Should the English Police Use Firearms
Should the English police carry and use firearms?
This essay explores the debate whether the English police carry and use firearms? It is a debate that has been a focal point in the public, policing agency, government and political arenas since the formation of the police. The English police are well known for their ‘unarmed’ tactic of policing and are only a few police forces worldwide that do so. It was this model of policing that Sir Robert Peel tried to distill from when he first formed the Metropolitan Police back in 1829, which as England as a country keeps to its traditions. However, due to increase in gun crime and terrorist attacks it is perhaps maybe time that the English police force kept up with an ever sophisticated and armed criminal/terrorist. In this essay the main themes I will focus on will be the background of the police, British models of policing, for and against armed response and the level of gun crime in the UK.
The term ‘police’ derived from the Greek word ‘politeia’ meaning government or state. ‘Police’ refers to a social institution that most modern societies have to ensure social control. In modern society there is an ideological assumption that the police are a fundamental part of social control and without them there would be chaos (Reiner 2000, p1), however not every society has existed with a formal police force. The role of the police in its efforts for the control of crime and maintaining order is one that has changed through history and is an area of great debate in their effectiveness and the functions the police have in modern society. The police in modern society are called upon routinely to perform a wide range of tasks from public reassurance to terrorism and respond to emergencies, critical incidents and crises, many with an element of social conflict (Grieve et al. 2007, p19). A state run police organisation is a modern form of ‘policing’ (Reiner 2000,p2), however ‘policing’ is a different idea to that of the ‘police’.
This essay explores the debate whether the English police carry and use firearms? It is a debate that has been a focal point in the public, policing agency, government and political arenas since the formation of the police. The English police are well known for their ‘unarmed’ tactic of policing and are only a few police forces worldwide that do so. It was this model of policing that Sir Robert Peel tried to distill from when he first formed the Metropolitan Police back in 1829, which as England as a country keeps to its traditions. However, due to increase in gun crime and terrorist attacks it is perhaps maybe time that the English police force kept up with an ever sophisticated and armed criminal/terrorist. In this essay the main themes I will focus on will be the background of the police, British models of policing, for and against armed response and the level of gun crime in the UK.
The term ‘police’ derived from the Greek word ‘politeia’ meaning government or state. ‘Police’ refers to a social institution that most modern societies have to ensure social control. In modern society there is an ideological assumption that the police are a fundamental part of social control and without them there would be chaos (Reiner 2000, p1), however not every society has existed with a formal police force. The role of the police in its efforts for the control of crime and maintaining order is one that has changed through history and is an area of great debate in their effectiveness and the functions the police have in modern society. The police in modern society are called upon routinely to perform a wide range of tasks from public reassurance to terrorism and respond to emergencies, critical incidents and crises, many with an element of social conflict (Grieve et al. 2007, p19). A state run police organisation is a modern form of ‘policing’ (Reiner 2000,p2), however ‘policing’ is a different idea to that of the ‘police’.
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