Getting worse ?

[Heartland]

Armed police descended on a popular spot near a shopping centre following reports of children with an imitation firearm and knives. Three teenagers were arrested in dramatic scenes on the Waterfront in Brierley Hill near Merry Hill Shopping Centre.

A girl and two boys were detained on suspicion of possession of knives and an imitation firearm at around 3.45pm on Thursday, June 22. They ranged in age from 14 to 16, police have said.

 

 

[beerbeerbeerbeerbeer]

There was an incident outside the Malt House in Brum last week.

The police attended. 
Gang of youths kicking the stuffing out of one lad. 
All in school uniform, so I’m told. 
Early evening while lots of folk about. 

 

[Guest]

1 hour ago, Heartland said:

Armed police descended on a popular spot near a shopping centre following reports of children with an imitation firearm and knives. Three teenagers were arrested in dramatic scenes on the Waterfront in Brierley Hill near Merry Hill Shopping Centre.

A girl and two boys were detained on suspicion of possession of knives and an imitation firearm at around 3.45pm on Thursday, June 22. They ranged in age from 14 to 16, police have said.

 

 

 

Anybody carrying an imitation firearm is just asking to shot by the Police, of course there will be a massive hooha and outpouring on Facebook about what a 'kind and gentle lad he was', then the tradtional laying of flowers at the scene and massive consequences for the poor copper that shot the little turd.

 

Not forgetting the subsequent rather pathetic release of helium ballons that endager wildlife.

[Hudds Lad]

4 minutes ago, M_JG said:

 

Anybody carrying an imitation firearm is just asking to shot by the Police, of course there will be a massive hooha and outpouring on Facebook about what a 'kind and gentle lad he was', then the tradtional laying of flowers at the scene and massive consequences for the poor copper that shot the little turd.

 

Not forgetting the subsequent rather pathetic release of helium ballons that endager wildlife.

Think they still put flowers up by the M62 where the police dispatched an armed drug baron

[Victor Vectis]

And then near where the M1/M62 intersection is now there used to be Lofthouse Colliery.

 

In 1973 7 miners were killed by an inrush from old mine workings.

Only one body recovered. The other six are still down there.

[Private Fraser]

18 hours ago, Hudds Lad said:

Think they still put flowers up by the M62 where the police dispatched an armed drug baron

Johnson killed a few recently and he gets a lifetime pension😉

[Nightwatch]

About thirty years ago, he confessed this fairly recently, our eldest, with friends were driving along a major road near Portsmouth. They had toy guns and were pretending to shoot at cars. Not long afterwards they were pounced upon by a number of police cars and stopped. Some bobbies were armed. Frightened the lives out of them. No action taken apart from a lecture etc.

[IanD]

16 minutes ago, Nightwatch said:

About thirty years ago, he confessed this fairly recently, our eldest, with friends were driving along a major road near Portsmouth. They had toy guns and were pretending to shoot at cars. Not long afterwards they were pounced upon by a number of police cars and stopped. Some bobbies were armed. Frightened the lives out of them. No action taken apart from a lecture etc.

Today they may well have been shot, going by some recent unfortunate incidents -- especially if they were black... 😞

[Nightwatch]

20 minutes ago, IanD said:

Today they may well have been shot, going by some recent unfortunate incidents -- especially if they were black... 😞

He isn’t and it was ages ago. Just goes to show though that whatever is being done to stop this isn’t working.

[IanD]

1 hour ago, Nightwatch said:

He isn’t and it was ages ago. Just goes to show though that whatever is being done to stop this isn’t working.

Do you mean stopping gun crime (which is thankfully rare in the UK), or stopping police unjustifiably shooting young black men?

Edited June 24, 2023 by IanD

[Nightwatch]

I was meaning both really. Perhaps gun crime isn’t all that common but knife crime is. Having said that, the shooting of black men isn’t all that common either in this country of ours. But once is too many.

[blackrose]

20 hours ago, IanD said:

Do you mean stopping gun crime (which is thankfully rare in the UK), or stopping police unjustifiably shooting young black men?

 

As Nightwatch has said, the shooting of black men by the police is also rare so presumably the unjustifiable shooting of black men by police is even rarer. It's interesting how we tend to shape our language according to our opinions. If one states that gun crime is rare in the UK then one should also acknowledge that the unjustifiable shooting of people by the police is also rare. 

 

Likewise, from figures I've read 1 in 4 people shot by the police in the UK are black, a disproportionate number compared to the approximate 4% black population of the UK. However, those who cite these disproportionate figures never seem to want to look at the disproportionate levels of gun and knife crime committed by young black men. 

 

I don't want to see armed police on our streets. I grew up in a country where one never saw police with guns, but that's a long ago and far away land. The police in this country haven't armed themselves because they wanted to, they've responded to changing circumstances, part of which is the rise in knife and gun crime in our cities. Shooting unarmed people is clearly unjustifiable, but I'd wager that most people in this country would consider shooting armed people who run around on our streets is justified in certain circumstances.