From: "Earl W", [EMAIL PROTECTED]
http://news.bbc.co.uk/hi/english/static/in_depth/uk/2001/life_of_crime/police.stm
It is a neighbourhood with a reputation for drugs and violence;
a place where gang rivalry has led to shootings. The police
officers patrolling these streets have loaded guns in their
holsters; armed units are ready to provide back up. Is this a
scene from the ghettos of the United States? No, this is
Nottingham in the heart of England, a country with a long
tradition of unarmed police officers who walk the beat with
only a truncheon for protection.
The decision to introduce armed patrols on some inner-city
housing estates in Nottingham has raised eyebrows. The days
of Dixon of Dock Green may be long gone, but is this a
symbolic moment in Britain's drift towards gun crime?
The police in Nottingham have played down suggestions that
it is the start of a process that will end with all street
patrols being routinely armed. The move has been targeted
at specific areas, with the intention of reassuring the
public and sending a strong message to young criminals not
to use guns.
Putting more armed officers on the streets is a very sensitive
issue for chief constables, who are well aware of the public's
unease. An opinion poll carried out for BBC News Online
reinforces that message. Only 34% of those questioned want to
see the police routinely carrying guns, while the majority -
59% - want to retain a service that is largely unarmed.
Getting the police to discuss these issues is difficult. We
approached 10 police forces, but none wanted to talk about
their own policy on firearms, referring us instead to the
Association of Chief Police Officers.
The fashion for firearms
Paul Acres is Chief Constable of the Hertfordshire force, and
spoke to us as chairman of ACPO's firearms committee. He
insists that the decision to issue guns to officers in some
parts of Nottingham does not amount to routine arming.
"I think the British public cherish the image of a police
officer who is very much part of the community and is very
close to them, and we recognise that firearms create a bit
of distance," he says.
"We are very happy to try to keep that image, but for people
to know that the officers who are armed are supported by a
very swift and effective response, and that there is no profit
in taking a firearm onto the streets or certainly challenging
our officers."
Senior police officers point to the spread of firearms in
cities like Manchester, Liverpool and Birmingham. And others
share a concern that for some young criminals, guns have
become part of their image.
"To carry a gun is hip," says former armed robber Danny
Thomas.
"They are carrying a gun with their Reebok trainers, with
their Moschino jeans, with their Gucci tops. It's a fashion
accessory now."
The deployment of armed police officers seems to have been
given a cautious welcome by residents in neighbourhoods that
have suffered from an increase in gun-related incidents. But
there are fears that instead of halting the spiral of
violence, increasing the number of armed officers on the
streets could encourage more criminals to carry guns.
Many British policemen and women worry that it could be the
first step on a slippery slope. After a number of officers
were killed in the mid-90s, the Police Federation of England
and Wales carried out a ballot of its members.
A survey (1995) of police attitudes to armed patrols found:
a.. 79% of police officers said they were not in favour of
being routinely armed
a.. But 40% said more officers should be trained to use
firearms
a.. 42% felt their life had been in serious danger as a
result of personal threat in the previous two years
a.. 39% had been threatened with firearm, knife or other
weapon in the previous two years
a.. In the event of a decision to arm all officers 43%
said they would be prepared to carry firearms on duty or
all of the time
a.. 6% said they would resign from the police service if
they were ordered to wear a firearm
Source: Police Federation
"A significant majority did not want to be permanently armed,"
says Federation chairman Fred Broughton.
"But they did want proper risk assessments. They specifically
wanted back up, and they wanted mobile armed-response vehicles.
They also wanted better training and they wanted better
management of armed situations.
"Many of us want to see the unarmed service and the traditions
of British policing maintained. But for how long we can
maintain them is the question."
There is an uneasy feeling by those with long experience in
the law enforcement business that Britain may be moving
gradually towards an armed police service.
John Alderson, the former Chief Constable of Devon and
Cornwall, says such a development would require the consent
of the public."At the end of the day this will be a
political decision based on the advice of the chief
constables," he says.
"It would be very, very important to inform the public in
advance and to educate them. It is not just a question of
arming the police; it is more than that. It is a change of
culture in our country that we would be unlikely ever to
reverse."
There is no doubt that in recent years people in Britain
have become more used to seeing police officers carrying
guns. The weapons are a visible deterrent to terrorists at
airports like Heathrow, and attract little comment when
carried by officers mounting guard on major trials at the
Old Bailey. Almost every force now has armed response
vehicles, ready to go to the scene of a robbery or siege.
But it is still a world away from the US, where the armed
police officer is a fact of life, and most forces have
paramilitary-style SWAT teams on call for major incidents.
Rigorous tests
Policy-makers in the UK have to keep the risks in
perspective. Gun-related crime is still a very small
element in our crime statistics. Last year there were about
4,000 armed incidents in England and Wales and 42 people
died from gunshot wounds. In the US about 30,000 people
each year are killed by guns - and another 90,000 injured.
In deciding whether to put more armed officers onto the
streets, the police also have to consider the possibility
that it could lead to more deaths. In the US a significant
number of police officers have been killed by their own
guns, and when they have opened fire on criminals, it has
often led to controversy.
In Britain, those selected for training in the use of
firearms are usually older, more experienced officers. They
have to pass rigorous tests in marksmanship and fitness.
There is a concern that arming a significantly larger
number of officers could lower standards.
It is a delicate balance for the police. They have to be
ready to respond to the threat from armed criminals, without
offending the majority of law-abiding citizens who still
believe that the bobby on the beat should not really be
carrying a gun.
But the growth of a criminal gun culture means that the
debate is far from over. Nottingham may not be the last
British city to see armed police officers patrolling its
streets.
=======
Police officers on routine street patrols should be armed:
Don't Know = 8%
Agree = 34%
Disagree = 59%
Arming the police more of the time will make it more or
less likely criminal will arm themselves?
Don't Know = 6%
More Likely = 50%
Less Likely = 7%
No Difference = 37%
Source: NOL Poll, ICM
--
This article is inaccurate, there were actually 62
firearm-related homicides in the past year, 42 of which were
committed with handguns. It's also a misleading comparison
with the US because those 62 killed are homicides, not
suicides, the bulk of people killed in the US with firearms
are suicides.
I've always said this survey is misleading as well, because
it is the view of the members of the Police Federation, not
a survey of police officers who patrol urban areas who would
be the most likely to need firearms, and probably the most
likely to be armed with them if the policy were changed.
Also, ACPO guidelines say nothing about being armed in response
to a "specific threat", which is something I read often in these
sort of article, they say that the police must have "reason to
suppose" that someone "may" be armed with a firearm, which is
a much lower standard that facing a specific threat.
Steve.
Cybershooters website: http://www.cybershooters.org
List admin: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
____________________________________________________________
T O P I C A -- Learn More. Surf Less.
Newsletters, Tips and Discussions on Topics You Choose.
http://www.topica.com/partner/tag01
