Why is it rare for UK police to have guns?

Question

I've noticed every American police officer has a gun however the average police officer in the UK rarely has one, only a truncheon.

Why is this?

Thanks.

Answer 1

Fewer guns. (Although officers do get shot there, as you know.) Some of it goes back to the history of the two policing organizations. In the UK, police were conceived of as being citizens doing their bit. Many public positions in Britain were historically passed around among the citizenry, and you were expected to do you part. So, the idea was citizens dealing with citizens, and next time the roles might be reversed. You may know that British police officers can be personally sued for their actions, but the other side is that they're not bound so strongly by such things as warrants. They just have to be right. It's part of that idea of more citizen than government agent. It's obviously not like that now, but things like the hang on. In the U.S., policing has always been a plain arm of government, with police agents as career people. And the U.S. was, for much of its existence, a series of moving frontiers. Pennsylvania was once the frontier. Frontiers are rough places, and firearms were a necessity for survival on frontiers, even if not used in crime. Indians and bears rarely respond to just harsh language. (Although I know of at least one old time Texas sheriff who never did carry a gun and managed to die of old age.)

I remember a time some years ago when a particularly whiny liberal (in the American sense) British government even took away the truncheons for a while.  

Answer 2

Because they are idiots. Antone doing this kind of work needs to have the tools to protect himself and the general public.

Answer 3

Because in the United Kingdom and mostly in England there is hardly any criminals all they do is drink tea and have rotten yellow teeth and say "ello Govenor."

Answer 4

Gun culture is rare in England thats why.The average criminal in England rarely uses a gun,so the use of guns is not really needed unless of course the situation calls fo it and thats whn they police bring out the trained specialists that use them.