The policemen in the United Kingdom are routinely unarmed, whereas in the North America and most European countries – as elsewhere – policemen are routinely armed. The policemen in the Czech Republic are routinely armed. It is very difficult to say which model of police is better, because there are many advantages and disadvantages of armed police.
In my opinion, the basic advantage of armed police is the presence of power. The police officer with a gun is more respectable than without. The effect of the gun-visibility, like the effect of the uniform, gives the police power to correct the behavior of people around him with any action whatever. This is a very strange effect of police presence on the street. People seethe police as the face of the law. I suppose, it is the way how to intimidate the people not to commit criminal acts. Probably, this my point of view is not so easily applicable to the USA, where it is the right of every person to carry gun by law.
Contrary, there are many examples of the police misusing theirs gun. According to police statistical data, there are more then five hundred incidents per year when the police gun is used incorrectly or illegally and the other people (the public) are real or potential victims of these situations.
Taking everything into account, it is my opinion that is not necessary to change the present situation regarding armed police. In different counties, they have different culture and different expectations from their national police units. Both models – armed and unarmed police - are “working”. From my point of view the calls for a reduction in police reliance on firepower are only “the political games”. Needless to say, I have good knowledge only about the situation in the Czech Republic and it is very difficult for me to compare it with the other countries.
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