Time to arm our police forces?

[MoMo]

Being from the US where every cop is armed everywhere I just assumed every country had armed cops, silly me. I feel very safe with having armed police and would feel very UNsafe if they weren't, but it's always been like that here. We even have security gaurds for businesses and clubs that are armed. I think polce need to be armed for their own safety. The majority of crimes being committed here the states are by armed criminals. The cops need to protect themselves. In my city (St. Louis) there's not a day that goes by that you don't hear of someone being shot, stabbed, a robbery or a rape and it's become so routine to me that I don't even flinch anymore when there's news of a shooting or other crime. scarey huh? Thats just here in the US I don't know what other countries are like.

 

[juju]

Are'nt they already?The police stopped two lads on our road last week and you could clearly see they were armed and had bullet proof vests on.There was an armed seige recently in the muslim part of sheffield.We were caught up in it I was with the kids shopping and a policeman arrested a guy my 11 year old was in the middle of them!! The policeman winked at my son and told him everything was ok but it was scary.It was reasurring to know the police were armed at the time.

 

[Tsia]

Are'nt they already?The police stopped two lads on our road last week and you could clearly see they were armed and had bullet proof vests on.There was an armed seige recently in the muslim part of sheffield.We were caught up in it I was with the kids shopping and a policeman arrested a guy my 11 year old was in the middle of them!! The policeman winked at my son and told him everything was ok but it was scary.It was reasurring to know the police were armed at the time.

Could have been a planned operation or somethink.


I voted armed. When we say armed I take it you mean the bobby's that walk about?
In every traffic car there is a gun, but not on every copper.. including the panda cars.
My partner is a cop (as some of you already know) and he says that arming the police is a good idea, yet if you shoot someone, even in the leg or whatever, you automatically get suspended for a few months until the investigation is finished and your found innocent in doing so.
For that reason alone, he doesnt want to transfer into the division which have guns now just in case he had to shoot!

 

[juju]

It is hard for the police as you said tsia they get suspended , inquires into everything and what about the villans??The police are there to protect the public and I would feel so much safer knowing that all police are armed.They cant win and always get the rough end for doing their job

 

[huerta3]

I voted not sure because here in the states there are too many shoot first ask later cops. There have been many headlines about cops shooting suspects in the back, or shooting to kill. What ever happened to shooting to disable. If someone is shooting at you by all means kill em' but if they are running away pop em in the leg not in the head. I just think there are too many trigger happy cops out there. Maybe they should be armed with shot guns with buck shots filled with rock salt... that would lay anyone down, without killing them. Hell it worked in the movie Kill Bill.

 

[nailzandbeauty]

Yep get them armed,there are too many killers out there ready to pull the tricker on them.They should be able to protect themselves!

 

[bellapet]

Yes i deffinatley think they should be armed! i recently got accepted into the Special Constables as i would love to be in the police when im a bit older and this is a good way to get in. I would feel a lot safer and more secure if i was armed being female, my family would also prefer it 2. In most other countries the police are armed so i think we should be as well.
Annabel
xx

 

[lizzie27]

i think the police should be armed to a certain extent, for their own safety, but im of the opinion that they are a law of their own these days, and they are letting anyone become an officer!!!
by that i mean my friends 18 yr old sis is a traffic officer,shes only been driving 6 months!!
and my sis science teacher is a pc in his spare time!!!!
what would be the boundarys of their weapons?
what if you were on a night out, accused of being envolved in a scuffle, drunk and disorderly, and we may have all been there!
and they have the power to start coshing or shooting?
all these 'normal', young, people with hardly any life experience that they have employed into the police force, can take our lives in their hands!!!!!
i think we are much better off with the seperate, skilled squads that they can call upon in a crisis!

 

[lizzie27]

Being from the US where every cop is armed everywhere I just assumed every country had armed cops, silly me. I feel very safe with having armed police and would feel very UNsafe if they weren't, but it's always been like that here. We even have security gaurds for businesses and clubs that are armed. I think polce need to be armed for their own safety. The majority of crimes being committed here the states are by armed criminals. The cops need to protect themselves. In my city (St. Louis) there's not a day that goes by that you don't hear of someone being shot, stabbed, a robbery or a rape and it's become so routine to me that I don't even flinch anymore when there's news of a shooting or other crime. scarey huh? Thats just here in the US I don't know what other countries are like.

in the uk we rarely have officers attacked,
the attacks happen before the police are on the scene,
obviously they come armed if the incident is reported as dangerous....
you have to take into considoration that hardly ANYONE owns a gun in our country compared to yours, its not legal, and quite rare....
if things are serious on the scene then there is calls for back up, and other means of restraint!
i think that crimes of a more exagerated nature are more rife in the u.s, x