Quote:
Originally Posted by Chris
"Polizei, kommen mit den Händen in der Luft" ... or something.
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Yes,the words were something like that. I was glad they weren't for me!
By the way,the burglar(s) wasn't caught.They didn't even see anyone,maybe they were long gone,who knows?
What matters was that the cops had the means to go in with the tools to protect themselves and me best they could.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Chris
What you're describing here serves to underscore the fundamental difference between policing in the UK and just about everywhere else.
If you advocate a similar approach by British police, then you're calling for far more than simply allowing them to wear a side arm as a matter of routine. You're calling for a serious shift in the rules governing the use of police firearms, and that in turn calls for a shift in the relationship between the police and the public.
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Well,why shouldn't they wear a sidearm as routine? It's about having the tools for the job. I've said this before,a cop having to use his gun is so rare,but when (s)he needs it should have it. I expect the police to be able to deal with threats when they arise,that's what they do. In this country,police have to run from armed threat and leave the public vulnerable. During the Derek Bird shooting some officers could have stopped him but had to retreat due to being unarmed...
By the time the ARV arrives it's too late.How is that acceptable?
Quote:
Originally Posted by Chris
AFAIK at present firearms are not deployed unless there's a reasonable suspicion that the suspect is armed. It's the same basic principle of meeting force with comparable force that allows a British homeowner to blow a burglar's head off with his own shotgun. It's the same because Peel's of model of policing by consent, with the police officer simply a uniformed civilian with few powers over and above those of anyone else. Allowing police officers to draw a firearm without any cause other than to force compliance on a suspect puts things on a totally different footing.
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That is another thing that is just wrong,imo. Remember the guy who was wielding a machete on the streets of London and it took twenty or so constables to take him down? Those constables had to defend themselves with dustbin lids!
Normally a scenario like that could be resolved with two cops with Glocks.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cX5CPx4RKWw
How is this acceptable?
What about those poor officers who were attacked by a dog and almost torn to shreds? They were helpless and had to wait for an ARV.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1qhSwyCgx00
How is that acceptable?
Quote:
Originally Posted by Chris
In many other places policing is a paramilitary operation. It's not uncommon to see police officers in Europe routinely dressed in the sort of gear you don't see in the UK unless there's a full-scale riot in progress. I don't think we need to create that kind of separation between those of us who wear a uniform and those of us who don't.
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Really? Regular cops in full riot gear? Where? I've been to Spain,Italy and Germany in the past 2 months and haven't see that anywhere. What I did see however were nice,chatty,approachable cops in nice,functional uniforms (unlike UK police uniforms which seem to be a cobbled-together mess).
I really don't understand this separation you refer to? European police are just as nice and approachable as over here.Heck,I found US cops to be great a lot of the time. If you are polite and up-front most cops will be the same to you. Respect goes a long way.
However I also think that as persons of authority cops need to be a little bit 'detached'. They have to be. They enforce the law. If need be against your will.If need be at the tip of a gun.
And as one last thing,this 'policing by consent' thing.... sorry,I just don't get that. I think it's another lie we like to tell ourselves. Police don't police by consent. They keep the peace and enforce the law,wether you or I like it or not.
Considering how utterly rude and disrespectful so many of the public seem to be towards the police here,I think a re-evaluation of public relations between police and public may be in order.
R.I.P WPC Bone
R.I.P.WPC Hughes
---------- Post added at 15:12 ---------- Previous post was at 15:10 ----------
Quote:
Originally Posted by Chris
It really isn't - it just happens to be something you agree with. I don't have time to reply fully at the moment as I'm writing an article about the distractions of internet access in the office.  |
Yeah,and because it just happens to be something you disagree with it isn't well put?
---------- Post added at 15:23 ---------- Previous post was at 15:12 ----------
Quote:
Originally Posted by Pierre
I'd really love to know how many times the police, in the UK, actually do come up against "axe wielding thugs"
Well with a range of approx 35ft unless the knife and axe wielding thugs are the last of the mohicans you should be able to stop them.
Someone else who thinks Hill Street Blues was a factual dosumentary series............Let's be careful out there.
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Police get attacked by people with knives,baseball bats,Samurai swords and sometimes even axes.... how do you suggest they defend themselves effectively?
You know a taser doesn't always work,right? Sometimes a taser isn't enough to stop someone.
Also,there's no need for your sarky comments.I've spent a long time in societies where police are routinely armed.My observation is that it is a good thing.Which by the way is the observation in most of the rest of the planet's police forces.
By the way...never seen Hill Street Blues.
Reality informed my opinion,not fiction
