Man with a gun…

But what if it’s a policeman?  No big deal, right?

One would ‘normally’ think so…

Unless one is in Scotland!

A police officer in Inverness has been photographed carrying a firearm despite assurances that sidearms would only be deployed under special circumstances.

The officer was carrying a handgun in the railway station in Inverness on Tuesday as he walked through the main concourse.

Police Scotland said the officer had breached new force policy.

Soooo… They are now disarming the police, except under ‘certain’ circumstances…

Full article HERE from the BBC.

How many lives will this ‘new force policy’ cost???

Last time I looked, criminals over there don’t obey the laws either. And guns are making their way into Britain and Scotland via the Chunnel and the ferries, and who knows what other small boats that cross the channel…

Comments

Man with a gun… — 15 Comments

  1. Sigh. Rowing backwards again instead of forward and with the current.

  2. Sigh. Rowing backwards again instead of forward and with the current.

  3. It seems that the gun haters will never learn and their willful ignorance is paid for with other peoples lives.
    The latest pro concealed carry data out of virulently anti gun Chicago is that violent crime rates dropped 28% after concealed carry was forced upon them. Once again, no streets running with blood.

  4. Fargo- You’re right… sigh

    Roger- You are correct, and I don’t ‘see’ them actually looking at facts. They don’t fit the agenda…

    Gerry- ROTF… THAT would go over well! 🙂

  5. So I guess the cry of “And Watson; bring your revolver!” is truly consigned to the dust bin of history.

  6. It would be better stated as a ‘return to the old policy’, hardly new. It used to be unheard of for the regular police to carry any guns. Most still aren’t trained to do so either.
    The cultural arguments about guns, about police, about personal defence…they are very, very different in the UK. Some of the surface tensions are the same, but the underlying assumptions and starting points are quite different. Dirty Harry versus the London Bobbie.

  7. Who are we (Americans) to know the answer to everything? Is the American way of policing always a good or safe thing? Is the traditional British way of policing always a good or safe thing? From personal experience, I would say No to both.
    Note too: ‘good’ and ‘safe’, can you really, ever have both for all parties concerned?

  8. I’d be quite happy with LEOs falling at a middle point between neutered Euro and over that top, plate carrier, assault rifle wielding traffic cop.

  9. SPE- True… Although neither was a cop, so they COULD/DID carry…

    acair- Excellent point! But honestly that mantra went out in the early 70’s. The Bobbies on foot patrol didn’t carry, but most of the responding cars the officers were carrying. Especially in Northern Scotland. A lot of that was in response to the IRA bombings.

    WSF- Point

    acair- Good and safe are usually mutually exclusive when one talks about law enforcement. Depends on the ‘perspective’ as it were…

    Heath- Agreed!

  10. It is a matter of custom perhaps? While armed police have become more common, they are not that visible even when the potential for ‘casual’ mob violence is high: football supporters clashing for example (though, I am quite sure they are present).
    Because of this, to your average UK resident the sight of armed police (outside of airports and the like) generally indicates that something unusual, and probably bad, is actively in progress. In the US, I don’t take notice of armed police, because they are always armed; but in the UK, armed police meant there was a problem that went beyond the usual pub brawl and leaving the vicinity was probably advised.

  11. acair- I think you’re right in that approach and your comment. We ARE used to armed police and most of the UK probably isn’t due to actually having Bobbies that still walk a beat.

    Rick- If not, they’re damn close… sigh