[aldo_14]

Arm all Police. Prevention is better than cure. ALthough if i was in charge, Martial law would be an everyday thing, The army would be the arm of the law and it would be a police state, Capital punishment worked before, it can work again.
BTW im 23, ex soldier and i highly abhor disrispect of moral and social standards of living.
Max offensive action towards crime will stamp it out !!

The do-gooders ruined our country and i for one would (and have) layed happy-slappers out cold for messing about on the same bus as me.

Hi stalin, I thought you were dead?

[vyper]

[q]You really think that armed police force will turn your country in to a forced labor camp?[/q]

You haven't seen Tony Blair, have you?

[Prophet]

I have heard of him... He's that Bush wannabe, isn't he?

[Roanoke]

Has the shooting of that Brazilian guy (sory, forget his name) even been resolved ?

[pyro-manic]

"Whoops" seems to be about the size of it. I'm not aware of anyone being charged yet...

[aldo_14]

It seems pretty clear it was one of the most stupid, ****ed up uses of a weapon by a policement in British, nay world history, but there's been no official action.

Some of the information from the impartial investigation was leaked, though.  It included;
- the 'suspect' was wearing a denim jacket  (you can assume '' around suspect from now on....)
- the suspect was observed leaving a block of flat under surveillance, by an officer who only caught a brief glimpse because he was taking a piss
- the suspect was followed, and they watched him get onto a bus without reacting to it.
- the suspect was actually in the 'custody' of a civillian security guard (I forget the exact job this guy idd, may have been transport police or somesuch), who was actually pinning him (in response to the police calling on him to surrender)
- the suspect was not only shot in the head about 6 times point blank, but they actually missed him twice.  **** knows what they train police marksmen with nowadays, water pistols?
- the chief of the Met tried to block / hold up the investigation until he was reminded it was a legal necessitity to have an independent investigation every time an armed officer killed someone

When this first happened, I remember saying we should wait to find out what happened before judging.  Well, we have a fair idea now, and it was supremely ****ed up.

[Roanoke]

and to makes things worse they tried to cover it up by lying about the details. I wouldn't trust those guys with a spud gun.

[Clave]

It's all about training...

We also happen to be the only unarmed police force in Europe....

The airport police ARE armed, with MP5s no less, and nobody blinks at that, so why not give the coppers pistols? (and decent protective clothing)

Also, heh.. bring back hanging! for a select few anyway...

[Colonol Dekker]

LOL, i'm not stalin,

Its hard for me to express intent and feeling through text, I admit in hindsight my view comes across as hard. But anyone who lives around  south london (Brixton/Lewisham/Peckham/Catford/Camberwell) and goes out at night can at least empaphise the the situation. Maybe not my view but the context of an emotion that manifests itself in certain circumstances.

[aldo_14]

It's all about training...

We also happen to be the only unarmed police force in Europe....

The airport police ARE armed, with MP5s no less, and nobody blinks at that, so why not give the coppers pistols? (and decent protective clothing)

Because they don't need pistols.  Protective clothing maybe, but bulletproof vests have a downside for regular policing in weight and bulk.

[Clave]

So.. let me get this straight, you actually WANT the murdering scum to get off scot-free and have the advantage over the police in every confrontation?  These people are VERMIN, and should be caught as soon as possible and put away for life, or if they refuse to surrender, be put down like the bottom-feeding scum-suckers that they are.  Anyone who kills a policeman should be hanged, anyone who kills a policewoman should be thrown in an acid bath...

[aldo_14]

So.. let me get this straight, you actually WANT the murdering scum to get off scot-free and have the advantage over the police in every confrontation? These people are VERMIN, and should be caught as soon as possible and put away for life, or if they refuse to surrender, be put down like the bottom-feeding scum-suckers that they are. Anyone who kills a policeman should be hanged, anyone who kills a policewoman should be thrown in an acid bath...

If you're inferring that from me not wanting police to be armed, then you're talking out your arse.

[Janos]

So.. let me get this straight, you actually WANT the murdering scum to get off scot-free and have the advantage over the police in every confrontation?  These people are VERMIN, and should be caught as soon as possible and put away for life, or if they refuse to surrender, be put down like the bottom-feeding scum-suckers that they are.  Anyone who kills a policeman should be hanged, anyone who kills a policewoman should be thrown in an acid bath...

wow that's some nasty stuff there dood

[Flipside]

So.. let me get this straight, you actually WANT the murdering scum to get off scot-free and have the advantage over the police in every confrontation? These people are VERMIN, and should be caught as soon as possible and put away for life, or if they refuse to surrender, be put down like the bottom-feeding scum-suckers that they are. Anyone who kills a policeman should be hanged, anyone who kills a policewoman should be thrown in an acid bath...

And no-one is saying the Police shouldn't be armed, the discussion is about whether your average Bobby on the beat should carry a gun. I don't believe they should. If a Policeman shots a civilian in mistaken belief he/she is commiting a crime, should we hang him then? Or drop WPC's in an acid bath?
It's like the 90 day thing, everyone is going 'Yay! 90 days didn't get through!', when in fact, they still managed to increase the incarceration time to longer than some people get for Causing Death by Drunk Driving. When the Police wanted Tazers, everyone was going 'Oh no! If you have a pacemaker it might kill you!!11!'. All of a sudden something that is far far more dangerous is fine.

[Clave]

Eh, I'm just in a bad mood - cutting back on sugar makes me angry, but having too much will probably kill me...

Realistically speaking - the average bobby needs to be trained better, and then maybe they could have guns...

But I still stand by capital punishment for first-degree murder especially for the police - they of all people should know better.

It's pretty simple - if you kill and then get killed by the State, then you don't get the chance to kill again.

[pyro-manic]

But what if it later emerged that you didn't in fact kill anyone? That's the big problem with the death penalty....

[Clave]

That is down to burden of proof... If there is any doubt whatsoever, then the death penalty must not be applied.

[Kosh]

That is down to burden of proof... If there is any doubt whatsoever, then the death penalty must not be applied.

Sounds great in theory, but in reality it isn't quite that clean.

[aldo_14]

Especially with emotive cases.