|
Aneirin -> RE: Are the British more law abiding than Americans? (1/2/2011 10:47:14 AM)
|
quote:
but in a curiously British twist these HKs are set for semi-auto fire only quote:
ORIGINAL: RapierFugue
quote:
ORIGINAL: DarkSteven
US cops carry guns. Last I heard, British ones don't. Assuming that simply the uniform will get enough respect that a gun isn't needed.
The impression I get is that overall, the British tend to follow laws and assume others do as well. We Americans are more prone to think of those that break the rules.
Bit late to this thread, and haven't read the rest, but ...
Yes ... and yet and at the same time ... no.
The exact wording is that “police in England, Scotland and Wales (NI has its own foibles, for reasons I'm sure you can imagine) aren’t routinely armed.
In urban areas there are a large number of “Tactical” units, typically (for large cities like, say, London, Manchester and Liverpool) 10-12 per shift, by Force Area (not 10-12 per Station Area). Each “Tactical” comprises a high-speed car, at least one driver trained to Police Class One (their “pursuit” license, i.e. a highly trained speed driver) and one (or both) will be firearms licensed (typically both). In the boot there is a small arsenal, comprising several handguns (nominally 3 in case of malfunctions, sometimes more), and whatever is that force area’s load-out of higher-powered weaponry. In the Met (London) area, this means 2 x Heckler-Koch MP5s, but in a curiously British twist these HKs are set for semi-auto fire only. In more rural areas there will be fewer Tactical units, but they’re there – this all followed the Hungerford massacre, so that no area of major interest (i.e. not the wilds of Scotland or Wales, for example) is supposed to be more than 20 minutes from Tactical support.
What this means in practice is that, if a crime is committed where a firearm is used, or one in which one is believed to have been used, or threatened to be used, then in a matter of minutes several “Tactical” units will converge on the location, typically controlled via the Met’s main Helicopter Support Unit (has IR cameras, recording devices, etc). If the situation escalates (or looks like it might) then the HSU and/or CAD Room have the authority to call in the central firearms unit, who will turn up in numbers and deploy as required.
So, if you commit a gun crime, the chances are you’ll be staring down the barrel of something unpleasant in a very short period of time, typically 5 minutes or less.
As a nation I don't consider us any more lawful or respectful of the police than the US, especially as public confidence in, and support of, the police is at an all-time low in most major urban areas.
Oh and in most cities of the UK illegal guns are fairly easy to obtain - witness the recent shootings in London by youngsters enforcing their "turf". The thing is though that even possession, let alone use of, an illegal firearm carries a substantial prison sentence, so these idiots usually shoot one of their own kind, then get locked up for a prolonged period of time. This is what I believe is termed "win-win".
Just out of interest, the armed forces rifles, the SA80 are also set up for semi auto fire although they are capable of fully auto. Same with the older rhino guns, the L1A1 SLR, FN FAL the safety catch on the thing had been modified so the weapon cannot be flicked into automatic, to do that, the gun had to be broken the catch flicked over and the gun closed again. Iguess it is to stop our lot becoming trigger happy and wasting HM governments ammo.
|
|
|
|
