20 Mar 08
You can't have it both ways! From a UK newspaper:
"The number of armed police officers accidentally shooting themselves , and colleagues, has soared in the past five years. Now, nearly half of all injuries caused by police shootings are the result of officers blasting themselves or a colleague, often during bungled training and demonstrations... these disturbing statistics call into question competence and training "
Comment:
Do they ever!
As British police are, of necessity, increasingly armed, they are also increasingly embarrassed with the arrogant criticism they've so self-righteously leveled at American police over the years for being likewise armed. It seems the chickens have now come home to roost!
Unfortunately, as UK police surreptitiously acquire rifles and pistols, they' ve discovered that there is no one to provide them with competent training, since UK's once-proud Gun Culture, indeed their entire Warrior Culture, has been long-since suffocated by paranoid politicians who, like politicians everywhere, are frightened to death of armed citizens. The entire body ofmodern gun knowledge, that we take for granted in America, is unavailable to them. And, they are so apprehensive of it, and us, they're too frightened, proud, and ashamed to ask for "dangerous enlightenment." They aremuch more comfortable with "safe ignorance," even while shooting themselves with embarrassing frequency!
Newly-armed cops, who heretofore knew little about guns, have as "instructors " only irrelevant, ossified target shooters, who also know little about guns, nothing about fighting, and absolutely nothing about safe gun-handling, concealed-carry, and living with guns.
In addition, UK politicians don't trust cops any more than they trust citizens. So, there is precious little live-fire training, and "armed" cops are only armed when working. Continuous concealed carrying is reserved for only an "elite" few. The rest have little opportunity to become familiar with their guns. They only get to be afraid of them.
There will be no improvement in the UK any time soon, because there is no political benefit associated with gun-competence getting any better . Although newspapers consider this ND epidemic a "problem," politicians don't, so long as they personally are not endangered. A few injured officers and citizens are useful fodder for crocodile-tear speeches, but are otherwise of no real concern.
As always, nothing will change, until citizens demand it.
/John
