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@ISIDEWITHQuestionsCriminal IssuesStarted 6yrs agoActive 2yrs ago

Should police departments be allowed to use military grade equipment?

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.

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Answer Overview

Response rates from 709k UK voters.

46%
Yes
54%
No
30%
Yes
47%
No
9%
Yes, but only in response to extreme situations
7%
No, extreme situations should be handled by higher agencies with specialized training and equipment
7%
Yes, but with strict training on how and when to use the equipment
0%
No, and abolish the police

Historical Support

Trend of support over time for each answer from 709k UK voters.

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Historical Importance

Trend of how important this issue is for 709k UK voters.

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Other Popular Answers

Unique answers from UK voters whose views went beyond the provided options.

 @8PMY8CManswered…6yrs6Y

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.

 @8SL5S2Janswered…5yrs5Y

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.

 @BF2MYQBanswered…1wk1W

Stupid question. Are you talking about military grade stab vests or side arms or tanks… or military socks?

 @BDZ3NPVanswered…2wks2W

i think that it should be used if necessary but not if the equipment is used to treat those seen as criminals as subhuman

 @BDS38ZTanswered…4wks4W

The police are the enemy of the proletariat, giving them more power will make it harder to revolt against the bourgeoisie

 @BDPHQPYanswered…1mo1MO

Only if the situation is extremely Dangerous

 @BDNV3QTanswered…1mo1MO

only if there is a seriuos issue

 @BDM5YW6answered…1mo1MO

They should be allowed to have military grade equipment for the safety of the public

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Active 2mos ago

 @ISIDEWITHDiscuss this answer...…6yrs6Y

Should critical race theory be taught in K-12 education?

No

▲  19.8k6 replies4 agree1 disagree

About This Data

Based on 709k responses to this question.

These results come from iSideWith's ongoing political issues survey. We collect over a million responses per day, filter out duplicate and multiple submissions, and break the results down by political party, ideology, age, state, and census demographics (income, race, education, household).

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iSideWith. (2026). “Should police departments be allowed to use military grade equipment?” — Public Opinion Poll Results. Retrieved June 24, 2026, from https://uk.isidewith.com/polls/4583042053

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