BF2S Forums One Step Closer to Guns for Police?

_j5689_ wrote:

Gun ownership is very tightly restricted in Britain, everybody that legally owns one is one is on record, and I imagine there's not a whole lot of people there anyway that do have one.  This means that the likelihood of encountering someone with a gun is much much lower than it would be in other places.  So cops with non-lethal deterrents are for the most part quite effective, and if, in that rare situation, someone is encountered with a gun, there is always the armed police.

Noobeater wrote:

They already have lightweight stab proof vests that they have to wear all the time when on duty. (they won't stop a bullet. Though, a bullet resistant vest won't stop a knife either) Thought I don't think it could stop a bullet. As you said it is very hard to legally get a gun here as its only legal to have a .22 (not true) if you have had the required training tto use it (also not true)(normally through the military) and other than that only shotguns are legally allowed and even then its only birdshot firing ones as pump actions are illegal (birdshot is an ammo description. Any shotgun can fire birdshot, or slugs, or buckshot, or fletchettes, etc. The restriction is on "sporting" shotguns. eg, no SPAS 12 shotguns. Pump shotguns are indeed still legal to anyone who holds a shotgun certificate.) . The problem has always been that crimal gangs have simple taken the ferry to say holland or france then drove into eastern europe where it is still relatively easily to get guns on the black market, they then buy one or two then go back and I don't think there are any contriband checks so they can do it relatively easily. Or so I have gathered by several BBC news articles.

Personally I think that the police should only be armed with tasers if they area that they patrol is very rough e.g. some parts of south london or the worst area's in manchester.

I would also go along with the idea that the police should have at least 3 officers who have firearms training in each station and a small cache of weapons under lock and key in the station just in case.

Everything in pink I added.


I know some UK officers from a message board that I'm on, and they're enthused about the prospect of being issued a taser. And the aussie officers make fun of them for not having "a real weapon."

We Americans just hold back and watch the slings and arrows fly.

Last edited by blisteringsilence (2008-01-27 12:21:55)

Great, so now they can stun me?

U can make a taser with an old camara....

jord wrote:

kylef wrote:

Great, so now they can stun me?

And before they could beat you with a stick, but they didn't then and they won't now.

Or shoot him with a batton round - I've experienced someone less than 10 feet from me get hit in the face with a batton round, not a pretty sight..

blisteringsilence wrote:

Everything in pink I added.


I know some UK officers from a message board that I'm on, and they're enthused about the prospect of being issued a taser. And the aussie officers make fun of them for not having "a real weapon."

We Americans just hold back and watch the slings and arrows fly.

I meant that you can't really get any rifles other than .22's and I'm sure i read that to actually get a .22 you need a specific permit for and its based on an evaluation, I also remember that the arrticle said that most people who have one of these permits got them through the military (as they've used weapons in the military and  had the required training within the weapons training they do. All forms of pistols are also illegal as are all automatic weapons.

With the shotguns part I meant that you can only legally buy birdshot rounds as every other round. e.g. flechete slugsare illegal as they would not be used for hunting and are more likely to be used in gun crime. I do however think that pump action shotguns are illegal as are gas loading ones, though I'm not too sure about the pump action but I always thought they were illegal. Oh well you have provoked me to go trawling through the internet once more on a search for knowledge.

Thanks for clearing that bit up about the vest by the way.

EDIT: Ah yes your right you can legally have a pump action shotgun but the maximum size magazine it can legally have is two rounds

FURTHER EDIT: surely a tasera made from a camera battery would be weak as hell, I mean I've taken apart a disposable camera due to boredom before and zapped myself accidentally but thats nothing that would really immobilise a person as they've not exactly got the same
70 000 volts a taser has.

Last edited by Noobeater (2008-01-27 15:37:18)

After some research I have found that both pump action and semi automatic shotguns are legal if you have a shotgun license and they are registered with the police, the maximum magazine size for them is 2 shells in the magazine and 1 in the chamber.

Yep, the laws are pretty strict around here - but in fairness gun crime is pretty low in comparison to others. I'd love to own a gun or two (a personal "hobby") but I definetely do not condone the idea of just being able to walk into a shop and buy one with little to no hassle.

Many of you know I have a personal hatred for the police, not because I go on large crime sprees, but their attitude, ignorance and stupidity is simply beyond my belief. I think I'd rather work in the local 'tesco' than be a part of what is today's, quote, civil service.

rawls2 wrote:

IG-Calibre wrote:

eh?.. police in NI have always been armed & have been responsible for 363 deaths including 75 children since 1969..  Taser guns if anything are for replacing Rubber/plastic bullets which have claimed the lives of 14 people including 7 children since their introduction for dealing with civil disturbances..

Is there a figuire that shows how many deaths the "civil disturbees" have caused? Just curious.

Not all those deaths relate to civil disturbances - that being said deaths relating to batton rounds probably most certainly did. In total I think around 300 police were killed, the total deaths of all victims of the conflict was around 3,800 with an estimated 40,000 seriously injured / maimed prior to 2001.