Is it time for our police officers to carry guns while they’re on duty?
BRITAIN is one of very few countries in the world that fails to protect its police officers by not issuing them all with sidearms. Police officers are responsible people, closely vetted by their force, and there is no logical or moral reason not to arm them. It’s ridiculous that police officers on duty at vulnerable places aren’t armed. I’ve travelled all over the world and almost every country has armed police. They don’t pick and choose which officers should carry guns; they all do. The fact that unarmed PC Keith Palmer was killed while tackling a religious psychopath proves my point. Had this hero been armed, he might still be alive. Our MPs will talk a lot about this outrage but will do nothing to safeguard police officers and those they serve and protect. How many more deaths will it take? As the highest ranking police officer on duty at West End Central police station when the IRA bombed Oxford Street in the Seventies, I’m well aware of the trauma those in the emergency services face when confronted with such acts. This and the IRA bombing of Harrods in the Eighties are as fresh in my mind today as then. Now is the time to arm all our
police and I believe the vast majority of our citizens would support the move.
TERENCE F. MATTHEWS,
Upminster, Essex. arming the police may not be as easy as you think. a very recently retired police officer myself, i also asked my brother-in-law and my sister, both police officers, their views on arming the police. We all came to the conclusion that none of us would be prepared to carry guns. it isn’t so much the issue of dealing with the enemy — but the enemy within. any officer who discharges a firearm is automatically subjected to a lengthy suspension from firearms duty while the independent Police Complaints Commission conducts an investigation. This may drag on for ages, while people who have never experienced a life-or-death situation take months — even years — to ponder a decision an officer had to make in a split-second. The file will then be passed to the Crown Prosecution Service to see if there’s sufficient evidence to prosecute the officer. after that, politicians will be on TV stating there will be a full and in-depth investigation, indicating a complete lack of support for the police officer. Senior officers will also offer no support for the officer involved, unwilling to damage future promotion prospects. a media firestorm follows, with armchair experts offering opinions on what the officer could have done to avoid shooting the suspect. all the while, the officer and his or her family is left in limbo. Police officers volunteer to carry firearms and can’t be forced to do so. The vast majority do not want to carry firearms — and is this any surprise given the total lack of support from those whom we protect?
Name and address supplied.
THE average UK police officer is too immature to be armed at all times. You only have to watch fly-on-the-wall police documentaries to see how childish and ‘jokey’ many officers are. Unlike the U.S., Australia, or most of Europe, Britain doesn’t have a gun culture. The average British citizen is uncomfortable around guns. I’ve owned firearms for 40 years and always stress the importance of safety when I introduce newcomers to my sport, as the first action of many — including police officers — when they pick up a firearm is to act like gangsters or Wild West cowboys.
Name and address supplied.