Do london police carry guns?

In Northern Ireland, all police officers carry firearms. In the rest of the United Kingdom, the majority of police officers do not carry firearms; that duty is instead carried out by specially-trained firearms officers. read more

The deaths of two female police constables have brought into focus the unarmed status of most British police. read more

Yesterday, for instance, police confronted and shot the suspects within eight minutes of the first emergency call. According to the Guardian, a survey of British police officers earlier this year found that a quarter of them said that they should routinely carry guns. read more

All major police forces in Europe, as well as the US, Canada and Australia routinely carry firearms, says Prof Peter Waddington. The exceptions are Britain, the Irish Republic, and New Zealand. In Norway officers carry arms in their cars but not on their person, he says. read more

It's a strategy that seems to work surprisingly well for other countries: In Britain, Ireland, Norway, Iceland and New Zealand, officers are unarmed when they are on patrol. Police are only equipped with firearms in special circumstances. Police officers there have saved lives — exactly because they were unable to shoot. read more