General Chat

3 members of the police force have been shot in the last 20 years - I know that is 3 too many but to say you have to arm the police is in my opinion a kneejerk reaction. Bev's right - both police officers only had a few years experience between them and I would have thought they should have been paired up with a more expereinced officer. They had back up within 2 minutes but it was too late - the cowards had already made their getaway - it's unbelievable that this could happen in a busy street in broad daylight. Debby

When my son joined at 19 twelve years ago he was always partnered by a 'senior'officer when he was a probationer. Unfortunately now, he tells, me that doesn't always happen. At the station in the Met. that he works in there are supposed to be (at full strengh) 28 officers . For the last few years there are usually about 15. That's why you have to wait so long for any help. Linda

I am very sad by what happened to those poor women PC's but don't think that arming them would have stopped this. Wearing bulletproof jackets and not just knife proof jackets would have certainly saved the 38 year olds life though.

Its not really a question of the police being armed, that doesnt solve the issue. The main problem comes from lack of discipline in the younger generation and their complete disregard for authority in any form. To rectify this means going back to disciplining youngsters, in the home, at school and at work. years of interferance by do-gooder's have taken away the parents and the teacher's power's to make these kids understand that its not alright to answer their parents or their teacher's back and if they do then they must suffer the consequences, the way I have seen some children behave begger's belief and its about time they were brought back into line, then we wouldnt have so many hardened criminals the likes of whom carried out the recent shooting. Its not just our home grown criminals we have to worry about, we're letting them in from all over the world and this can only point to stricter immigration controls. Well I've had my say, I dont know how many people will agree but it seems the only logical way out. Len

Nana, the wearing of a bulletproof vest, is one of the most uncomfortable item of clothing devised.its very weight does not allow one to be worn, for example for a complete shift.........ok in small doses but not easy to wear for long periods. Bob

I didn't know that Bob, but surely being called to a panic button situation you could surely slip it on before entering the area just as you would have to load your gun beforehand.

In an ideal world our Police Force would be armed but then you'll get people moaning when someone is shot by accident - like that incident on the train in London. Its not like the Police wanted to shoot him, they didnt do it for fun and yet they were critized for the force that was taken. At the end of the day the Policeman who pulled that trigger has to live with an innocent mans death for the rest of his life. The general public probably would like all Police Officers to be armed - as long as they shoot the bad guy, they are not allowed to make any mistakes

Its a ridiculous situation, some years ago many legitimate gun holder's were victimised and had to give up their sport, these people were licenced to hold a gun and were inspected at a regular interval, and they paid over the top for it, but that wasnt the problem, the police wanted to get rid of guns which they did, but only those poeple who had licence's lot out, the criminals were under no such duress, they could go and buy automatic weapons practically any time they wanted and could afford to do so, I believe the situation is still the same today, so what was the point of the earlier confiscation of weapons from people who knew how to take care of guns and respected them for what they were and had the facility to keep them in secure conditions. As has been said 'The law's an ASS' just a case of the government playing the number's game, which hasnt achieved anything as far as law and order are concerned Len

Len I agree wiuth all you have said. And the two officers were shot at close range as they got out of their car, so being armed would not have protected them, and probably a bullet proof vest would not, as they could easily have been shot n the head. We should have capital punishment for shooting or stabbing a police officer, and also for armed robbery, whether the arm is used or not. David

Violence has escalated in our country our Police force is one of the best and deserve full protection, if that means they have firearms so be it. It's time people stopped worrying about the rights of armed drugdealers/bank robbers! I know there's sometimes mistakes (like when deranged loons brandish a boomerang in a cloth (pretending they are armed) or carry a replica and end up getting shot but that's their own fault. I also agree with Capital punishment for those who murder police officers. Jacquie

wether we like it or not it will happen, its only a matter of time, and to be honest I dont see any alternative, we live in extreme times and I blame it on our society, there is no respect for the law or for the citizens of great Britain, we only have ourselves to blame for letting it get this far,'BLINKERS' comes to mind.

