by Justin Davenport Crime Correspondent
Posted on 01/18/2002 7:27:36 AM PST by white trash redneck
Armour for north London police
by Justin Davenport Crime Correspondent
Scotland Yard has ordered police in north London to wear bullet-proof vests at all times because of soaring gun crime - the first time such an order has been made in mainland Britain.
Officers in Haringey have been told protective armour should be worn on the streets even on routine patrols after a dramatic rise in the number of firearms offences.
In the past 12 weeks there were 300 emergency calls in Haringey in relation to alleged firearms, 109 of these resulted in evidence of guns being used or seen.
Bob Elder, chairman of the Police Federation's constables' branch, who is based at Haringey, said: "My colleagues are increasingly worried. In Haringey there are 999 calls about firearms activity on an almost daily basis.
"There is a heightened awareness of firearms issues in boroughs such as Haringey and Hackney and there is now a directive that officers should wear body armour on operational duty as a health and safety issue.
"We have pretty strong gun laws in this country but they do not seem to be having any effect."
At present, officers in the Met are not obliged to wear body armour except at times of greater risk. In practice more and more officers are opting to wear it.
The news comes as police seized a deadly Mac 10 submachine gun and uncovered a firearms factory in Haringey at the weekend.
The US-made Mac 10, capable of firing 20 rounds a second, was seized in a raid on a flat in Bounds Green. Police also found 100 rounds of ammunition. Two men aged 21 have been charged with firearms offences.
In a separate operation police found what they described as a firearms "reactivation" factory in Tottenham. In a flat in Ingleborough Court police found vices, metal gun barrels and other weapons-making paraphernalia.
Haringey police are working closely with the Operation Trident squad which investigates gangsters in the crack cocaine trade.
Borough police commander Stephen James said: "I am delighted by the success of these operations, which have disrupted the access to firearms by criminals. I know the use and recovery of firearms in London is now almost routine."
That would be a real stretch. The reason for leaving was the repressive government. The only way to leave or change is revolution. Maybe you and your fellows should be working on your plans for freedom from a repressive government. We have our problems but we are fighting to retain our freedom constantly.
I hope it was one of the latest high-tech ones. The old ones didn't protect against stabs with a really sharp edged object very well. I recall one case in Wisconsin, I think, where police were demonstrating the then new "bullet proof" vests to a high school class. They didn't shoot each other, but one of the officers in a bit of unrehearsed idiocy, said, "see, they protect against knives, too" pulled a dagger, and stabbed his partner through the vest, chest wall, and heart, killing him.
This is an exercise to get people who live under one set of rules to try and understand the situation if the other set of rules applied to them.
If America did not have a gun problem until the last decade I don’t think your government or people would react any faster than we are in Britain.
The bigger a mass of people the harder it is to move them in a new direction due to new events.
Cheers Tony
Go Brits!
I am generally sympathetic to your arguments, Tony. You are quite rational. However, I am not so sure that your premises in the above are all quite right. Our second amendment derives from British law, and Britains certainly had need of personal weapons in the past. It is only since the 1920's that weapon ownership was restricted to any significant amount, and that was because of the British ruling class fearing an armed revolution. The statists in Britain have been quite sucessful in convincing the British populace that being armed is uncivilized, which makes them much easier to rule. Perhaps that is what you are hinting at here.
After all, the Swiss are as peacefull as the British, they haven't had the "need" for guns either, but they certainly have kept themselves as an armed society. (unfortunately , the Swiss system is seriously under attack since they gave women the vote)
Tony, you won't know about the last one. You don't want to either, believe me. Imagine if Oprah and Roseanne squeezed into one body and started talking at the same time. Quite revolting.
Yikes! That's a truly frightening picture you've painted there. I'm a yank, and I (thankfully) don't know what (not who) you're talking about.
Keep a lid on it; from the description, I'd just as soon remain as ignorant as possible!
Junta I answered this before the fact that you have once again asked me this question means you either did not understand or ignored my reply.
Here goes again.
Everyone knows the trickle down theory well its happening as regards to guns.
First the Drug gangs used guns to settle differences between each other.
Due to the gun ban they looked abroad.
They used drug smuggling routes to get the guns in.
Gun smuggling is becoming in itself a business.
Suddenly more guns, we know have underground gun dealers.
Criminals not involved in the drug business are starting to buy guns.
There you have it guns are trickling into British criminal society.
My government is reacting I agree the wrong way.
If criminal are starting to arm them self’s so should we.
I believe in the legalisation of guns for the same reason as I believe in the legalisation of drugs, because you cant go back to yesterday and to take supply out of the hands of the criminals.
PS its not a theaory its reality.
Cheers Tony
No, but you can buy a toilet that flushes on the first try there.
Cheers Tony
Dictatorship via bureaucracy. At least it comes slowly.
Did anyone say that it was?
But when a long train of abuses and usurpations, pursuing invariably the same object evinces a design to reduce them under absolute Despotism, it is their right, it is their duty, to throw off such Government, and to provide new Guards for their future security.
Kinda hard to leave the party with a boot on ones neck. No hard feelings, we hope.
If so, you might get over it. Some day.
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