Most British police officers (except in Northern Ireland) are not routinely armed. Instead, they rely on specially trained Authorised Firearms Officers (AFO) to attend incidents where firearms are necessary. Specialist Firearms Officers are usually trained to a higher standard than AFOs, because they are likely to be required to enter besieged premises. The vast majority of firearms used by British police are semi-automatic. The most common firearms employed by British armed units are the Glock 17 9mm pistol, the Heckler and Koch (H&K) MP5SF 9mm (single fire) carbine and the H&K G36C (single fire) 5.56mm carbine. Walther P99 - carried by Nottinghamshire Police AFOs.
@ISIDEWITH3yrs3Y
No
@9G5C5J66mos6MO
While the police do need to be monitored & reformed to make policing by consent the standard, abolishing the police doesn’t help reduce crime or improve social outcomes
@9K2J9R42mos2MO
An Emory University did a multi-year meta study analysing the effects of militarising the police in the United States and showed no link between the militarisation and reduction in crime. THis shows pretty conclusively that such policies have nothing to do with reality and are purely vibes based.
@9FLCRN97mos7MO
Many police have mental health issues that cause them to become derailed due to the services they have to provide.
@9FJYPW67mos7MO
People if colour are ten times more likely to be stopped and searched by police, now imagine how many more people of colour would be unjustly killed if those police were armed
@ISIDEWITH3yrs3Y
Yes
@9GVXVXZ5mos5MO
Police can deal with a seemingly low level incident which can develop to a major incident such as dealing with an OCG or a counter terror scenario in a matter of minutes and paired with being under equipped their ability to preserve life is greatly reduced.
@9FV77GN7mos7MO
The police occasionally need militaristic firepower to deal with large, unexpected incidents such as terrorist attacks. However, the police should not be allowed to use these resources for everyday policing or the policing of peaceful protests.
@9FMFBBPLiberal Democrat7mos7MO
Unless every single person can be completely trusted to not attack anyone or cause any crimes, complete removal of the police will never work to make a functional country.
@ISIDEWITH3yrs3Y
No, extreme situations should be handled by higher agencies with specialized training and equipment
@9G9RRQQAnimal Welfare6mos6MO
Police officers such as Authorised Firearms Officers, Specialist Firearms Officers and Counter Terrorism-SFO receive training and equipment that is equivalent and in some cases more advanced than that of Special Forces units, and as such are a better tactical option when dealing with extreme situations. They operate with more oversight and are more accountable than operators within those units.
@9JW7FRW2mos2MO
Too high a risk to members of the public, and government officials, if weapons are not permitted to deal with major criminals or terrorists.
@9JNQDNN2mos2MO
In the context of a terrorist attack the police would need to handle it quickly before too much damage is done, but if they are unarmed then they would be at a major disadvantage.
@9H3MNQY5mos5MO
The police do not get the respect that they deserve, therefore I believe by militarising the police will cut down on crime on the streets.
@ISIDEWITH3yrs3Y
Yes, but with strict training on how and when to use the equipment
@9GD5XQ76mos6MO
I don’t believe it is a good idea to give the police department military weapons, that is an easy way to sabotage/corrupt the department.
@9GHHTFC6mos6MO
I don't think it is a good idea to give the police military-grade weapons as they could abuse them, and make them more corrupt.
@9GLCCF66mos6MO
No because people will still misuse their equipment and hurt people. They will be able to get away with it because the system sucks and is biased against certain people.
@9LJWQFK5 days5D
Police if have military grade equipment will always be able to use it in the wrong circumstance much like what has happened in London with the Pava spray on the mentally ill community in London.
@ISIDEWITH3yrs3Y
@ISIDEWITH3yrs3Y
No, and abolish the police
@9FMFBBPLiberal Democrat7mos7MO
Abolishing the police causes crime rates to skyrocket, and no one feels safe in the case that they are attacked.
@9FHF84C7mos7MO
We need the police in order to keep the streets safe and as long as the police are fully vetted and trained they should be able to carry weapons wqual to that of the military, with adequate mental health checks and support
@9FG8MD7Conservative7mos7MO
The police need to have all necessary resources to guarantee safety for the Citizens of the United Kingdom, without a well funded police force, criminals can keep on committing crimes.
