I’m all in favour of an armed police service in Scotland.
It’s way past time to give those who put their lives on the line for us every day a level playing field when it comes to protecting you, and me, and themselves.
They face more danger than we can comprehend on an hourly and daily basis.
Two out of every five officers have been attacked in the last year and 22% in the last three months.
It’s little wonder that many of those who face real and escalating danger on our behalf are now saying enough is enough.
In a survey by the Scottish Police Federation 53% of officers said they would like access to a handgun.
Another 75% said they would be prepared to be trained in the use of handguns, although this wouldn’t mean routinely arming them.
Scots travel all over the world – or we did pre-Covid.
And many of the countries we visit have police forces which are routinely armed or have swift access to arms.
There are folk who happily accept police officers in these places wearing a sidearm.
But the same people think our police officers should be unarmed in the face of machetes, baseball bats and guns.
They are guilty of stunning hypocrisy.
And if they think trying to apprehend dangerous individuals with a small metal stick, or a spray which has to be used within a very close distance to be effective, is fair to the public or the officers then they’re delusional.
Society has changed, police protection must too
Many of the dangerous folk police deal with are under the influence of drugs.
These can make them impervious to pain and to reason.
They can also act with a strength far beyond that which they possess sober.
Officers are being seriously assaulted on a daily basis while protecting you and me.
"This is about self-defence and defending other people."
As a new Scottish Police Federation survey out tonight reveals a majority of its members want access to handguns, @DvdHmltn says officers are facing "staggering" levels of violence against them.#scotnight 10.40pm pic.twitter.com/YMwBRTkOM9
— ScotlandTonight (@ScotlandTonight) September 6, 2021
There is no good reason why our police should face deranged and dangerous individuals or groups wielding weapons, or people of such physical size that they cannot be safely restrained from harming the public, with tools inadequate to deal with the dramatic changes in society.
The level of disinformation about what the police service have at their disposal at present is staggering.
Many folk think all cops carry tasers for instance.
But these are issued only to a very small minority of our 17,000 strong force and they aren’t always effective.
To expect someone’s son, daughter, wife, or husband, to put their lives on the line for you and me, without giving them the best available protection is a form of cowardice
Someone armed with a knife or machete can close a 10-yard gap in the blink of an eye.
And those who are under the influence of drugs can be almost physically impossible to restrain.
To expect someone’s son, daughter, wife, or husband, to put their lives on the line for you and me, without giving them the best available protection is a form of cowardice.
Put yourself in a police officer’s place
I’ve seen reports from a couple of journalists who’ve gone on patrol with forces in England.
They completed a proper no holds barred, full week’s shift with response officers.
And they had their eyes well and truly opened to the range of dangers which can materialise in an instant.
Many in the anti armed police brigade would run a mile from the dangers they expect cops to face on our behalf .
Protection and preservation of life is an officer’s first duty and it’s outrageous to think their own lives shouldn’t be included in that
Ask them how they would deal with a domestic assault where a male – and it usually is a male- is off his face on drink or drugs and armed with a large kitchen knife in a small kitchen, where a fraction of a second could see death dealt out.
Those critics who think crazed and dangerous individuals are open to reasoned debate must live on a different planet.
Protection and preservation of life is an officer’s first duty and it’s outrageous to think their own lives shouldn’t be included in that.
Sean Connery’s famous line in the Untouchables movie about bringing a knife to a gunfight is apt.
Criminals are bringing knives regularly.
But our cops have only a small extendable metal stick and a spray to protect you, me, and them.
It’s becoming an unequal battle against criminals who view our rights and those of police officers with contempt and hatred.
Armed police are protected police
The nonsense that if we have armed police the criminals will tool up too is a knee jerk response.
You hear it from junior Marxist types who like to portray officers as tools of the capitalist state or some such juvenile guff.
They say that for the triumph of evil it’s only necessary that good men and women do nothing.
Our cops face evil every day on our behalf, and they do something.
They put themselves in harms way to prevent evil befalling us.They deserve to have whatever it takes to protect all of us and them.