Should all UK police officers now be armed with guns?

Bear

At this moment in time I still say no. I personally dont think this country needs fully armed police yet....whether the time will come in the future...who knows.

We've all seen the terrible news today that a police officer was shot and killed whilst attending a domestic disturbance. The full details are'nt out yet but I imagine that this was an unarmed officer attending a domestic disturbance, with nothing to suggest that there was an increased threat level. You may argue that if the officer was armed this would not have happened. If this was the case its unlikely that he would have had time to react anyway.

I do think however in the short term that more officers could be equipped with TASER.

My thoughts and prayers are with the officers family in this very difficult time

itsmyitch

Definitely. Meet lethal force with lethal force. I don't know why they've gone this long without.

P.S. Hi Mucky, you're sweet.

sarah1962

maybe not guns,but they need something to protect them, the bad people out there are getting worse,they need protection the police, people forget what they do for us, i know there has been some bad police out there, but most of them are just doing there job, caring and looking after the public.hope that helps,all the best

johntindale

Cops should have guns. Cops should have more stopping power than the bad guy.
Police are generally trained in the art of escalation. If you are facing someone without a gun use your night stick or stun gun. If you are facing someone with a knife, use a stun gun that allows you to zap them from a distance. If they have a handgun, shoot them to put them down.
If the officers don't have this option, you limit their ability to do what they were hired to do- police the public.

trigunmarksman

Yes, issue them concealable surplus 9mm to respond to deadly force with deadly force. These people are chosen to defend the people and they should be granted that power if necessary.

Tc..

Stun guns yes, they wouldn't need to get close enough for the criminals to stab or assault them with the use of stun guns.

Criminals are carrying more & more weapons, I couldn't imagine sharing my life with a police officer and the worry each day they're at work...

saman

yes,there is nothing wrong.untill now uk police is working quite well.but due to increasing terrorism,they need it.

nc_hull

In an ideal world there would be no reason to arm Police and I would say that it would be a bad idea, the trouble is though that criminals can easily get hold of guns and until there is a total ban in the UK it will always be that way. Once criminals start to realise that the Police will not carry guns routinely then they will continue to arm themselves because that way there will always be only one winner when facing a general patrol officer on a supposed "routine" domestic call.

It has gone to far now and the Police need to be armed.

last_1

No. I think we need to get guns off our streets tottally. Rather than give all officers guns.
They should be equiped to deal with gun threats when they arise but not all officers should need them.

sanny

No but there should be a crack down on shops selling guns and anyone using a gun or knife should get a really stiff sentence.Guns should be banned from our streets and we should all be able to go about without fear.This country is getting really bad and a lot of it is to do with the light sentences the courts dish out, some of them are laughable.

cyclops

No, the Criminals , might not approve, in the States the
Criminals don't think its very sporting.

A$H

...

Stun guns - yes.
Guns with ... whats it called... tranquilisers .. - maybe..

Bullet guns - not a chance.

InGeniouS

Increasing the police gun count will only make the streets gun count rise too in my opinion.

Hardened criminals WILL fight fire with fire. After all, They get caught, they are looking at alot of years in jail. What better way to fight back with that the police are using?

toowit2wu

In a word, no.

They don't want them, they've said as much. You're not suggesting we force them are you?

Wow!

Why would the police need guns in the uk when they are banned to innocent people? Even though there were killings done in the uk by guns, and the victims as usual couldn't do anything about it cause guns were banned so what to do???

Joan el guiri

No.

Think on the officer at Heathrow who shot off his own thumb!

manxbiker

with out a doubt the answer is no to this question the more armed police we have on the street the more chances there are of a tragedy happening

Tony A

There are many more armed British police than the public realise. Not the beat Bobby. The British police do not want to be armed. This would lead to more policemen being shot and more innocent bystanders being shot by stray bullets. When the British police think guns are required they have a procedure to become armed. That, to the police in general, is sufficient.

katehughes2706

Ah Miss Mud Blood (if I may call you that) your questions fascinate me! Any chance you could give us an idea as to what your opinion on this topic is?

Its a difficult one I have to say. But I'm more inclined to say no rather than yes. I fear that arming police officers would encourage criminals to also arm themselves and would prob make matters alot worse. I think police officers themselves would feel more unsafe than safe carrying weapons, almost as if they are expecting to be attacked.

Not only this, we are forgetting that there are some "corrupt" members of the police force, who may unnecessary use their guns when it could have been avoided.

I think the day that police officers have to arm themselves with guns, we are admitting defeat against the real filth that walks the streets.

mystymoo

No they shouldnt and most Police officers dont want to be armed either some have even said they would leave the force first