Do police in Scotland carry guns?
44781169#1
In some countries including England, Scotland, Wales, Republic of Ireland, Norway, Iceland, and New Zealand police do not carry firearms unless the situation is expected to involve gunfire from the opposing force. A survey conducted in Great Britain in 2004 found that 47% of citizens supported arming all police while 48% were opposed to the idea.
Police firearm use by country
12457017#20
In 2013, Police Scotland was formed with the inaugural Chief Constable granting a standing authority for ARV officers to overtly wear handguns, instead of being secured or concealed, and to deploy their weapons without requiring approval and also to be tasked for routine incidents (non-firearms incidents). A survey conducted by the Scottish Police Authority showed that 53% of the public supported sending ARV officers to routine calls and incidents while wearing a visible sidearm.
In May 2014, the Firearms Act 1968 was amended to recognise the British Transport Police (BTP) as a police force under the Act in order to provide BTP a firearms licensing exemption the same as other police forces. BTP had, since armed policing commenced in February 2012, required an Authorised Firearms Officer (AFO) to apply to their local police force in a private capacity for a firearms certificate to enable them to perform the AFO role.
Police use of firearms in the United Kingdom
44781169#21
The police forces in the United Kingdom are managed by different bodies and as such they have different standards for firearms usage. Police in Northern Ireland regularly carry firearms whereas the police in Scotland, England and Wales do not.
Police firearm use by country
12457017#0
The United Kingdom is made up of four constituent countries: England, Scotland, Wales (which make up Great Britain), and Northern Ireland. 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. This originates from the formation of the Metropolitan Police Service in the 19th century, when police were not armed, partly to counter public fears and objections over armed enforcers as this had been previously seen due to the British Army maintaining order when needed. The arming of police in Great Britain is a perennial topic of debate.
Police use of firearms in the United Kingdom
1074011#21
The CPI (Maoist)'s General Secretary says that they keep on appealing to the "lower-level personnel" in the paramilitary and police forces not to attack them, but rather "join hands with the masses" and "consciously" point their guns towards whom the Maoists view as "real enemies." They further claims that "only when the government forces come to attack us [Maoists] carrying guns do we attack them in self-defence." In Jharkhand, the police have also clutched posters from various places which read, "Policemen keep away from the green hunt and try to be friends of poor. Police jawan, do not obey orders of the senior officials, instead join the people's army."
Communist Party of India (Maoist)
34423036#27
Prior to the inception of Police Scotland, the routine tasking and visibility of ARV officers varied widely across Scotland with deployment models varying for matters such as if officers carried side arms with a standing authority or if they were secured in the vehicles. The operational functions and cover of the ARV's also varied including if they could be tasked for routine incidents and one legacy force did not have a regular ARV patrol. Police Scotland introduced ARV patrols in all 13 local policing divisions in Scotland with 275 dedicated officers. ARV officers carry a Taser, a Glock 17 handgun and a Heckler & Koch G36 carbine. Former Chief Constable Sir Stephen House's founding policy decision was that ARV officers would be granted a standing authority to overtly carry their sidearm and, in addition, controversially allowed ARV's to be able to respond to routine incidents (non-firearms incidents) "to provide support to local policing through regular and tasked patrols". This policy was made without proper consultation provoking both political and public debate. In October 2014, the policy was changed so that an ARV can only be tasked to an incident involving firearms or a threat to life.
Police Scotland
19316518#3
Firearms issued to Authorised Firearms Officers include:Unlike territorial police forces in England, Scotland and Wales, the Police Service of Northern Ireland routinely arms all of its officers. Officers are issued the Glock 17 pistol, phasing out the now obsolete Ruger Speed-Six revolvers previously issued. Historically, long arms were routinely issued: either the Sterling submachine gun and later Heckler & Koch MP5, or rifles such as Heckler & Koch G3s, G36 K and C variants, or HK33s. The latter replaced Ruger AC-556 select fire rifles. Long arms are still routinely carried in areas of higher threat such as North and West Belfast or various border areas.
List of police firearms in the United Kingdom
9679918#2
Each police district is led by a chief of police and is subdivided into several police stations in towns and cities, and sheriffs' offices for rural areas. The Governor of Svalbard acts as chief of police for Svalbard. Norwegian police officers do not carry firearms, but keep their Heckler & Koch MP5 submachine guns and Heckler & Koch P30 pistols locked down in the patrol cars. The Norwegian Prosecuting Authority is partially integrated with the police.
Norwegian Police Service
14165890#3
Police typically carry a semi-automatic handgun as their main weapon such as a Glock 9 mm. As well, they also carry ancillary weapons such as batons and pepper spray. In some jurisdictions, police are allowed to carry a back-up handgun in case there is a malfunction or ammunition jam with the main duty weapon. These back-up guns are usually smaller in size and caliber than the main weapon and most are suitable only for close-range self-defense. Some law enforcement officers keep the back-up gun in a different location than their duty gun or in a location that is well-concealed (e.g., in an ankle holster or in a holster in the small of the back), so that even if they have their duty handgun taken away by an armed perpetrator, they will still have a gun.
Ancillary weapon
20816431#51
Holders of different categories of firearms licenses have different possibility of carrying their firearms. In general, it is prohibited to carry firearms to court buildings (they may be left for safe keeping with the judicial guard upon entry before passing through metal detector), at demonstrations or mass meetings. It is also generally considered irresponsible to take guns to clubs or bars even though it is not explicitly prohibited by law. Carrying a gun while intoxicated is, however, illegal and can lead to heavy fines and losing the gun license, with police frequently conducting intoxication tests of open-carrying hunters. Carrying guns in schools and campuses is not prohibited by law and there are no so called "gun-free zones".
Gun laws in the Czech Republic
1454063#20
Guns, explosives and bulletproof vests are illegal. Only the Peace Force, the island's heavily armed law enforcement agency, can carry guns and they enforce this law very vigorously. Drug laws are similar to those in Europe and USA but enforced only sporadically. Otherwise the police and government lets everybody do whatever they want unless it threatens the state or they have something to gain in stopping it.
Over the Edge (game)