I DON'T think that all police officers should be armed. Some officers probably wouldn't pass the strict training courses to be armed and I still don't think it would put off the sort of people who carry out armed raids. What is really needed is much harsher sentencing by the courts. If anyone found carrying illegal arms knew they would get life imprisonment (and I mean LIFE) then maybe they would think twice about it. We are far too soft on wrong doers and I think it's time the civil liberties campaigners realised that for someone to expect civil liberty then they need to act in a CIIVIL way. Rant over. Kath. x

I believe that the confiscation of legally held weapons as a knee-jerk reaction to the Dunblane incident, just so that politicians could say they were 'doing something', was a mistake. Now, the only people carrying guns are criminals and nutters. And it's always been the case that more people are knifed or bludgeoned to death than shot, but there's never been a ban on kitchen knives or hammers. I'd rather a criminal breaking into my house in the middle of the night was uncertain as to whether I had a gun under the pillow or not!

In my ideal world the police won't be armed as a matter of routine. There are a lot of armed police around anyway, Birmingham is quite intimidating at times. It unnerves me to see policemen with machine guns under their arms. Nearly all countries with routinely armed police have higher murder rates then here, so it isn't a deterrent at all. I was very glad to see legislation outlawing gun ownership after Dunblane. The man who killed those children had a gun licence. The police have better things to do with their time than try to sort potential nutters from the sane and issue licences. I've never been able to understand why anyone would want to own a gun anyway - apart from shotguns to kill vermin if you live in the country. Gwynne

Gwynne, Sorry but that is just what the police ARE for. In that instance,THEY vet who is allowed, to own a weapon.If you dont fit the criteria, then you dont get allowed. Reasons for wanting a gun? similar to wanting a camera, or or skiing, motorcycling....... I could go on... Well, shooting IS an Olympic sport and a satisfying passtime for thousands of UK citizens. It Is closely regulated, and safety is paramount. As far as I know, NO ONE has ever been killed accidentally, in the sport of target shooting,(not including hunting here) It will be interesting, to see how the foreign shooters will get on, when they come to London/Britain, in 2012 no doubt our leaders will wrangle some kind of legislation, to allow them here. Bob

Hi Bob, That's where we disagree, I think. You say it should be the job of the police and I say there are far more important things that they should be dealing with than issuing licences for people's hobbies. There are those who have passed the vetting system, like Thomas Hamilton, who then go on to kill. The police are not qualified to assess the psychological state of anyone. It isn't their job and they are not qualified to do it. That's the job of psychologists or psychiatrists. I can't agree that reasons for wanting a gun are the same for wanting a camera. Cameras can't kill people. That's what guns were designed for. People have been killed with legally owned guns in the past, maybe not at the shooting range, but dead is dead. Not far from where I live a little boy shot and killed his sister with his uncle's legally owned shotgun. I think the laws need tightening not relaxing. Gwynne

Hi Wendy, I'm not saying that the poliice shouldn't be armed at all. I understand that some have to be, although it makes me feel uneasy. I accept that they undergo thorough training. But they still make mistakes, despite that. I don't want all policemen/women to automatically carry guns, I don't believe it is necessary. Gwynne

I have to add that for years I was very much 'Anti Guns' but Now we have a situation were Criminals are carrying guns, the only way to argue with a gun is with a gun!! Yes, I know there have always been criminals who carry guns but not to the extent that they do today, we need protection from these people and arming the police is a positive step.

Roxanne In all the cases I can think of in which a policeman/men were shot, I can't think that if they were armed it would have saved them, unless they had their weapon drawn and ready to fire - most policemen are shot before they can realise their assailant is armed. If they assume all assailants are armed, and always have guns drawn and ready to fire, this will just lead to more deaths. I am not sure whether criminals nowadays are more likely to have guns than previously. And I don't think tightening the licensing laws will achieve much - this was done after the Dunblane massacre and apparently there was more gun crime afterwards, not less. It is (so I've been told) quite easy to get a gun illegally if you are willing to pay. nell

Arming the police would unfortunately create many more problems than it solves - and I speak as a retired police inspector. It is probably too late now as we have allowed the horse to bolt but offensive weapon crime should receive proper punishment, none of this 'two year, out in less than one' nonsense. We need, in the short-term, more police stop and search rather than less etc etc, but as I say the ball of wool has already been unravelled. We reap what we have allowed to be sown. Happy days