The tragic and shocking events in Manchester this week, that saw two police officers gunned down in cold blood by a brutal beast, has brought many questions into the media and public domain - most notably police budget cuts and the routine arming of front line officers.
Two young women gave their lives doing their job- the same job thousands of police officers do every day. From what has been released to the media, it would seem they were lured to their deaths by a callous, evil, monster who can barely be described as human. Those brave officers did nothing wrong and it was chance that they were the ones called to attend the reported burglary which spurred this horrific chain of events. Their fate seemed unavoidable which is most disturbing to my colleagues and I - that could have been anyone of us. A sobering thought. At times like this the national police family unite, mourn together, support one another, and grow stronger as a result.
The routine arming of police and especially cuts in policing funding are both topical and relevant issues, brought to the fore by the above events and are now a hot subject of debate. But ironically it would seem neither matter would have had much impact or change of circumstances in Manchester as the murder of Nicola and Fiona was a premeditated, calculated trap with no escape for those in the wrong place at the wrong time:
During the day time front line response officers often work alone and it would not be uncommon for just two officers to attend a reported burglary, so budget cuts and lack of officer numbers was not a factor. Neither would it seem likely that the presence of firearms with the officers would have had an alternative ending as those officers seemingly had no time to react to a maniac armed and ready with a gun and grenades.
The great debate about bringing the UK in line with so many other western societies by arming our front line police seems to be one for the public and politicians to dispute. Rarely do those that would be carrying the weapons themselves seem to be asked an opinion. I for one do not want to carry a gun. Although I am an advocate of the less lethal Taser for all officers (incidentally Taser was carried by at least one of the officers in Manchester), I do not feel the benefit of carrying a firearm outweighs the inherent risks that would come with it.
I would not feel safer carrying a gun for this simple reason: if more police are carrying lethal weapons, more criminals will do too, and more people will die - on both sides, of this I am sure. This country actually has some of the strictest firearm control laws in the world and low levels of gun related crime as a result. One of the few things we do get right.
My thoughts are with the family, friends and colleagues of PC's Fiona Bone and Nicola Hughes at this awful time.
POLICE DEATHS IN UK
- 256 police officers have been shot and killed in the UK since 1945 and 21 have been stabbed to death.
- In England 51 were shot and 19 stabbed
- In Wales - none
- In Scotland - four shot and two stabbed
- In Northern Ireland - 201 shot
- Source - National Police Memorial Day
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