@9FFWMBP7mos7MO
Police are a vital part of the community and though some are bad they are a required part to keep us safe
Only in extreme circumstances where people are in need of being protected. I would argue that a lot of military grade equipment and police brutality is abused in this country, and targets a lot of people who often are completely peaceful. It’s abused.
@8PMY8CM3yrs3Y
No, policing in the UK is based on the principal of ''policing by consent'' and is highly respected around the world for this as well as being an unarmed police force.
@9LJZD975 days5D
Military grade means the equipment is cheap they need equipment right for the job whatever it may be
@9LG329L1wk1W
Military grade equipment isn't even a real thing and the question confuses the real issue. The police should not be using excessive lethal force or weaponry that encourages it.
@9LD6X8L2wks2W
No, absolutely not. In fact the police deserve scorn and scrutiny as does any politician who uses the police as a threat against UK citizens
@9KZJBCN1mo1MO
Police should be allowed to use military grade equipment only with strict, complete training. They should know when to use the equipment, and how to handle it. It should only be allowed in extreme situations.
@9KG4RJ42mos2MO
No and defund the police to allow for other agencies to support society in a more beneficial way. I.e. through education, mental health, welfare, housing, social services etc
@9K36NFD2mos2MO
Extreme situations and strict training on how and when to use the equipment should be enforced. There should also be a strict military grade equipment regulation to ensure that none of the public/people who do not work for the police can get access to equipment.
@9JRXCVF2mos2MO
yes, but only under the circumstance that the special agencies mentioned need backup, so therefore only under incredibly bad circumstances
@9J6K4W53mos3MO
Yes , as long as they are trained correctly and are medically checked physically and mentally more than once a year. Also , they can only use it in extreme situations such as a terrorist attack.
@9HV846S4mos4MO
Not regular officers, no. only specially trained units and only in response to extreme situation in which it is required
@9HP2V8G4mos4MO
Yes, in extreme situations, however for the miss use of any of the equipment, or bystander injury or excessive force should be delt with as an assault with deadly weapons charge by the full extent of the justice system
@9HMFC95 4mos4MO
Not in the current way the police handles things. Too much political bias and two tiered policing, should be handled by independents highly trained and non contested
@9HKPXTD4mos4MO
Yes, but with strict training on how and when to use euipment and only in response to extreme situations. And only senior/police who have been in the force for a long time and have a ‘clean record’.
Yes but strict training and safety measure need to be imposed. Therapy and support for staff and members of the public impacted.
@9H7ZKJQ5mos5MO
This question is too vague what is ‘military grade equipment’ if firearms there needs to be firearms
@9GZYTRX5mos5MO
there are a lot of police departments who abuse their power so military grade equipment should not be used as there is never a reason to use such extreme weapons on people
@9GZYJSM5mos5MO
humans should stop hurting each other it doesn't change anything there will always be fights and violence
@9GZM7QF5mos5MO
Absolutely ridiculous, the military use military equipment- police use policing equipment. Why not have police rolling around in tanks and military grade helicopters as well?
@9GTQH5M5mos5MO
Outside of potentially Northern Ireland, which is an entirely different reality to the rest of the UK, police forces in the UK do not typically have "military grade equipment", which is more such a US issue.
@9GN4Z2M6mos6MO
no the police often over react and giving them military grade equipment will end up with lots of people killed as there are many racist and dirty cops.
@9GJYNRV6mos6MO
Each County/City department should have 2-4 armed unit with guns all other police should be unarmed with only a taser
@9GBP37H6mos6MO
I think that the equiptment should be used for major issues such as terroist attacks, hostage etc but if its someone shoplifting its not needed
@9G5VCT46mos6MO
Yes, only special forces of the police departments should be allowed to use them and only in case of responding to a very serious and dangerous actions.
@9G5MCLJ6mos6MO
They should have strict training on how and when to use the equipment, and only in response to extreme situations, while higher agencies arrive.
The historical activity of users engaging with this question.
Loading data...
Loading chart...
Loading the political themes of users that engaged with this discussion
Loading data...
