No longer safe for Unarmed Police in Britain?
Should "British police should carry guns in an era of terrorism and increasing violent crime"? This is a very interesting article in today's Washington Post.
READING, England -- During his training to become a British police officer, Ben Johnson recalled, an instructor told him and other recruits, "If you ever see somebody carrying a gun, turn and run away as quickly as possible."
"It was a bizarre situation," said Johnson, 34, a former police officer in Garland, Tex., and U.S. Army soldier who moved here with his British wife three years ago and became this country's first non-British police officer. He said running from trouble was exactly the opposite of what he learned as an American cop.
Now Johnson is publicly challenging one of the great traditions of law enforcement in Britain, what he calls the "old-fashioned idea of the unarmed bobby on the beat." He has written to his chief asking for permission to carry a gun, arguing that Britain is no longer safe for unarmed and under-trained police officers. He says he will resign if the chief refuses.
Johnson's case has caused a media furor here, partly because an American -- a Texan no less -- is claiming he feels less safe as a police officer in Britain than he did on the beat in the United States, which is routinely portrayed here as a gun-drunk Wild West.
But Johnson has also reignited a debate about whether more British police should carry guns in an era of terrorism and increasing violent crime. . . .
I really want to thank John Zumrick for sending me this link.
"It was a bizarre situation," said Johnson, 34, a former police officer in Garland, Tex., and U.S. Army soldier who moved here with his British wife three years ago and became this country's first non-British police officer. He said running from trouble was exactly the opposite of what he learned as an American cop.
Now Johnson is publicly challenging one of the great traditions of law enforcement in Britain, what he calls the "old-fashioned idea of the unarmed bobby on the beat." He has written to his chief asking for permission to carry a gun, arguing that Britain is no longer safe for unarmed and under-trained police officers. He says he will resign if the chief refuses.
Johnson's case has caused a media furor here, partly because an American -- a Texan no less -- is claiming he feels less safe as a police officer in Britain than he did on the beat in the United States, which is routinely portrayed here as a gun-drunk Wild West.
But Johnson has also reignited a debate about whether more British police should carry guns in an era of terrorism and increasing violent crime. . . .
I really want to thank John Zumrick for sending me this link.
posted by John Lott at 1:06 PM
2 Comments:
It's never been safe for unarmed people, let alone cops. Sometimes I wonder why Great Britain doesn't just slide off into the ocean and end all these absurd ideas. What is it going to take to wake them all up, for better or worse?
Instead of the British press lambasting this gentleman for being a former Texas LEO, they should be asking why there aren't more of them coming over to be police. That he would potentially give up carrying a sidearm and forgo all the training and education he received here to become a 'bobby' speaks volumes for his courage and strength of character. He knew what he was doing when he signed up, and accepted that risk. I think it is good of him to reevaluate and question policy. If he didn't, then people would not be focusing on the safety and well-being of police and british subjects.
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