The Arming of Police Officers

Mike Waldren is a former Chief Superintendent in charge of the Metropolitan Police Firearms Unit. In this article, he considers the reappraisal of unarmed policing in Britain. The recent news that armed officers would be patrolling the streets in London excited a great deal of attention but very little comment. It has now become an accepted fact of life that the police sometimes need guns. However, the use of a firearm by a police officer is the highest expression of the use of force by the State. This article examines why guns are issued to police officers and when they can use them.