Should British police officers be armed?

The severe terrorist threat facing Britain has reignited one of our fiercest debates. ‘Should British police officers be armed?’

Why does Britain hold firm against issuing guns to officers on the beat? It’s the single most obvious feature that sets the British bobby apart from their counterparts overseas.

Tourists and visitors regularly express surprise at the absence of firearms from the waists of officers patrolling the streets.

But to most inhabitants of the UK – with the notable exception of Northern Ireland – it is a normal, unremarkable state of affairs that most front-line officers do not carry guns.

Unremarkable, that is, until unarmed officers are killed in the line of duty. There are always those who question why Britain is out of step with most of the rest of the world, with the exceptions of the Republic of Ireland, New Zealand, Norway and a handful of other nations.

A police constable serving in a city in southern England gives his view:

“I have been in the police for 12 years, before that I was in the Army. I would happily carry a gun if the decision was made but it won’t ever happen.

“I don’t think practically it could work because of the training. Officers in this country are highly trained and this would extend to firearms training, too. But, at the moment, with all the cuts, we can’t put enough officers in the cars, let alone give them firearms training.

“Also, the police in this country are always under so much scrutiny. Look at the issue of Tasers, the civil liberty groups think they are one of the most inhumane things going.

“I was previously injured badly in an assault. My colleague and I feared for our lives – thankfully other officers came to our aid. I don’t think a gun – or a Taser for that matter – would have helped us in that situation. Communication is one of the best tools, and to be honest, having a gun could make an officer feel over-confident.”

For a heavily urbanised country of its population size, the situation in Great Britain is arguably unique.

Film director Michael Winner, founder of the Police Memorial Trust, and Tony Rayner, the former chairman of Essex Police Federation, have both called for officers to be routinely armed.

But Greater Manchester Chief Constable Sir Peter Fahy is quick to speak in support of the status quo.

“We are passionate that the British style of policing is routinely unarmed policing. Sadly we know from the experience in America and other countries that having armed officers certainly does not mean, sadly, that police officers do not end up getting shot.”

But one thing is clear. When asked, police officers say overwhelmingly that they wish to remain unarmed.

However, there were 15,705 police firearms operations in the year ending 31 March 2017, an increase of 1,056 (7%) operations when compared with the previous year.

And in the year ending 31 March 2017, 84% of firearms operations involved Armed Response Vehicles (ARVs), compared with 85% in the previous year.

There were ten incidents in which police firearms were discharged in the year ending 31 March 2017, up from seven incidents in the previous year.

There were 6,278 armed officers on 31 March 2017, an increase of 639 (11%) armed officers when compared with the previous year

International models

All major police forces in Europe, as well as the US, Canada and Australia routinely carry firearms, says Prof Peter Waddington. The exceptions are Britain, the Irish Republic, and New Zealand.

In Norway officers carry arms in their cars but not on their person, he says.

New Zealand has adopted an armed response model similar to Britain, says the International Law Enforcement Forum.

There was considerable debate there in 2010 when two officers were shot, and commissioner Peter Marshall wrote: “International experience shows that making firearms more accessible raises certain risks that are very difficult to control.”

These considerations included:

• risk of police having weapons taken from them

• risk of greater use of weapons against the public and/or offenders

• and ambush can never be controlled, whether or not officers are armed

Overall gun crime remains low. In the year ending 31 March 2017, there were 15,705 police firearms operations in England and Wales. Since the year ending 31 March 2009, there has been an overall decrease of 7,476 (-32%) police firearms operations.

Between the years ending 31 March 2009 and 31 March 2016, there had been a consistent downward trend in the overall number of firearms operations. However, in the year ending 31 March 2017, there was an increase of 1,056 (7%) police firearms operations.

In the year ending 31 March 2017, 13,223 (84%) of all firearms operations involved ARVs. This represents an increase of 723 (6%) on the previous year and an overall decrease of 5,651 (-30%) since the year ending 31 March 2009.

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