More than 100 officers thought to be returning permits after a colleague was charged with murder.
I think it’s pretty troubling that the military may have to step in to cover what should be police matters when it’s not a matter of a national emergency.
I'm not sure if being able to shoot with impunity is what these armed officers are asking for. It seems that they've lost confidence that the justice systems will treat them or their colleagues fairly after being asked to make split second decisions that could result in someone losing their life in extremely dangerous situations.
The police should be accountable, but I don't think it's good for either the police or the public that these armed officers hesitate to act in situations that call for their intervention because they're worried about being prosecuted if it all goes wrong.
Officers who were acting by the book shouldn't be afraid of doing their job just because there was an unfortunate outcome.
Would definitely go some way to explaining why morale in the police (the Met at least) has been terrible for years and experienced officers are leaving faster than new ones are joining.
Why do such a stressful job if you don’t even believe you’re ultimately making a difference?