WHEN those charged with enabling the public to feel safe themselves feel unsafe, it may be argued that we have a major problem on our hands. That, at first glance, would appear to be the case when one considers a survey from the Scottish Police Federation, which indicates that almost two-thirds of respondents want to have access to a handgun, a figure that rises to three-quarters among officers within the 25 to 34 age group. The report states: “Younger officers, those most likely to be working in response roles, clearly articulate the risk they feel from firearms and edged weapons.”
It is important to note that this is not a renewed call for the routine arming of our police, which has rightly caused consternation when previously discussed. And it may be we might have to consider the model currently employed in Norway, where handguns can by quickly accessed by any trained officer.
First, though, we must look to ameliorate the feelings of vulnerability felt by the officer on the frontline. That may be through increasing the efficiency of protective equipment, such as body armour, batons and leg restraints, or through working to decrease the level of gun and knife crime through a more punitive sentencing regime. Above all, though, we must ensure that any officer accessing a weapon, no matter the situation, is given the highest level of training possible.
Why are you making commenting on The Herald only available to subscribers?
It should have been a safe space for informed debate, somewhere for readers to discuss issues around the biggest stories of the day, but all too often the below the line comments on most websites have become bogged down by off-topic discussions and abuse.
heraldscotland.com is tackling this problem by allowing only subscribers to comment.
We are doing this to improve the experience for our loyal readers and we believe it will reduce the ability of trolls and troublemakers, who occasionally find their way onto our site, to abuse our journalists and readers. We also hope it will help the comments section fulfil its promise as a part of Scotland's conversation with itself.
We are lucky at The Herald. We are read by an informed, educated readership who can add their knowledge and insights to our stories.
That is invaluable.
We are making the subscriber-only change to support our valued readers, who tell us they don't want the site cluttered up with irrelevant comments, untruths and abuse.
In the past, the journalist’s job was to collect and distribute information to the audience. Technology means that readers can shape a discussion. We look forward to hearing from you on heraldscotland.com
Comments & Moderation
Readers’ comments: You are personally liable for the content of any comments you upload to this website, so please act responsibly. We do not pre-moderate or monitor readers’ comments appearing on our websites, but we do post-moderate in response to complaints we receive or otherwise when a potential problem comes to our attention. You can make a complaint by using the ‘report this post’ link . We may then apply our discretion under the user terms to amend or delete comments.
Post moderation is undertaken full-time 9am-6pm on weekdays, and on a part-time basis outwith those hours.
Read the rules hereLast Updated:
Report this comment Cancel