The Pros And Cons Of Police Weapons

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Recently, the death of a Chinese man who was shotted by French police has brought into focus the issue of guns. Though the French officers claimed that the man had attacked them with a pair of scissors and they had acted in self defense. Witnesses denied this. A large number of people hold firm against issuing guns to police officers because making firearms more accessible can promote violence, like the manslaughter mentioned above. While, others believe that carrying weapons openly by the police would deter hooligans from having their own weapons, and hence, reduce the level of crimes in the society.

Though a number of people argue that police should be armed as it is a deterrent of crime, there is no actual evidence that carrying guns can decrease the crime rate. On the contrary, police weapons may add fuel to the gun culture and there is a great risk of police having weapons taken from them. Equally markedly, ambush can never be controlled, whether or not officers are armed. Most importantly, the introduction of armed patrols can make policeman unapproachable. Police’s authority is based on public trust in their regulations entrusted to them but not intimidation. The oppressive and menacing police force might make people fancy themselves …show more content…

Learned from the lesson of 11 September attacks, the sight of armed officers at airpots, embassies and other security-sensitive locations becomes extremely common. Unbelievably, the criminal element nowadays is far better armed than police department most of the times, due to budget constraints. This makes it essential, vital and significant for police to be armed and to be armed well, otherwise, they will be too reactive when they own life is in jeopardy and violence will be prevalent throughout the whole