Should we be arming our police?

If it were up the great British public, our police would be armed to the teeth before the day was out.

Our poll on whether all police officers should be routinely armed came out a resounding yes.

Some 75% of approaching 2,700 Facebook users are in favour of issuing all officers with firearms.

While this poll is not a definitive gauge of public feeling, there is a distinct appetite for arming bobbies on the beat.

So why then aren’t the politicians backing the calls and delivering what the public appear to overwhelmingly want?

Who exactly is opposing this move? Well, the police for one.

Given the UK has been hit by three terrorist attacks in recent weeks, it’s little wonder that the public is keen to see officers armed.

But the police are cautious over the move.

Met Police commissioner Cressida Dick, despite being at the heart of the most recent attack, is against the move.

So too are her officers. In 2006, a survey of 47,300 Police Federation members found that 82% did not want police routinely armed.

Police opinion may have changed in light of the recent atrocities, but it is unlikely to have swung in favour.

We agree that policing and security needs to be reassessed as a matter of urgency, but we do not want a US style of policing on our shores. The call to arm police is an understandable knee jerk response, but we must not act in haste.

Terrorists have attacked our way of life and the best response is not to change the way we live but to fight for our values and stand by them. Arming all police officers is just not the British way.

So we won’t be doing it.