Page 1 of POLL: In light of the murder of another officer ... should patrol officers be armed?

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/beds/bucks/herts/6740063.stm

PC5584 John Henry was brutally stabbed to death in LUTON and in light of this I am looking for peoples opinion as to whether officers have an appropriate level of protection

I voted no.....protection and backup is sufficient as it is.

reason.....I do not wish to see a situation like most states in the USA, where increasing police arnaments escalate with criminals responding with worse weapons, like Uzis.

Loads of USA civilians carry legal & illegal guns and rifles. so any heated argument can escalate into a shoot out. No thanks, the longer it takes to reach that situation with the majority of the UK, the better I feel.

Bandicoot is spot on. There`s a well documented correlation between the amout of illegal firearms in the US and the fact the police there are armed.

Arm the police, and those that despise authority will arm themselves `for protection`..

============================
Curse this infernal alcohol...


Writer`s Release
My Collection

No from me, despite almost a whole can of the new PAVA spray and several baton strikes having no real effect on a male last night.

From ACPO Guidance notes: "PAVA primarily affects the eyes causing closure and severe pain. The pain to the eyes is reported to be greater than that caused by CS"

What should we have done, shoot him? I don`t think so.

julianf

---

I voted yes with taser, there is an increase in police officers being stabbed whilst on duty and even though they have the necessary precautions such as a stab vest, it doesn`t always protect them especially with what happened recently when Pc Jon Henry when he was stabbed twice in the chest.

All this `oh they have sufficient protection` is crap, no they don't have sufficient protection, a can of CS gas is useless if someone is wearing glasses, which was what this murderer was wearing, or is taller than a police officer and built like a brick s***house..

Your average drunken thug isn't going to go out and buy a firearm, incase they arm the police with a taser, for the simple reason is that guns are illegal in this country, and the people who are likely to have access to firearms would be someone from the criminal underworld, and they are already armed.

floyd

I don`t want to see our Police armed with guns.

I was torn between sufficient protection already and Tasers - in the end, I opted for Tasers. Interesting to see that so far those 2 options are even.

Obviously we are agreeing on no firearms but are also worried about the safety of the Police.

I went for taser. We are lucky to live in a country that does not allow fire arms. Lets keep it that way.

The Jackal

---

Visit Chainsaw Films

Confucius say
"Man who go to bed with sex problem on mind,
Wake up with solution in hand"

Quote:
There`s a well documented correlation between the amout of illegal firearms in the US and the fact the police there are armed.

I would suggest there`s also a correlation between the amount of illegal guns and the proliferation of legal gun shops in the US.
It stands to reason,IMO,that the legal trade of guns makes obtaining illegal ones easier.
It only needs a percentage of guns to disappear off the legal radar to mount up.
The fact we don`t have a huge legal trade in weapons means it must be infinitely harder to obtain illegal ones here.
I wouldn`t really have a clue where to start buying an illegal weapon here,but I bet you it`s relatively easy in the US and I bet you most/all could be traced to legal sources.
Damned sight easier to buy an illegal gun out of the back door of a legal shop,for example.
So even if we did arm the police here,I can`t see `shoot outs` becoming a regular occurrence,simply because weapons are infinitely harder to come across here,despite what the press would have us believe.

This item was edited on Monday, 18th June 2007, 14:29

Quote:
I wouldn`t really have a clue where to start buying an illegal weapon here

south london would be a good place to start.. vaux, clapham.. that sorta area

you need a list of pubs?

---

*claps...
http://www.cyber-cinema.com/british/clockorangeTunnel.jpg">http://www.cyber-cinema.com/british/clockorangeTunnel.jpg" class="forumImage" />

Quote:
south london would be a good place to start.. vaux, clapham.. that sorta area
you need a list of pubs?

Oh I`m sure it`s possible,but I still say it`s harder to do so here than the US.
I`d probably look silly anyway.
I`d either blurt it out,leading to silence in the pub,or I`d try and come out with ridiculous,rambling slang and end up with something completely ridiculous instead.

"You know....a current bun and some Ruud Gullits..." :/

This item was edited on Monday, 18th June 2007, 14:33