Farewell to arms: Fewer gun police are being deployed in violent areas
Posted on 12/25/2007 11:33:41 PM PST by Stoat
Farewell to arms: Fewer gun police are being deployed in violent areas
The number of firearms officers working in areas where gun crime is soaring has fallen sharply, figures released reveal.
And despite a steep overall rise in firearms-related offences, the total number of weapons-trained officers has dropped.
In gun crime 'hotspots' such as Liverpool and Nottingham there are around 40 per cent fewer armed officers.
The stark contrast between rising gun crime and falling numbers of armed police was highlighted in statistics released by the Home Office in response to Tory parliamentary questions.
The Conservatives warned the drop in firearm officer numbers highlighted the Government's failure to take violent crime seriously.
Between 1997 and 2006,m, the number of authorised firearms officers in England and Wales fell from 6,738 to 6,584, even though there have been increases in overall police numbers.
Yet statistics released by the Home Office show the number of individuals found guilty of possessing weapons rose by 43 per cent from 2001 to 2005.
Over the same period, the number of crimes involving firearms recorded by police rose by 11 per cent, from 10,023 in 2001 to 11,084 in 2005.
The overall drop conceals far greater falls in key areas of cities with some of the country's worst records on gun crime.
On Merseyside, where Liverpool has been ravaged by violence, the number of firearms officers has fallen by 15 per cent, from 147 in 1997 to 129 in 2006.
Yet the same area has recorded a 183 per cent rise in the number of persons found guilty of possessing or distributing prohibited weapons or ammunition between 1997 and 2005.
And Merseyside has seen the number of crimes where firearms were used soar by 62 per cent, from 299 in 2002 to 485 in 2006.
A similar picture emerges in Avon and Somerset, where the number of firearms officers has fallen by 29 per cent, from 165 in 1997 to 117 in 2006, while the firearms crimes soared by 62 per cent, from 131 in 2002 to 167.
And in Northamptonshire, another gun crime 'hotspot', the number of firearms officers has fallen by 39 per cent, from 92 in 1997 to 56 in 2006.
Conservative police spokesman David Ruffley said: "Poor ministerial planning means police officers are being thrown into gun hotspots without being properly equipped."
He added: "This is yet further evidence that this Government, despite imposing a ban on handguns and pledging to tackle violent crime, has presided over a steady increase in the everyday use of weapons on Britain's streets."
not sure what he means by that; and he probably doesn’t either
some interesting background info here
www.arrse.co.uk/cpgn2/index.php?name=Forums&file=viewtopic&t=85247#1700290
How safe would you feel with unarmed police being your protection against armed violent felons? Imagine the outcome of recent shooting in a Colorado church had there not been an armed guard and the responding police were mostly unarmed?
Oh yeah, that'll really deter them. This reminds me of a scene in Clockwork Orange.
“How safe would you feel with unarmed police being your protection against armed violent felons? Imagine the outcome of recent shooting in a Colorado church had there not been an armed guard and the responding police were mostly unarmed?”
Armed incident are responded to be Armed Response Units:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Armed_Response_Vehicle
Also, I would say the outcome would have been similar to Columbine or Virginia Tech.
I'm not surprised to hear this, as I have not heard much that suggests to me that they have been a truly unified, effective and Conservative party......not that the Republicans over here have been much better. Guns are one issue (and one of the ONLY issues) that the R's will stand firm on these days (by and large....there's always the occasional RINO idiot) as they know they'll be cut off at the knees if they dare to backpedal on that.
They can take a hike if they think they’re going to make political capital out of it.
It seems that just like so many pols over here they are counting on a very, very short memory on the part of the voting public. I find this astonishing in the internet age where anyone can research a pol's voting record in mere moments, but they continue to believe that they can remake and remodel themselves as the winds of opportunity dictate, and assume that they can pull the wool over the voters' eyes.
and it was the Daily Mail along with all but one of the rest of the UK press that actively supported the ban.
Although the DM occasionally has some interesting articles, they appear to be very opportunistic and will follow whatever trend or ideological fashion that they think will sell papers.....they don't seem to have any center or soul.
A contrast could be seen with the Sun. Although 98% of what they print is idiotic celebrity-oriented meaningless trash, it seems that whenever they do get around to print an article on the WOT or the troops they've been extremely supportive, at least over the past few years. They usually get the best photos and have always, from what I've seen, been supportive of the fighting forces and they seem to have an appreciation of the threats that the West is up against. They seem to be a solidly law-and-order bunch on the home front as well. Too bad the vast bulk of what they print otherwise is meaningless.
some interesting background info here
Interesting indeed, thanks for posting.
I remember how pleasantly surprised I was a number of years ago when I visited Italy and saw, for the first time, uniformed police openly carrying MP5's on their regular foot patrols.....it really made me smile and feel safe.
As to your question, if I found myself living in such a country that had unarmed police, I would instantly move to a different one where the police were actually equipped to do the job.
Sam Colt’s wonderful invention was called the equalizer, would make any man the equal of any thug no matter how big and how mean the thug.
I keep mentioning this fact to ladies I meet when they make reference to their fear of crime, but for most of them the reaction is one of horror, as they have been brainwashed by the militant-feminist Left, who have taught them to be victims and to look only to the Government for protection.
If more ladies were armed as a matter of course, I think that a great many pleasant and long-lost aspects of polite, civil and chivalrous society would return....something that the militant-feminist Left will never stand for.
I am in Alaska and know that 60% of all houses have firearms in there and that women know how to use the weapons even if they don’t advertise the fact. Once in a while somebody in the neighborhood will do some target shooting in his yard, but this is uncommon and is considered declasse. Mostly the ones talking about pistols and shotguns are the kids, who have that identity-seeking behavior going.
no problem; the thread in the link I’ve posted is still going and the subject of arming the police comes up on this forces/police site every now and again.
I’ve bookmarked the site and will check in ocasionally, thanks for the link :-)
Gee... A tremendous rise in the occurrence of "keeping and bearing arms". How scary. It's probably the direct result of a 183 per cent rise in searches of the otherwise law-abiding.
When there is little fear of being jailed it doesn't help matters either
Great Britain Ministers beg judges - don't jail any more criminals! (prisons are full)
Except that the article doesn't mention any victimization of innocent people. It only mentions "possessing or distributing prohibited weapons or ammunition"; which in the UK covers just about everything protected here by the Second Amendment.
It should be no wonder that their prisons are overflowing and yet victimization of the innocent is on the rise.
I agree that a Second Amendment would be a wonderful thing for Great Britain.
This is not happening by accident. It’s known and foreseen as a consequence of their lawmakers’ actions. Therefore it’s intended.
They took guns from honest, law-abiding citizens and deliberately left then in the hands of criminals.
It’s just a way of dealing with income inequality...
“This is not happening by accident. It’s known and foreseen as a consequence of their lawmakers’ actions. Therefore it’s intended.”
I think you give them too much credit. Much of the left has started to believe their own delusional propaganda. Changing one’s belief structure is extremely difficult. For most people, it is impossible. It takes extreme trauma for most people to change.
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