Arming the force would, say opponents, undermine the principle of policing by consent - the notion that the force owes its primary duty to the public, rather than to the state When Robert Peel formed the Metropolitan Police there was a very strong fear of the military - the masses feared the new force would be oppressive. A couple of excerpts from a BBC article discussing police arms. These capture some of my feelings.
Posted on: Thu, 04 Dec 2014 09:21:27 +0000