It has its moments, both good and bad. It’s nothing like as militarized as some US forces seem to be, but the whole structure of policing here is different, different demographics, different problems, different history. shrug Direct comparisons have little merit, I think.
Do you have a citation on that, because I find it, well, hard to believe.
Because that is not the truth.
They can only shoot on instruction from Bronze command.
Congratulations. Double straw man argument.
But one thing is clear. When asked, police officers say overwhelmingly that they wish to remain unarmed.
A 2006 survey of 47,328 Police Federation members found 82% did not want officers to be routinely armed on duty, despite almost half saying their lives had been “in serious jeopardy” during the previous three years.
Agreed. But it does show that policing by consent is possible in a modern democracy. And that use of firearms is a choice predicated on politics.
You have yet to address in a realistic fashion the question I asked of you earlier - what a European police officer would have done differently that would not have resulted in Brown being killed.
I do not acknowledge that “run away and call for help” upon observing two men jaywalking, or upon being physically assaulted through the window of one’s cruiser, is an appropriate response for a policeman of my nation, your nation, or any nation.
Of course, your public (in 2006 anyway) was pretty split on the issue (47% for, 48% against arming police), and this only really affects your version of beat cops…you do, in fact, have armed response units and your cruisers are armed, as well as about 5% of your regular force (mostly sergeants and officers, which is really unsurprising considering you are Brits :p). And really you guys cling to this not arming beat cops thing because of historical reasons stemming from the whole red coats massive military force verse having a peoples police force (again, unsurprising considering the source). Finally, in the article you link to it says quite clearly that this unarmed cops thingy is pretty much an outlier with most other countries, not just us evil/stupid/uncivilized Americans.
The fact that the majority of the beat cops not currently armed (well, again, in 2006…is this the same today as then?) don’t want to be armed is true enough, but hardly tells the whole story.
Intrigued by what you mean by this in terms of UK policing. Here’s a hint: even constables are officers, ehe.
Read the article…it talks about who is armed and who isn’t which was the point I was getting at.
And there lies your problem.
So let me just confirm this; it is your opinion that a police officer, a person sworn to uphold the law and serve the cause of justice, upon observing a crime in progress, should run away and allow the crime to go unimpeded?
Police remain unarmed in general. There are response units and there are armed police at airports and embassies and elsewhere.
Police Scotland tried regularly arming firearm trained officers earlier this year and were forced to stop the experiment by public protests.
The rest of your historical and current take is poorly argued and largely irrelevant.
There is a strong commitment to policing by consent rather than by force- even dropping the term Police Force for Police Service.
And what happens when your “servants” encounter people who don’t consent to being policed?
In the UK all police are in the office of constable from raw recruits to the Chief Constable of the Metropolitan Police. All are officers - police officers. There is no separate officer class.
Armed officers are usually constables and sergeants with management by Inspectors and Superintendents who are usually firearm trained though hands off.
Nice straw man.
Police should ensure they have appropriate support before engaging in a dangerous situation. It is called tactical awareness.
They use skill and minimum force. It works well.
And you define “observing a person in the act of jaywalking” as a “dangerous situation” that requires “appropriate support”?
What is the minimum amount of force required when you are being pinned inside a vehicle and punched in the face by a person who outweighs you?