Posted on 10/07/2007 10:23:40 AM PDT by janetjanet998
Edited on 10/07/2007 10:34:41 PM PDT by Admin Moderator. [history]
“””Honestly, it’s NOT as common as it would seem. You have to consider the numbers... The population of the entire United States is enormously larger than that of England.”””
Very true. It’s 5 times the population size of the U.K. The U.K has around 50 to 100 gun murders per year. However, America has on average over 10,000 gun murders each year. That’s 100 to 200 times the number that the U.K suffers, but only 5 times the population.
As I said, I can see why you as an American like to see police armed with guns but it’s a different story here. We find it ‘normal’ to have police without guns.
If I lived in America I would also be happier to see cops with guns...seeing as almost everybody else there has them. It seems only right and fair.
“”aren’t your knife murder rates rather high now?””
It’s still not all that high. England’s average murder rate(all causes)per year is somewhere around 500 to 800. In the last year for figures (2005/2006) England suffered around 700 murders, that was including the London bombings. That same period, America suffered nearly 17,000 murders. That’s around 24 times the murders yet, again, America only has 5 times the population.
Besides, I’d rather deal with somebody carrying a knife than a gun. A person wielding a knife cannot storm through a college campus wiping out entire classrooms within the blink of an eye before anybody can stop him.
“”The media makes it sound like these things happen ALL the time — which it doesn’t. You also have to consider how many law-abiding citizens own guns in our country that NEVER make the news, or are able to protect themselves from those who mean to do them harm (Those stories almost NEVER make the news and happen a LOT more than things like the one today...).””
All of that I agree with. You are quite right. Sensational headlines are obviously the ones we are going to hear about.
“”Anyway... I’m glad to know you at least have S.W.A.T. teams when needed — especially in light of the terrorist events there...””
Well, terrorism here is nothing new. Terrorism might be seen as the new thing for a lot of Americans but we had it far worse in the 1970s and 1980s with the Irish scumbags. We dealt with those cowards and we’ll deal with these Islamics. The average person on the street thinks less about Islamic terrorists than they did the IRA in years gone by. I remember working in London in the 1980s and there were bomb scares almost on a daily basis. You got used to it in the end hehe.
“”I just worry that someday you all might come across a situation where a S.W.A.T. might be too late, and an armed bobby could’ve prevented a massacre...””
Again, that’s a good point. On the other hand many criminals DON’T carry guns because they know the cops don’t have them so it’s swings and roundabouts. If all cops had guns then likely all serious criminals would too. That isn’t the case right now.
Cheers.
Check the link in #416....
The feds (with NEVER ENDING FUNDS to police CITIZENS) helped to fund this county's SWAT team back in 2000.
I’ll just note if not for insane King George, we wouldn’t have considered the 2nd Amendment....(chuckle)
- He fired at responding officers.
- Will -not- confirm Peterson was shot by a police sniper hours later.
- Lots of administrative back slapping.
- Will not speculate on motive.
Per press conf- Peterson came in to apartment and got into argument with people inside..went out to his vehic and came back in with gun- shot 30 rounds...left. While driving around he got on phone with police chief and said he did it- eventually he and cops ended up at a house several miles away- gunfire was exchanged and Peterson then died. Autopsy will determine if he died from self-inflicted or police gunfire..
-What- are you listening to?
So I’ve heard.
My point is that nobody ‘just snaps’. Thats a time honored myth thats been debunked by experts for years.
Watch and see what comes out about the killer in the next few days and weeks.
They just had a live press conf on TV...all the cables had it on
The gun used was an AR 15
- Crandon Police Chief said that the 20 year old off duty cop “met all requirements” to be a police officer.
- Attempts were made to negotiate on the phone.
- No motive no further details no further questions allowed.
- The assembled authorities quickly filed out after being asked details of the Argonne hostage situation after the initial shooting.
Thank you for the ping.
With brain studies which show that the pre-frontal cortex (the area of the brain involve with rational thought and emotional control) not maturing until the mid 20’s you’d think that such high stress jobs would take the age factor into account in the hiring process.
For this one 20 y/o there are many good 20 y/o cops.
Exactly. Let’s see now..when was the last time we heard about a 20 yo LEO going nuts and killing 6 people?
Not sure that his being a cop has anything to do with what happened.
“Not very high requirements, if you ask me.”
well really...in small towns it is very difficult to have high standards when they cannot afford to pay them well or invest in excellent training.
I look at our small town police force and most of them are decent folks. I can think of a few that you would describe as excellent - and God bless them because they don’t get paid much.
But there IS a certain element out there - the overly aggressive guy with a chip on his shoulder who is very eager to harrass people.
You see this type of guy getting in bar fights when he’s off duty.
If he had been a truck driver he could still have taken his shot gun and did this. It does have something to do with being a cop in the aspect that he was hired to protect people though.
Paul Pitts, a 17-year-old senior, said Peterson was the type of guy who was picked on by students when he was in high school.
IMO this might not be the type of person to be a LEO.
Understood. But he wasn’t on duty- this didn’t happen while he was in uniform.
I’m agreeing with you:’)
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