AFO's question

[Greek]

i'm just wondering, when you become a AFO does that mean you can carry firearms whilst off duty? also would you be allowed to order firearms that would normally be unattainable such as a pistol from a manufacture such as berreta or colt etc

[Shortty]

No, and no, simply! Your question scares me a little, please tell me your not a gun nut!! lol

[Greek]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Shortty No, and no, simply! Your question scares me a little, please tell me your not a gun nut!! lol

i am very interested in guns but im not asking because i was wanting to do it, i was just seeing if police in the UK had the same rules as the Police in the US, as a police officer in the US u can order what ever you want. i guess in the UK we are way more strict with our gun laws fairly good thing i guess

[Shortty]

You sure you wouldn't prefer a little time in the forces before you join civpol? Sounds like you're looking for maybe more excitment than AFO is going to give you. Don't forget if you fire your weapon in anger on the street you can look forward to a 2-3yr suspension while lots of men (and ladies!) in suits decide whether to prosecute you for murder or not!

And no, the US has vastly different gun laws to the UK as you say, so the control of police firearms is very high.

[Greek]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Shortty You sure you wouldn't prefer a little time in the forces before you join civpol? Sounds like you're looking for maybe more excitment than AFO is going to give you. Don't forget if you fire your weapon in anger on the street you can look forward to a 2-3yr suspension while lots of men (and ladies!) in suits decide whether to prosecute you for murder or not! And no, the US has vastly different gun laws to the UK as you say, so the control of police firearms is very high.

i know the red tape is stopping police doing their job properly, if your put in a situation where u have to make a split second decision or someone or yourself can be killed, you cant afford to think "oh wait i could go prission" before you take the shot. and no to the army. the cut backs this government has made on this army has made the the country weak, im just glad we are at war with a developing country rather than a developed country or we would of had our asses handed to us. thank god we still have the best special services in the world. also i do not agree with the foreign policy of the UK so i will not risk my life for something i do not agree with

[ynwa]

in northern ireland you can carry your firearm off duty. however not all police in northern ireland are AFO's. it is simply seen as a PPW due to the threat PSNI officers have to deal with off duty.

[Shortty]

Personally think the strength of the british army is in the quality of it's soldiers and not the funding it receives - because let's face it, our army has never had enough money, most armies never do unless someone is planning on invading with it... As for risking your life to enforce policy you don't agree with.. welcome to the police force, it's the same thing mate, admittedly less risk, but still an increasing risk with global terrorism blah blah blah, but honestly the most frustrating thing is enforcing policies that are just plain stupid that have been decided upon by the govt.

Be carefull of saying stuff like the special forces have sorted it all too, as good as they are, it's the army, navy, airforce and marines as a whole who are doing it day in day out and sorting it. They are all very professional well trained discplined soldiers, and it is this that is stopping us losing more to the conflicts, simply the way they "police" as an occupying force is something a lot of armies could learn from.

ynwa - Is there still much risk to PSNI then? Obviously it's all calmed down a fair bit over the years, just wondering how much is still happening over there.. do the officers still need the PPW's or is it just something that is carried over?

[13ryan]

Greek,
I can not agree more with the posts written by Shorty/Co19......you will need a minimum of 5 years in the uniform positions before applying for firearms positions. You will have to complete the pre selection course as well.... My advice would be think carefully about the role firearms officers play. As previously mentioned they work there nuts off on a daily basis only to be F****D by the suits when they discharge there weapons. taake the recent tragic events in west London with that lawyer. The IPCC have said they will only do a preliminary report for 4 months time... Those guys will be suspened from front line till then.
Shortys last comments are so true, The job is F*****....I have left the Met as i was fed up with politics and form filling and ass covering...There are some amazing positions available once you are inside in a wide variety of posts but please dont compare policing in the UK with the US as you will be dissappointed.
My advice if you want a real feel for what policing london is like ask to be posted to an inner london borough. Try Southwark,lambeth, Tower Hamlets, Hackney but dont forget your MetVest.....Be safe

[Greek]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Shortty Personally think the strength of the british army is in the quality of it's soldiers and not the funding it receives - because let's face it, our army has never had enough money, most armies never do unless someone is planning on invading with it... As for risking your life to enforce policy you don't agree with.. welcome to the police force, it's the same thing mate, admittedly less risk, but still an increasing risk with global terrorism blah blah blah, but honestly the most frustrating thing is enforcing policies that are just plain stupid that have been decided upon by the govt. Be carefull of saying stuff like the special forces have sorted it all too, as good as they are, it's the army, navy, airforce and marines as a whole who are doing it day in day out and sorting it. They are all very professional well trained discplined soldiers, and it is this that is stopping us losing more to the conflicts, simply the way they "police" as an occupying force is something a lot of armies could learn from. ynwa - Is there still much risk to PSNI then? Obviously it's all calmed down a fair bit over the years, just wondering how much is still happening over there.. do the officers still need the PPW's or is it just something that is carried over?

thats not totally true, the UK had the biggest Navy in the world, but due to cut backs its now not. the US, Chinese and Russian armys are now getting everything they want. granted our forces are way better trained than the Russian and Chinese and maybe even US to a degree. but training is only half the job u need the tools to go with it. the amount of tax we pay on everything our army should be getting the works. major generals have also complained about this situation the blunt truth is the cut backs are making us weak, more vulnerable, and endangering the well trained service men and women.

[baghdadbg]

What is your role, job spec at the moment