Indeed, they already have a huge number of tactics at their disposal. The main thing that is needed is Police numbers, this basically sounds like a directive coming from the attitude of 'well, we'll make Police redundant but as compensation you can shoot people'.

FT Clicky

I saw him in an interview yesterday and he made quite sure of the point, baton rounds and water cannons would have of been of no use in the recent riots. Furthermore, he was working in NI where baton rounds were used and highlighted the fact that they do kill. People do not forget that and it's no way to encourage support for and belief in the Police.

As another point for any people who are quick to say 'kill them', think of the Police carrying out the action. They have to take the responsibility for taking the lives of people, they have to live with it and deal with it on a day to day basis. Flippant remarks about shooting people show that people do not have a full understanding of the reality of what actually happens.

that's a 0.0136% chance of fatality, with an older variant of the rubber/plastic bullet and not the Attenuated Energy Projectile


you may have missed my emoticon when I posted shoot them, that is if your referring to me making the flippant remark and not others.
The initial riots this summer, water cannon could of been used quite effectively if they had been deployed and actually used and we didn't have the situation where the commanders in charge prevaricating about what to do. Once they had started to loot then they should of gone in hard and fast.

shall we keep this can of worms closed? Or discuss utopia and opiates?
The Police have a thankless task here as any immediate response is a blunt instrument. They are not the problem or the solution.

The underlying causes of dissatisfaction on this scale are plain to see. HM Gov.co.uk have clearly shirked their responsibilities wrt employment and housing. However, I am not convinced that personal responsibility, on the part of everyone involved, should be absolved. The welfare state does allow certain types to wallow in self pity and the mistaken belief that they have one over on the man. Truth is they are denying themselves any self respect. Little consolation, I know, for those who lost so much in the riots.

Start early with a more practical approach at school. Not everyone has the ability to hunt for Quarks. Indeed I think 25% of the population leave education semi or illiterate. These need our help, not just jobs and homes (though that would be a good start).

It was more of a general remark to be honest,


That's the thing there are many tactics they could have employed, without the need for water cannon or the like, but as you say if they hadn't have prevaricated about what to do.

I agree entirely. These people made a choice. They chose to go out and smash up the place, and take what they wanted. It's not as if they were demonstrating for any purpose. They were not trying to make the world see that they'd had enough of the old regime and wanted democracy. What they wanted was TVs and trainers and other stuff that they didn't want to pay for, and they had no problem smashing windows and burning down property and making a proper nuisance of themselves in order to get what they wanted.

I'll say it again.

Just shoot the [LIFTED]. Problem solved.

If you truly believe that JV then I must have misjudged your level of insight.

I go to work and I pay my taxes. I would never dream of going out with the sole intention of smashing windows in, taking someone else's property and setting fire to the place. Throwing rocks and stuff at the police is also not something I list on my CV, under hobbies and interests.
The people who do this do so knowing that if they get caught they won't really be punished. Maybe cracking down and shooting a few of them might put out a message. This kind of behaviour will not be tolerated.

More likely it would start a proper riot. The kind were half the country gets burned, the schools are shut, the shops are boarded up and people get killed.

You don't teach people a lesson by acting even worse than they do.

That's because you've been brought up properly, and generally had the opportunities to improve your life. Those who rioted in the summer would tell a different story.

The way to prevent this stuff happening again is to look at the causes of people not getting their chances in life and sort that out. Shooting rioters after the fact isn't necessarily the way forward.

The only opportunities I've had are the ones I have paid for. I left school with no qualifications to speak of, and paid my own college fees by working nights. It was dirty, heavy work, but I did it to improve my prospects.

Am I right to resent the fact that todays youth expect, (and seem to get) everything on a plate, and get away with murder? Probably.

Should I be venting at stupid o'clock in the morning, when I am super grumpy? Maybe not.

I think it's fair to resent something like that. However, wishing them death is, as I said, not the answer.

While I remember...
Twitterites who are not at all feeling entitled.

Why did you have to link to that? Now I have been forced to come to the conclusion that we are, as a species, screwed

What we really need to do is take off and nuke the whole place from orbit. It's the only way to be sure.