The former leader of Britain’s senior police officers has warned that the service could face difficulties finding enough policemen and women willing to carry firearms unless those officers are given greater legal protection following shooting incidents.

Chris Fox, the former President of the Association of Chief Police Officers (ACPO) and ex-chief constable of Northamptonshire, told an audience of security experts while officers were willing to be fully accountable and understood that they had to be able to justify their actions, they did not seem to get the same levels of protection that other members of society received.

Asked whether police officers were no longer willing to come forward to take up firearms, Mr Fox said: “Certainly that’s an issue, and it will become more of an issue if officers cannot be given some level of legal protection.”

Examining the consequences of fatal shootings by police officers, Mr Fox continued: “When a Crown Prosecutor or a coroner looks at a case and decides that the shooting was lawful, the prosecution stops there. But because we are seen as an agent of the state, or of security, this is somehow seen as the police not being accountable enough, as the prosecutor or coroner is viewed by some as being part of the same state organisation.
“There are plenty of other incidences of prosecutions not going ahead because a prosecutor has decided that certain actions are lawful, but when it involves police firearms officers some people don’t seem prepared to accept that. In reality police officers aren’t even getting the same level of protection as other members of society.”

Mr Fox was speaking at the Counter Terror World Conference in London, where more than 300 delegates from around the world gathered to discuss and debate the la-*test*-('") techniques and technology involved in combating terrorism.

The conference ran alongside London’s largest ever security exhibition, featuring more than 150 leading companies including SecurityOracle.com, the website for the security industry. Andrew Greenfield, SecurityOracle.com MD, said: “The standard of debate in the conference was matched by the innovation and technology on display in the exhibition, and we had a fantastic response over the two days from delegates and exhibition visitors alike.”

I on't want a gun, i'm bad enough with a horse

Increase ARV numbers, no need for everyone to be armed


Bad enough Richie thinking he's John Wayne already without arming him

Let the good guys sort it out

If not, call for an arv, might even be there by end of shift*

















*30 minutes or your pizza is free conditions: Weather and traffic permitting, only with in a 3 mile radius of dominos pizza, dependent of how busy we are and drivers available

Being armed every shift have to say don't go out without it but I guess that is simply because am used to having it.

Must say over here, that pretty much all of our guys do well when involved in shootings. Of course get investigated by the coroner and internals but every one so far has been cleared. Once cleared there is no more heard of it with none in my memory ever been charged for using it.