4 ms·
Rather seems to be missing the point. In Australia, police carry guns. Unfortunately, there are police shootings but they are very rare and when it does occur t
by chris_wot 10y ago
Rather seems to be missing the point. In Australia, police carry guns. Unfortunately, there are police shootings but they are very rare and when it does occur there is a full and thorough investigation done. I don't think I've ever heard of a case in the last 15 years of anyone in the Australian police firing a gun at someone unless they were literally in imminent danger of serious violence from the one they were shooting at.
As an Australian citizen, whilst the police here aren't perfect, I also believe they aren't as trigger happy because, quite frankly, we don't carry guns on our person in Australia. This means that when police make a routine stop because of a broken tail-light they aren't as likely to feel like their life is in danger, and this almost certainly means they hesitate to fire their weapon unless they are really in danger. They are also aware that if they do discharge their weapon then there is a full investigation done. The investigations are quite thorough and actually normally very fair, but no police officer wants to be investigated really and all police officers know what a serious thing it is to fire their sidearm.
I don't expect any citizens of the U.S. to agree with me. But it occurs to me that as more people carry increasingly powerful weapons, the police have had to upgrade their own weaponry, body armour and tactics in response. From my vantage point here in Australia, it puzzles me why this isn't obvious: the more people who carry guns, the less likely law enforcement will try to negotiate and use minimal force.
From my perspective, America's gun culture is bizarre.
- wrong_variable 10y agoYou are not the only one, and its not only Australian that find American gun culture bizarre.
- darkseas 10y agoWhile deadly police incidents seem less common in Australia, don't kid yourself that our police always get it right. They could do with better de-escalation training to deal with situations in critical environments like crowds [1] or when dealing with mentally ill people [2]. I think anyone carry a deadly weapon, civilian or government officer should bear extra responsibility to safeguard the safety of all people around them. [1] http://www.abc.net.au/news/2016-06-09/four-injured-as-police-shoot-man-hornsby-shopping-centre/7496102 http://www.abc.net.au/news/2016-06-09/four-injured-as-police... [2] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Death_of_Tyler_Cassidy https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Death_of_Tyler_Cassidy
- chris_wot 10y agoI didn't, and I agree that they need to improve. They always need to improve, but I have to agree with the coroner on the Tyler Cassidy shooting - I'm not entirely sure what else they could have done. But, they do get it wrong - especially, it seems for some reason, in Victoria. The incidence of police shooting across our entire population is by far significantly less than in the U.S. - which is not to say that even one avoidable shooting is acceptable, only that it happens far less often.
- nojvek 10y agoTo drive a car you need a driving license. To get a gun in the US, you just need to be a citizen. There is nothing stopping anyone from being trigger happy. You hear cases of accidental firings in the US all the time.