Yes, but with strict training on how and when to use the equipment

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.

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.

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.

I think the introduction of militarisation in the police creates the incentive for harsher forms of violence against those who might not be correctly subjected to it.

The British police has never been a militarised force and was designed to serve the public. It has been unarmed since its inception during a time where gangs would be heavily armed and it somehow worked well. There is no justification for militarising the service other than using them as enforcers of government edicts and tyranny. If the government wants to shoot people, they are free to put the military on the street and deal with the consequences of this decision. The police needs to have the trust and respect of the communities they serve, not the criminals they arrest nor the overzealous delinquents that think that the solution of every problem is force.

If the forces have regular and strict training on the use and restrictions of these weapons then they should be allowed to have them as in certain dire situations the police would need to take immediate action.

police do not need military grade equipment, they are the keepers of peace and should be more so involved in social help in the communities they reside in

No because I don’t believe the sort of opposition they face on the streets equates to retaliation with military grade weapons it’s not a war zone

police already often abuse their power so giving them military grade weapons would inevitably make them even more corrupt

So far many police officers have not stopped killing people and raping people despite their training so how effective is this training going to be? They've already managed to kill people with the weapons that they have why should we give them more.

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.

police are there to prevent trouble in the public how is machine guns a protective easure it is a measure to install fear

With specific exemptions for counter terror units, police need to be approachable and more trained minimum training of 4000-5000 hours!

Strict training can't include every situation and/or it's different in actual situations rather then in training.

No person and certainly not those whose job it is to maintain peace should be given the supreme power to decide when someone is fit to die

Possession of military grade equipment may result in encounter with police officers escalated to a level that would not have been reached if none was possessed by officers. Unnecessary actions may be taken purely on the basis of a set of training with the assumption that the use of military grade equipment is needed.

They may abuse it as they are seen as ‘more powerful’ and their views and political opinions will change their way of using it properly. Just because someone is told something, doesn’t mean they always listen.

It's still inhumane to imagine that the sort of equipment could be used against the civilians of Britain.

No person and certainly not those whose job it is to maintain peace should be given the supreme power to decide when someone is fit to die

The proliferation of weapons themselves would still increase incidents regardless of how good training is because no amount of training can prevent all possible instances of error.

The proliferation of weapons themselves would still increase incidents regardless of how good training is because no amount of training can prevent all possible instances of error.

Unfortunately training does not negate the temperaments of those using the equipment. Our police already abuse many of the systems and really are a mafia at times. Why would you give them even more power for violence?

If the police on the streets carry guns criminals will start to do the same and it will harm more lives and bystanders.

Most officer don’t know the laws that they are citing to charge you with, so how would more training on new topics matter if they don’t understand their original training?

I do not think having what amounts to an occupying military will make the streets safer. The police right now cannot be trusted not to abuse the equipment they have currently, I do not see how giving them more dangerous weapons will not increase the severity of police violence.