This is England - Armed police on routine patrol

Very very quietly Britain changed, imo for the worse.
Why? because our local bobbies, the police force now carry Glock 17's.

It was inevitable that this should happen but truly a shock. I have seen armed respne units at very close range and in fairness they did a great job of destroying the career of a drug dealer that lived two doors from me, but this is altogether different
Here's the link
bbc.co.uk...


I will not cease from Mental Fight,
Nor shall my Sword sleep in my hand
Till we have built Jerusalem,
In England's green & pleasant Land

Thanks for reading

CD

a reply to: countingdown

How long did you think your country could live safe in a country with all the bad guys having weapons? Thats why we in America have them.

And some like me (Glock 17 & Glock 30) have licenses to carry them around. The UK was never unique...in fact...theyve been behind the times in citizen safety.

*Example: 3 Bobbies run after a man with an assault rifle. "STOP! Or we will be forced to grab you!" Seriously? Think about that.

Well, having lived in the uk all my life (nearly 60 years) , I can honestly say that for the first time in all those years I will now be worried about going out late at night!

We have no need for this! All this will do is cause lots of bad guys to also get guns.

Bad move, done purely for profit - Move or I'll shoot you gets the job done quick with less police wages to be paid.

a reply to: mysterioustranger

As Eddie Murphy once said of British police "Stop! or i'll say stop again"

However, police with guns is a bad way to go imo - violence begets violence, real or imagined.
We have policed the country successfully without them for a while now and the bad guys have always had guns.

a reply to: countingdown

Welcome UK to the upgraded Police State. Now you'll get to be just like us here in the US. Cops shooting people left and right and even your dogs.

Maybe you guys should demand your own firearms rights back.

Sad day for the UK.

a reply to: Bassago
The general concensus will be to demand the right to bear arms

I agree
Its sad to see

The salient points from the B.B.C. story;
Specialist units have been allowed to carry guns for a while.
The authorities see no reason why these units should not carry out normal policing duties if they're not needed for an armed response emergency.
The authorities see no reason why they should leave their guns behind while carrying out normal policing duties.
Hence the phenomenon of policemen carrying guns.
Not quite the same thing as "policemen routinely armed", but possibly the thin end of the wedge.

I'd be interested to know how many forces in England are doing this or if it's largely happening in Scotland , either way it's the thin end of the wedge.

a reply to: Bassago

Heck yeah. Half the reason I always carry a firearm is because I do not trust the American police. Other half is I dont trust the American People Thank god I have never had to use it.

The uniforms they are wearing, are they a new addition?
The reason I ask is the police in my state in Australia changed from light blue to black.
The picture you posted could well be mistaken for our boys in blue...black.
Not sure what type of gun our coppers wear.

Cops here have always carried guns, since I have lived here anyways, you get the odd rouge cop likes shooting a bad guy instead of bringing him down with a taser, but nothing like the US cops.

I am constantly amazed how changes in one Country filter through to other countries, it's like a dress rehearsal.

I also think it is a shame that the UK Police think it is nesserary to carry firearms, lets not forget the gearing up for cival unrest option.

a reply to: countingdown

a reply to: DISRAELI

I dont buy it, how can an 'Armed Responce Unit' actually respond to anything else if they are at a fight outside a fast food outlet?
They were armed cops on regular duty and its wrong

a reply to: keenasbro
The check bands around the caps are a Scottish thing, and the same may apply to the caps themselves.
However, the black colour may be a novelty for the armed units.

a reply to: countingdown
I'm not defending the policy, just summarising it.

a reply to: DISRAELI

I realise that, I did't mean to leap on yu like that - apologies

I agree thin end of the wedge.

The uniform has become more military recently, most wear black anti-stab vests (bullet proof?)

Bit of misleading title .....This is Scotland would have been more appropriate after reading the article.

We have had armed response units for a long time. But in the main we are used to an unarmed police force here in the UK and it is a little disconcerting to see armed officers on routine patrol.

All the reasons given for firearms officers carrying out 'normal policing' duties when other officers aren't available seems to be the usual spin on things we get from politicians, corporations and now the police force.

I guess this is sadly a sign of the times.

a reply to: countingdown

I'm just wondering what the last four lines of your paragraph means? It talks about Jerusalem in England, and I'd like to know what that's meant to mean. Elaborate please. or are you just hoping someone responds like I have and dont know what it means either.

originally posted by: Danny85
a reply to: countingdown

I'm just wondering what the last four lines of your paragraph means? It talks about Jerusalem in England, and I'd like to know what that's meant to mean. Elaborate please. or are you just hoping someone responds like I have and dont know what it means either.

Jerusalem is the "unofficial" National Anthem of England used at the recent Commonwealth Games. Those four lines are lyrics from it.

Its by William Blake
wikipedia.org...

Take a look at this link and tell me what you think about the similarities between the two uniforms pls, caps and all.

I would have posted a pic if I knew how sorry.

a reply to: countingdown

a reply to: mirageman

Well never heard of it before. Glad to be enlightened, but I will stick with God Save the Queen, even though I'm not a royalist its the one I know.