5 ms·

I think you're right. It's a common trope in German crime shows on TV to see the police chase a dangerous criminal on foot with their gun drawn and then watch i

by brazzy 15y ago

I think you're right. It's a common trope in German crime shows on TV to see the police chase a dangerous criminal on foot with their gun drawn and then watch in frustration as they get away - but not shoot at them. > Sometimes, when the offense is minor its OK to let the bad guy get away. Especially since, with a bit of methodical work, you usually have a good chance of catching them later.

noonespecial 15y ago
Indeed. If only cars had some sort of unique identifier attached to them somewhere easily visible so you could simply discover after the fact who owned them...
tluyben2 15y ago
In the Netherlands you have to, before you are even allowed to shoot at someone, point the gun in the air, call out "Halt or i'll shoot!" and shoot in the air which you have to repeat 3 times. We had some hilarious TV about that.
- 38leinad 15y ago
  I think it is the same for german police. I.e. you at least have to shot in the air once and call out "stop or i will shoot you!". Obviously, this is not necessary if the life of the officer or someone else is at risk.
  - tluyben2 15y ago
    Obviously; if something is really threatening for yourself or others then of course. But this is not very common as far as I can see. Fleeing the scene is often not a threatening / deadly force situation.
  - ajuc 15y ago
    In Poland too. A few years ago police man had to shout "Stop or I'll shoot.", then shoot 3 times in the air, then policeman could shoot in the legs, and only then shoot to kill. People made fun of this, because when criminal has a gun, he won't be shooting in the air 3 times, nor targeting policeman legs, so law was changed to be less strict about cops shooting. But we still have strict regulations about "allowed defence". For example courts judged a few times, that man that shot burglar with legal gun he had in his house was guilty of "overstepping allowed defence", because burglar only had knife. It's ridiculus IMHO. Still - I've never heard or seen a real gun or knife fight in my life, and neither had anybody I know (or at least they had not told me about that). I think it's general tendency, that gun crimes and homicides in general are much less frequent in Europe.
- sthlm 15y ago
  Isn't shooting in the air potentially dangerous, since the bullet (assuming straight up in an empty space) will return to the ground with the same velocity it was fired at?
  - rpledge 15y ago
    No, terminal velocity will limit the fall speed to be much less http://www.straightdope.com/columns/read/1199/can-a-bullet-fired-into-the-air-kill-someone-when-it-comes-down http://www.straightdope.com/columns/read/1199/can-a-bullet-f...
    - harshreality 15y ago
      That link does not say that it's not dangerous. It is less dangerous than a bullet fired at close range, and it is not as likely to be lethal, but it still can be lethal, or cause serious bodily harm, and therefore it is still very dangerous. Furthermore not all warning shots fired into the air are fired at high enough angles that the bullets decelerate to terminal velocity before hitting something. Even if it reaches terminal velocity and doesn't hit anyone, in an urban area it can easily hit someone's property and cause property damage to roofs windows or walls.
    - Zak 15y ago
      True, but a bullet falling at terminal velocity may still kill: http://articles.nydailynews.com/2011-12-20/news/30540094_1_amish-girl-nickel-mines-accidental-shooting http://articles.nydailynews.com/2011-12-20/news/30540094_1_a... Edit: this particular bullet would have been on a ballistic trajectory and would have retained a significant amount of its original velocity.
  - EdiX 15y ago
    Only in a vacuum, otherwise it's the terminal velocity IIRC it's much less than the firing speed for bullets.
    - eru 15y ago
      Still somewhat dangerous, and the reason why celebratory gunfire, which is rather customary in some countries, is now frowned upon by the authorities.
fforw 15y ago
Germany is so densely populated that it might also just be a lot harder for criminals to find a good hiding place without being noticed.

by brazzy 15y ago

noonespecial 15y ago

Indeed. If only cars had some sort of unique identifier attached to them somewhere easily visible so you could simply discover after the fact who owned them...

tluyben2 15y ago

In the Netherlands you have to, before you are even allowed to shoot at someone, point the gun in the air, call out "Halt or i'll shoot!" and shoot in the air which you have to repeat 3 times. We had some hilarious TV about that.

38leinad 15y ago
I think it is the same for german police. I.e. you at least have to shot in the air once and call out "stop or i will shoot you!". Obviously, this is not necessary if the life of the officer or someone else is at risk.
- tluyben2 15y ago
  Obviously; if something is really threatening for yourself or others then of course. But this is not very common as far as I can see. Fleeing the scene is often not a threatening / deadly force situation.
- ajuc 15y ago
  In Poland too. A few years ago police man had to shout "Stop or I'll shoot.", then shoot 3 times in the air, then policeman could shoot in the legs, and only then shoot to kill. People made fun of this, because when criminal has a gun, he won't be shooting in the air 3 times, nor targeting policeman legs, so law was changed to be less strict about cops shooting. But we still have strict regulations about "allowed defence". For example courts judged a few times, that man that shot burglar with legal gun he had in his house was guilty of "overstepping allowed defence", because burglar only had knife. It's ridiculus IMHO. Still - I've never heard or seen a real gun or knife fight in my life, and neither had anybody I know (or at least they had not told me about that). I think it's general tendency, that gun crimes and homicides in general are much less frequent in Europe.
sthlm 15y ago
Isn't shooting in the air potentially dangerous, since the bullet (assuming straight up in an empty space) will return to the ground with the same velocity it was fired at?
- rpledge 15y ago
  No, terminal velocity will limit the fall speed to be much less http://www.straightdope.com/columns/read/1199/can-a-bullet-fired-into-the-air-kill-someone-when-it-comes-down http://www.straightdope.com/columns/read/1199/can-a-bullet-f...
  - harshreality 15y ago
    That link does not say that it's not dangerous. It is less dangerous than a bullet fired at close range, and it is not as likely to be lethal, but it still can be lethal, or cause serious bodily harm, and therefore it is still very dangerous. Furthermore not all warning shots fired into the air are fired at high enough angles that the bullets decelerate to terminal velocity before hitting something. Even if it reaches terminal velocity and doesn't hit anyone, in an urban area it can easily hit someone's property and cause property damage to roofs windows or walls.
  - Zak 15y ago
    True, but a bullet falling at terminal velocity may still kill: http://articles.nydailynews.com/2011-12-20/news/30540094_1_amish-girl-nickel-mines-accidental-shooting http://articles.nydailynews.com/2011-12-20/news/30540094_1_a... Edit: this particular bullet would have been on a ballistic trajectory and would have retained a significant amount of its original velocity.
- EdiX 15y ago
  Only in a vacuum, otherwise it's the terminal velocity IIRC it's much less than the firing speed for bullets.
  - eru 15y ago
    Still somewhat dangerous, and the reason why celebratory gunfire, which is rather customary in some countries, is now frowned upon by the authorities.

fforw 15y ago

Germany is so densely populated that it might also just be a lot harder for criminals to find a good hiding place without being noticed.