XPost: uk.politics.misc, 24hoursupport.helpdesk, alt.politics.scorched-earth   
   XPost: uk.legal, alt.politics.uk   
   From: burfordTjustice@tues.uk   
      
   On Sun, 26 Mar 2017 04:54:44 -0700 (PDT)   
   Andy Wainwright  wrote:   
      
   > On Sunday, March 26, 2017 at 12:36:02 PM UTC+1, Andy Wainwright wrote:   
   > > On Sunday, March 26, 2017 at 12:01:45 PM UTC+1, burfordTjustice   
   > > wrote:   
   > > > Might the officer have been killed anyway? Yes, but he also might   
   > > > have at least had a chance with a gun.    
   > > >    
   > > > Britain’s Response To Terror Threat: Keep 90 Percent Of Police   
   > > > Officers Unarmed   
   > > >    
   > > > The officer stabbed in Wednesday’s terror attack in London was   
   > > > unarmed, like more than 90 percent of the British police force.   
   > > >    
   > > > Ketih Palmer, 48, was stabbed to death while guarding the   
   > > > entrance to the British Houses of Parliament unarmed. Just 2,800   
   > > > out of London’s 31,075 police officers are armed, which the   
   > > > police force considers a safety measure.   
   > > >    
   > > > A cornerstone principle of the Metropolitan Police in London is   
   > > > that guns send the wrong message to communities by provoking   
   > > > crime rather than preventing it. Most officers are only equipped   
   > > > with batons, handcuffs, a mace and in some cases, stun-guns. A   
   > > > small number of specially-trained officers are the only ones   
   > > > carrying guns on patrol. These include counterterrorism police   
   > > > and some officers in high-risk areas like the Parliament.   
   > > >    
   > > > While countries such as Germany, France and Belgium have put more   
   > > > armed officers on the streets in response to a wave of terror   
   > > > attacks around the continent, the United Kingdom has maintained   
   > > > its “policing by consent” approach to security. The Metropolitan   
   > > > Police increased the number of armed officers by 600 after the   
   > > > truck attack in Nice last July, but the total number is still a   
   > > > mere 9 percent of the entire force.   
   > > >    
   > > > “Our neighborhood officers — the ones who know their streets, who   
   > > > know their environment and who know many of the names of the   
   > > > people in their communities — are our major weapon. They are our   
   > > > eyes and ears on the street,” Bernard Hogan-Howe, the previous   
   > > > commissioner of the Metropolitan Police, said in 2016, adding   
   > > > that it “gives us a far healthier relationship with the people we   
   > > > police.”   
   > > >    
   > > > Wednesday’s attack sparked a debate among lawmakers about whether   
   > > > security needs to be enhanced around government buildings,   
   > > > particularly the “weak spot” where Palmer was killed.   
   > > >    
   > > > “It’s a terrible, terrible day for Parliament, the one weak spot   
   > > > on our estate is those carriage gates,” member of the House of   
   > > > Commons Mary Creagh told The Telegraph. “We have four police   
   > > > officers there, two on the gate going in, two on the gate going   
   > > > out, we see them every day, we are friends with lots of them.”   
   > > >    
   > > > Former Minister Ian Duncan Smith asked why an armed officer   
   > > > wasn’t assigned to the gate, saying it was a “little bit of a   
   > > > surprise that there was not.”   
   > > >    
   > > > France put thousands of armed soldiers on the streets after   
   > > > suffering two terror attacks in 2015. The approach may have   
   > > > prevented a terror attack Feb. 3 at the Louvre Museum. A man   
   > > > tried to enter the shopping center at the museum with two   
   > > > briefcases. He pulled out two machetes when he was refused entry   
   > > > and attacked a soldier, shouting, “Allahu akbar.” Another soldier   
   > > > responded by opening fire against the attacker.   
   > >    
   > > Police tend to be reluctant to carry guns because it seems to   
   > > increase the chances of the criminals carrying them too. What can   
   > > happen with routine arming and militarisation of policing is an   
   > > arms race can escalate between law enforcers and law breakers.   
   >    
   > This makes sense, a crook is less likely to open fire on an unarmed   
   > cop, as simply pointing the gun at them will likely make them back   
   > off and call for backup. Whereas if there's two armed combatants, the   
   > chances of a firefight are much higher.   
   >    
   > Of course, some crooks are psychopaths and will kill unarmed   
   > officers, including women and other emergency service personnel.   
      
   What a wonderful kooky world you live in...   
   is it drug induced?   
      
   --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05   
    * Origin: you cannot sedate... all the things you hate (1:229/2)