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That's how it works in the UK I think. Police don't regularly carry firearms and specially trained firearms officers are called in when necessary. I think the p
by k-mcgrady 12y ago
That's how it works in the UK I think. Police don't regularly carry firearms and specially trained firearms officers are called in when necessary. I think the problem with this approach in the US is that guns are way more available and way more likely to used in a crime (I don't actually have figures on this but it seems a reasonable assumption).
Edit: Replaced incorrect use of 'weapons' with 'firearms'.
- robin_reala 12y agoPolice carry weapons (truncheons, pepper spray, sometimes tasers), just not firearms by default.
- k-mcgrady 12y agoSorry, I was using weapon/firearm interchangeably by mistake. I meant firearm.
- AlecSchueler 12y agoWhat you're saying is correct, but just to be pedantic: police in Northern Ireland are armed at all times, and are allowed to be armed even while off duty.
- easytiger 12y agoAnd yet practically no police use of firearms is recorded. They have to declare each time they unholster the weapon
- k-mcgrady 12y agoSure, I'm from NI so aware of that. It's a unique situation though and I thought it best to leave out rather than confuse my point that there are police forces that work without firearms.
- AlecSchueler 12y agoI had the same thought, but felt it was best to be clear that the practice isn't unheard of in the United Kingdom.
- maxlybbert 12y agoThey still make mistakes ( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Death_of_Jean_Charles_de_Menezes http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Death_of_Jean_Charles_de_Meneze... ), but since it takes a little more work, I'll assume they make fewer mistakes.
- Brakenshire 12y ago> since it takes a little more work, I'll assume they make fewer mistakes. To put this in context, over the four years from 2008-2012, police officers in England and Wales opened fire on 18 separate occasions, killing nine people. In a country of 55 million people, that's about 5 shooting incidents, and 2 people killed each year. http://www.channel4.com/news/police-fatal-shooting-trigger-happy-fact-check http://www.channel4.com/news/police-fatal-shooting-trigger-h...