Riots in London: should police be allowed deadly force?

[Sweetdeath]

I just need to say that this angers me. It enrages me. People who riot, loot, and steal only hurt innocent shop owners and residents. A building holding 26 families had to be evacuated when the carpet store on the ground floor was set ablaze by rioters.

Apparently  this all began when a boy was killed?  All I know is the police are being injured, attacked, and put in very dangerous situations. I think they should be allowed to use deadly force to take care of these morons, not just try to arrest them....   It really bothers me when  people riot.   It makes me think of the horrible LA riots, which haunted me as a kid watching clips of it on the news.



http://m.yahoo.com/w/news_america/london-rioters-battle-police-shooting-protest-054921704.html?orig_host_hdr=news.yahoo.com&.intl=us&.lang=en-us
What do you think?    I worry about my friends near London...

[Willow]

Rioting in London, Liverpool, Birmingham last night.
There were suggestions of something going on in Manchester (where I am), but I think this is untrue.  However it is in the interest of the police to suppress what they can in order to halt the momentum.

The attacks are being carried out by groups of young men, not massive groups.  40 or 50 seem to be enough to overwhelm the police.  They are of all races and colours and are very young, mainly teenagers.

I'm mainly watching Facebook and Youtube for news.

Although I am a few miles from the city centre, I live on a deprived estate with pleanty of deprived dissafected teenagers.  I might do a little panic buying today.

[Sweetdeath]

Hey Willow, glad to hear you are alright.

Do you have any idea why the police are not able to keep this group under control ? I have been watching BBC news.

[xSilverPhinx]

No, I think that if the use of deadly force is what started this riot, it will only escalate it, and the police might lose the support of larger sections of the population, such as the friends and family of those kids who were otherwise not getting negatively involved. It's all downfall from there, IMo.

I'm actually surprised to see, at least in clips that are on YouTube, why the police aren't using some sort of repellant for these people? Don't they have anything? ??? Standing with sheilds and a baston stick won't get anyone very far, especially when you have people throwing things at you and stuff. The police look just as disorganised and disordered as the mobs.

[Tank]

Any linkage to the original police action is now gone. This is just gangs of kids overwhelming the authorities.

[Sweetdeath]

If someone is coming at you with a weapon, bottle, plank, whatever--  the police have a right and duty to defend themselves.

These savages are looting and burning buildings with FAMILIES living inside to the ground.  I would petsonally love to take an uzi and spray the rioters dead.

[Crow]

Depends, for what has currently been happening in the UK no f'ing way. Somebody that's armed with a gun, bomb or similar form of weapon and is an obvious threat to the public that cant be diffused by restraint then yes, but this should be the last resort with the primary focus on disarming the threat. Just because someone is acting a dick doesn't constitute the government to allow the use of deadly force.

[Munchkin Goddess]

If someone is coming at you with a weapon, bottle, plank, whatever--  the police have a right and duty to defend themselves.

These savages are looting and burning buildings with FAMILIES living inside to the ground.  I would petsonally love to take an uzi and spray the rioters dead.

While I do think the police have a right to use whatever force necessary to defend themselves and society, I think something like that would only injury innocent people as well. I know you weren't being serious (or I think), but just thought I should say that.

Isn't there strict gun control laws where no one is allowed to have a gun in the UK?

[Tank]

If someone is coming at you with a weapon, bottle, plank, whatever--  the police have a right and duty to defend themselves.

These savages are looting and burning buildings with FAMILIES living inside to the ground.  I would petsonally love to take an uzi and spray the rioters dead.

While I do think the police have a right to use whatever force necessary to defend themselves and society, I think something like that would only injury innocent people as well. I know you weren't being serious (or I think), but just thought I should say that.

Isn't there strict gun control laws where no one is allowed to have a gun in the UK?

There are very strict gun laws in the UK. Hand guns cannot be owned by civillians. Rifles and shotguns are allowed but are strictly licenced.

[Munchkin Goddess]

If someone is coming at you with a weapon, bottle, plank, whatever--  the police have a right and duty to defend themselves.

These savages are looting and burning buildings with FAMILIES living inside to the ground.  I would petsonally love to take an uzi and spray the rioters dead.

While I do think the police have a right to use whatever force necessary to defend themselves and society, I think something like that would only injury innocent people as well. I know you weren't being serious (or I think), but just thought I should say that.

Isn't there strict gun control laws where no one is allowed to have a gun in the UK?

There are very strict gun laws in the UK. Hand guns cannot be owned by civillians. Rifles and shotguns are allowed but are strictly licenced.

Why can one own a shotgun, rather than a pistol? O_O

[Tank]

If someone is coming at you with a weapon, bottle, plank, whatever--  the police have a right and duty to defend themselves.

These savages are looting and burning buildings with FAMILIES living inside to the ground.  I would petsonally love to take an uzi and spray the rioters dead.

While I do think the police have a right to use whatever force necessary to defend themselves and society, I think something like that would only injury innocent people as well. I know you weren't being serious (or I think), but just thought I should say that.

Isn't there strict gun control laws where no one is allowed to have a gun in the UK?

There are very strict gun laws in the UK. Hand guns cannot be owned by civillians. Rifles and shotguns are allowed but are strictly licenced.

Why can one own a shotgun, rather than a pistol? O_O

The argument is that rural users require them for pest control and game shooting, and they are difficult to conceal (evidently the cops didn't know about hacksaws).

[Munchkin Goddess]

The argument is that rural users require them for pest control and game shooting, and they are difficult to conceal (evidently the cops didn't know about hacksaws).

Why is it consider game to shoot with a shotgun? Can you even eat an animal being shot with one?

Also, I'm confuse about your comment of hacksaws.

[Davin]

The argument is that rural users require them for pest control and game shooting, and they are difficult to conceal (evidently the cops didn't know about hacksaws).

Why is it consider game to shoot with a shotgun? Can you even eat an animal being shot with one?

Yes, while cleaning the animal one can take out parts they don't wish to eat.

Also, I'm confuse about your comment of hacksaws.

Hack saws can be used to make the weapons shorter and thus easy to conceil thereby making the point of allowing large weapons because they're harder to conceil moot.

[Tank]

The argument is that rural users require them for pest control and game shooting, and they are difficult to conceal (evidently the cops didn't know about hacksaws).

Why is it consider game to shoot with a shotgun? Can you even eat an animal being shot with one?

Also, I'm confuse about your comment of hacksaws.

Game shooting is things like pheasants, duck and partridge etc And yes you can eat what you shoot.

A classic crooks weapon is a shotgun with the barrels sawn off so the gun can be concealed under a coat, one would use a hacksaw to cut the barrels off.

I will be less cryptic in future  

[Munchkin Goddess]

Well I know you can eat what you shoot, but wouldn't it be a pain taking the piece out of an animal you just killed with a shotgun? Granted, I don't know much about guns (unless it's a gun in a video game); however, doesn't the thing being shot have multiple tiny shotgun bullets in the wound?