It has finally happened.

www.telegraph.co.uk/ne...-time.html

Just looked at the pic on the link, didn't think the Police used the Diemarco?? Wonder why the other has a G36?

To get back on thread, good. More bobbies on the beat is a winner and the fact that they can now match the criminals in terms of resources instantly in some cases all the better.

So what...its been like that in other European countries for years...without having US-style cop versus bad-guy shoot outs!

Not quite the first time for armed police. Up until about 1954 plod routinely carried a pistol on foot patrol. But it was personal choice whether they did or not.

GMP did this in the 1990's in Moss Side and Longsight, and as OFH says there was a time when PC's could opt to be armed in the outlying areas of the MPD at night. (see Mick Waldron's book London's Armed Police) also DPG do local footpatrols as well as Door Post Guarding.

Trotsky

Gun nerd mode on.... the photo caption states that the CO19 patrols will be carrying MP5s and Glocks. In the picture itself one guy is carrying a G36 and the other is carrying what looks like an M4 derivative. Maybe an HK416?

Its not that uncommon here in North Wales.
Week beofre last I say an armed plod (holstered pistol, Glock I think) stood at the roadside operating a radar speed trap.
Personally I think they they persecute speeders a bit to heavily here and armed response to speeders is a little harsh.
Last Christmas we had two plod with an MP5 and a G36(I think) wandering around outside a local shopping centre.

I don't understand why the police need guns the Government banned guns so there can't be any gun crime, just like they banned carrying knives and now there's no knife crime.

HK416 would be my guess too,as it doesn't look quite as a Diemaco.

Now can we actually have some police (armed or otherwise) actually on foot patrols. Visisble deterrent and all that.
Id like to know what the ROE are?

Except it doesn't work, or at least not here in North Wales.
Under Brunstrom crime soared in every area other than traffic, to soon to tell with the new Chief Constable but so far he shows no signs of changing North Wales Police policy of persecuting the motorist and ignoring all other crime.

18 Met cops with guns to cover the main areas of gun crime ie:

Hackney, Lambeth, Southwark,
Haringey, Waltham Forest, Lewisham,
Brent, Tower Hamlets, Newham, Islington,
Greenwich, Ealing, Barking & Dagenham
Hammersmith & Fulham, Enfield,
Camden, Wandsworth, Redbridge,
Croydon & Merton.

It's a start I suppose.

I'm sure I saw plod with a minimi, and his mucker with a G36 cutting about at Heathrow last summer...

they've been doing it in nottingham for a while now.

every thing all pink and rose tinted where you live then?

I find it bizzare that most of them feel the need to slap double mags on there weapon.

I mean in reality, when the feck are they ever going to have the need for that FFS?

Pah! thats nothing, we have armed dissidents doing routine patrols here, with RPG's to boot!

news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/no...220888.stm

Fcuk it. Why not go the full monty and have the equipped with some of these too.

CLICKY

I can’t help but be a little disappointed that it has come to this.

The Police have been steadily using force since 1997. Whilst some of this is a reaction to increasing gun and violent crime – I don’t accept that many Police Officers regularly encounter or deal with such situations – even in gun crime hotspots-, showing that they do not need to carry lethal force. It would be interesting to see the Police records as to how many average plods have ever needed to use lethal force.

I would also question the effectiveness of such a measure. What rules of engagement are they going to use? If they see an armed man are they going to be allowed to shoot? The logic of this decision (if we accept the Police case) is fairly clear ‘If that's where the gun crime is then that's where the armed officers should be.’ However, the idea of Police walking around waving guns is threatening and hinders wider police goals of being approachable.

In the article it says they are equipped with MP5s "capable of 800 rounds a minute"

I thought the police weapons were all modified to be single shot only?