Cop Killers

[SandTiger]

Ian R.

 

Rose tinted? Perceived left and right wing politics?? Gosh, what will you throw in next? I also find it mildly insulting for you to suggest that someone cannot hold a valid view point unless they go off and join the Specials or Community Wardens first - What tosh!

 

Despite your wish to make no further comment on the matter I am going to ask you one question since you have chosen to suggest that a greater deterrent is necessary and also suggest that our current legal process lacks the teeth that you would wish to see implemented...

 

I am also assuming that you are aware of the statements made by Lord Stevens and reported here - http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/4453848.stm

 

So with your apparent need to return back to an Old Testament style system of an eye for an eye...

 

On 22 July 2005 a young man (also somebody’s son, brother etc...) is making his way to work when he is killed by a group of men in front of horrified members of the public. The victims injuries consist of 7 bullet wounds to the back head area and one to the upper torso area and are consistent with what could be described as an execution style killing with 11 rounds in total being discharged.

 

Should the perpetrators be charged and are convicted of the act of murder then should they also be open to execution?

[SandTiger]

We do need to be careful what we write as a clever defence solicitor could say that their client cannot have a fair trial do the adverse publicity recieved prior to any arrest

 

Rest assured - No defence team would ever make a submission on the fairness of a trial to proceed based on what has been ever posted on AnglersNet. There are far more fuelled discussions on this particular topic going on up and down the interweb

[Andy Macfarlane]

Why should the killing of a police officer be more of a crime than the killing of a member of the public?

 

That was the point I was hoping for. I understand that the Police provide a service that nobody else can but they are just people. You cannot put a Police Officer above anyone else in today's society. I would be furious if the courts started handing death penalties for cop killers but not say, child killers for instance.

The Police are the first people to admit that there is an 'us and them' feeling in this country and there's always a scheme going on somewhere where officers are placed openly on our streets and towns to try and improve relations with the public. If the law in this land decides that officers are somehow different or special, they will drive a wedge between 'us and them' that nobody can fix and the implications of such a move are unimaginable.

We easily forget that an innocent man was gunned down by the Police in public for no reason whatsoever and the Police did everything in their power to cover up the facts behind the matter but now there's a push to arm even more officers. I find that alarming.

The Police should not be treated differently and they should not be given more guns. The minute the Police are treated like armed superheroes, we will instantly see a rise in armed criminals. It's that simple. Is this what we want?

I've been on the receiving end of knives and broken bottles on more than one occasion and I can assure you that violence is quite commonplace in Glasgow. Gun crime though, is still relatively unheard of. In the USA, I may have been shot 2 or 3 times by now. In fact, I'd probably be dead. I'm so happy people don't feel the need to carry firearms in Glasgow but ordinary people often do feel a need to be armed, even if that means carrying a set of keys in hand or clutching a pen. If people fear being shot at by the police or criminals, you will have created a whole new set of people in this country who will feel the desire to own a gun.

If people want a gun nation, then arm the Police to the teeth and hand out death penalties for cop killers and cop killers only.

[Sportsman]

Well put Andy

[corydoras]

70% of the crime is this country is fuelled by the drug trade...

 

If this is true then we could have a huge cut in the crime rate by legalising and taxing the supply of all drugs. After all, if drugs were legal, no need for drug dealers.

 

A heroin addict needs to steal about £100-£150 a day. Earning £150 a day legally or otherwise is hard work. If the same addict could by nice clean safe diamorphine from the chemist it would cost about £12 maybe even less.

Edited November 21, 2005 by corydoras

[nick]

Andy, you say there is a push to arm even more officers.

 

A push from whom?

 

Certainly not from the Commissioner of the metropolitan police, nor from any other senior police officer I have heard comment.

 

In fact just then opposite would seem to be true. Most informed opinion is that what we need is even better trained armed police, but no increase in numbers.

[Andy Macfarlane]

Andy, you say there is a push to arm even more officers.

 

A push from whom?

 

Certainly not from the Commissioner of the metropolitan police, nor from any other senior police officer I have heard comment.

 

In fact just then opposite would seem to be true. Most informed opinion is that what we need is even better trained armed police, but no increase in numbers.

 

Protect the Protectors: Police need more guns

An "informed debate" is now required to decide whether police officers should routinely carry firearms, according to the head of police pressure group.

 

PC Norman Brennan, a serving policeman and chairman of Protect the Protectors, backs the call for more police to carry guns.

 

"The adage that if you arm the police more criminals will carry guns is nonsense. The police service is being outgunned on the streets of Britain day and night," he said.

 

His comments come after the murder of policewoman Sharon Beshenivsky, shot while attending an armed robbery last Friday, which has sparked a renewed debate about the non-armed status of Britain's police force.

 

Mr Brennan added: "If police officers are to retain the highest confidence of the public and their own morale surely the time has come for them to be able to defend themselves and the British public with every means possible."

[SandTiger]

http://www.protecttheprotectors.com/ - Seem like a one man show to me and not much else - One police officer's view must not be confused with the views of the police service as a whole.

[Tony U]

From where I see it (Central London at the moment), the police already are pretty well armed; they are all carrying Heckler and Koch MP5's and side weapons usually Glocks.

Mind you I am working next door to New Scotland Yard

[SandTiger]

And I'm sure Harry Stanley would be the first to agree