

 

[Davie M]

Capital punishment may not deter the person committing the death of a policeman.
It would certainly save the country a vast amount of money looking after them in jail.

 

[slick]

All,
The strict control of Firearms could also be put down to the First World War and the Russian Revolution- a million returning men to a "land Fit for Heroes" ?
Insurrection was in the air all across Europe, it is this that initiated the strict gun laws we have to this day ?

yours aye,
slick

 

[sparkie2182]

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Death_of_Jean_Charles_de_Menezes

'Nuff said.......Cressida got the top job even after this.

 

[granty]

Hi
I think Police and all other emergency staff should be allowed to protect themselves against nasty people without fear of being punished if they defend themselves they should not be told they should understand the other person may need understanding or he was brought up in difficult cir***stances
Granty

 

[makko]

Police need to undergo rigorous psychiatric evaluation before they can be considered suitable for carrying a firearm. And even then, all is not perfect - Just remember the shooting of that Brazilian guy in the Tube various years back. (tastefully papered over by authorities, as usual in the Police force)

Living in Mexico maybe gives me a different perspective. The USA has very backward "stop and search" laws. Obviously, anyone who is "non WASP" is at risk, as has been proven sadly so many times. The other underlying aspect is that it is not an integrated society. Indeed, IMHO, a lot of these recent shootings are the result of the rhetoric and "fire & brimstone" of Mr. Trump. Human rights and colour/race equality are just a veneer in the USA, scratch the surface and the true purulency starts trickling out.

Nuff said. Guns beget bigger guns for the crims. Just look at the organized crime here in Mexico - Anti air missiles, tank/helicopter killer sniper rifles, sophisticated communications (they even have their own 4.5G mobile system, FCS!!!!). Oh, and it all comes from the USA who will do nothing to stop it because it earns "good bucks".

Good luck!
Cheers,
Dave

 

[Ken Wood]

Arming the police is not the answer, as in most cases, shooting is not premeditated. To digress, although my sympathies are with the family of the deceased, I find the press go over the top when it comes to police victims. A member of the public being the victim of random violence will hardly be acknowledged by the media, never mind having money raised for their family by media awareness.
The police do a fantastic job, but the risks are understood and do not need to be blown up by the press. The family should be looked after by the policeman’s employers, I.e. the government.