I am a retired U. S. Marshal and I wondered why your Police do not carry firearms for protection?

Julian Karswell

Fair and interesting question.

I think that if you read your post you will see that you have in part answered your own question. Historically the UK never had much of a problem with gun crime and it has largely arrived in the last twenty years with mass immigration and copying of 'American rap culture'. The police also have had the rough equivalent of your SWAT teams for a very long time - they were just rarely needed.

In short it's difficult to compare societies.

SGT. D

Damn you must be an old timer, since Oklahoma became a state in 1907 and New Mexico in 1912. If you were say 20 years old as a Marshal (pretty young to be a U.S. Marshal) in 1907, that would either make you roughly 121 years old, or totally full of B.S. (I'll take a guess and choose the 2nd option)

charlsyeh

once again very obviously a made up story.if you really were a retired us marshal you would already know this answer.can't you kids go to some other forums.
----------retired texas deputy sheriff----------

geoff w

as a uk retired police officer i would ask you this,,i have read that 75% of law enforcement officers in the usa who are killed are killed with their own gun is that correct?
the uk does not have a gun culture as the usa does,
we have by and large (until the unabated influx of foreigners in recent years )which has been allowed to go unchecked we have never had a gun problem in the uk.we certainly do now though.
america has always had a "right to carry arms"policy.
but i agree the reasons for not having armed police are diminishing in the uk as criminals philosophy changes,,
namely "its a fair cop !"where as now its "i must not be caught whatever the cost!"

You could say it's because Britain is soft on crime...I guess we don't have the same gun problem here as in the U.S, though knife crime is on the increase. personally I think all police officers should be armed though - why should they put their lives at risk more than they already do? - maybe one day we will toughen up and issue harder prison sentences too - right now there is no deterrent not to commit crime as all you get is a slap on the wrist, and if you do go to prison then you'll only serve half of your sentence.

bobbo342

I was watching an episode of COPS one night and a police women who recieved her citizenship here in the states to get married got a job on a police department. She used to work as a police officer in the UK. She said that if she moved back to the UK she would not become a police officer there again because they do not carry sidearms. She said since coming over the the US, she understands why officers carry and the need for it.

I do not know a single officer that would do the job without equal protection.

fiddler

You didn't have to say you we're once a copper.Your shouting to be heard showed that.Contrary to common belief.
We have more armed police on the streets than is led to be
believed.Guns are not available to the the public, as easily
as they are in the US.Most are sold by former Eastern Europeans who brought them over with themselves from the
Baltic wars.People still prefer the knife here.You see we Brits are old fashioned.

Tresidentevil

The USA is a new country, and when founded was a frontier nation, vast strecthes of unexplored land. A hostile native people, and the need to protect cattle herding. Those are my guesses as to why the USA has developed a gun culture. Guns are easy to get in the USA hence criminals will use them, albeit i think your govt has a pathetic and dangerous attitude towards guns. I hope you can see Guns SHOULD be banned in the USA, unfortunetly the NRA has far too much political power ;-)

The UK is a different country, vastly smaller our culture has developed over 6 thousand years (as opposed to 300) and guns were never part of that. You can't go and buy guns here, to get them its for either hunting or on the black market. Guns i suppose are common in the country most farmers have them. So our police rarely NEED guns, law enforcement isn't about who has the biggest gun! Knife crime here is growing but its more of a teenage fad tbh. It will pass, and its incredibly exagerated by bad tabloid newspapers like the Sun.

We do have armed response units, who are much your your SWAT teams, they rarely shoot anybody.

CLIVE H

Police in UK have always gone without firearms. It's part of police history in UK - the police themselves do not want to be armed.

Here in UK we have policeing by concent - in other words, it's the tax payers who decide issues concerning the police. Each police force here in UK has a committee of the elected officials and themselves to debate issues.

Here in UK police forces have access to 'armed response' units who can deal with any fire-arms situation.

Bear in mind that while Americans may have the right to bear arms, no such right exists here in UK. To own a gun a citizen must apply for a license and that license will not be forthcoming if such a person is deemed irrisponsible or likely to offend or break the law etc.

Of course there are exceptions. A recent case here in Cental London in Chelsea where a lawyer started shooting at his neighbours and then at the police with a shot-gun.

After a siege lasting severl hours, the man was shot dead by a police marksman or marksmen. Shot a lot of times apparently.

Visit the link below for more on the UK Police in action.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ngCzGw9vIhE
. . . .click right for more clips etc. . .

You may not understand the English it being in a native Brit accent of one kind or another.

Question - what do the Texans and the Brits have in Common? A shared sense of humour. We're the only folk who can laugh out loud at ourselves.

Everyone else just thinks we're mad! But, it just ain't true.

If you remember a TV series 'Bonanza' - this is gonna scare yuh because most of it was shot on location right here in the UK - don't ask why. (Low wages etc).

Bonanza - Opening Theme -
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cTWB_ByQD4w

...actually, I discovered something from a movie called 'Bus Stop' - it's not Yeeeha - it's actually Yahoo! So, now we know.

carswoody

Its because of many reasons...
The british public a traditionalists.
The gvt wont spend the cash.
The public think we will go around shooting innocent people.
The human rights act.
People think the criminals will arm themselves if we do.
50% of police dont want to be armed.

There are probably more reasons that i have forgot, but to go into more detail about what I have mentioned would take an eternity. You could figure these things out for yourself.

eentweedrievier2007

> I COVERED OKLAHOMA ... BEFORE THEY BECAME STATES

You covered Oklahoma in 1907? That's fascinating.

Nicolca-Cola

yes ianhad, because using knives to hurt someone is soo less personal

areyurflowersinbloom

in the uk we don't have the kind of crime commited as you do over there

we do have armed responce if a situation dose become a concern to officers and public safety

but this kind of crime just don't happen very often here

and because of the policing here we as the public have respect for our officers rather that fear (unless your a criminal)

Maxi Robespierre

Because our crooks are mostly not armed and dangerous and you don't need a gun to take an old lady across the road.

ianhad

You carry a gun, I'll carry a gun. You don't carry, I wont carry.
You must remember, the UK has been civilised for a 1000 years, the US was still being settled up to 100 years ago.

napper

Most coppers do not want them.
Most joined up to make a positive difference to the community. Pretty hard to do that if you are flashing a firearm everywhere.

Sqwigs92

as far as i know, one reason is also because in the U.K it's against our 'human rights' to shot to disarm, unlike America. We, had to shot to kill, and then try and save their lives. Don't quote me, but thats what i've heard!

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