London Attack

[CharlesHarris]

Another viewpoint from across the pond:

http://dailycaller.com/2017/03/24/britai...s-unarmed/

The officer stabbed in Wednesday’s terror attack in London was unarmed, like more than 90 percent of the British police force. Keith Palmer, 48, was stabbed to death while guarding the entrance to the British Houses of Parliament unarmed.

Just 2,800 out of London’s 31,075 police officers are armed, which the police force considers a safety measure. A cornerstone principle of the Metropolitan Police in London is that guns send the wrong message to communities by provoking crime rather than preventing it. Most officers are only equipped with batons, handcuffs, a mace and in some cases, stun-guns.

A small number of specially-trained officers are the only ones carrying guns on patrol. These include counterterrorism police and some officers in high-risk areas like the Parliament. While countries such as Germany, France and Belgium have put more armed officers on the streets in response to a wave of terror attacks around the continent, the United Kingdom has maintained its “policing by consent” approach to security.

The Metropolitan Police increased the number of armed officers by 600 after the truck attack in Nice last July, but the total number is still a mere 9 percent of the entire force...

(Over the years, I've gotten conflicting reports over whether showing a strong interest in firearms will keep a constable off the armed squad. Thankfully, I've not seen such a report in a few years but I recall a couple of tragic [Safety] Rules violations by police instructors who might have known better, were “gun culture” not officially discouraged.)