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General Forums => The O' Club => Topic started by: beet1e on December 02, 2004, 12:14:34 PM

Title: American jailed for life for murder of British police officer.
Post by: beet1e on December 02, 2004, 12:14:34 PM
This case would surely merit the death penalty, if we had a death penalty in Britain. We do not, and the last execution by hanging was carried out in 1965.

The murder victim was the only British police officer to die in the execution of his duty in 2003.

Story - from Reuters (http://www.reuters.co.uk/newsPackageArticle.jhtml?type=topNews&storyID=631802§ion=news)
Title: American jailed for life for murder of British police officer.
Post by: Hawklore on December 02, 2004, 12:20:55 PM
Hang him..
Title: American jailed for life for murder of British police officer.
Post by: vorticon on December 02, 2004, 12:37:41 PM
bah, take him to the tower...
Title: American jailed for life for murder of British police officer.
Post by: Mickey1992 on December 02, 2004, 12:53:37 PM
Darn it.  Beetle beat me by 60 seconds.

http://www.hitechcreations.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=136886
Title: American jailed for life for murder of British police officer.
Post by: Raubvogel on December 02, 2004, 01:13:35 PM
See...we do export stuff.
Title: American jailed for life for murder of British police officer.
Post by: Furball on December 02, 2004, 01:16:16 PM
this crime could have been prevented if at least 1,000,000 more british owned guns.
Title: American jailed for life for murder of British police officer.
Post by: beet1e on December 02, 2004, 01:26:09 PM
Quote
Originally posted by Furball
this crime could have been prevented if at least 1,000,000 more british owned guns.
...but then there would be 99,999 more crimes
Title: American jailed for life for murder of British police officer.
Post by: oboe on December 02, 2004, 01:27:25 PM
Quote
Originally posted by Furball
this crime could have been prevented if at least 1,000,000 more british owned guns.


How?
Title: American jailed for life for murder of British police officer.
Post by: Furball on December 02, 2004, 01:30:36 PM
Quote
Originally posted by oboe
How?


sorry, 2,000,000?

more guns = less crime!!
Title: American jailed for life for murder of British police officer.
Post by: oboe on December 02, 2004, 06:10:59 PM
You could've armed every single British citizen within a 10 block radius of that incident before it occurred, and I just don't see how any one of them could've responded fast enough to prevent than police officer from being shot.   However, they may have gunned down the murderer afterwards, which would've been at least satisfying, except if any stray bullets killed innocent bystanders.

So what will happen to this guy?    Do British prisons have cable TV and weight training equipment, and free educational benefits too?
Title: American jailed for life for murder of British police officer.
Post by: LePaul on December 02, 2004, 07:19:46 PM
Why not arm the police?

By the first shot, the other policemen would've had merit to open fire on him.
Title: Re: American jailed for life for murder of British police officer.
Post by: Ripsnort on December 02, 2004, 07:24:59 PM
Quote
Originally posted by beet1e
This case would surely merit the death penalty, if we had a death penalty in Britain. We do not, and the last execution by hanging was carried out in 1965.

The murder victim was the only British police officer to die in the execution of his duty in 2003.

Story - from Reuters (http://www.reuters.co.uk/newsPackageArticle.jhtml?type=topNews&storyID=631802§ion=news)


Proof that even when the citizens don't have guns, the criminals still do. Nothing in the world will ever keep guns away from criminals, not even Britains gun laws.  So why not allow citizens (and especially police officers) to defend themselves?
Title: Re: Re: American jailed for life for murder of British police officer.
Post by: hawker238 on December 02, 2004, 07:56:04 PM
Quote
Originally posted by Ripsnort
Proof that even when the citizens don't have guns, the criminals still do. Nothing in the world will ever keep guns away from criminals, not even Britains gun laws.  So why not allow citizens (and especially police officers) to defend themselves?


Because then even more guns are going to criminals?
Title: Re: Re: Re: American jailed for life for murder of British police officer.
Post by: Ripsnort on December 02, 2004, 07:58:30 PM
Quote
Originally posted by hawker238
Because then even more guns are going to criminals?


They've got plenty. How do you conclude they'd have more?  In the U.S., you have an FBI background check.  Sure, guns get stolen, but do you think that the lack of guns makes it difficult for someone who cannot purchase one legally to obtain a firearm? No, it just costs alittle more. Supply and demand exists even in the black markets.
Title: Re: Re: Re: Re: American jailed for life for murder of British police officer.
Post by: hawker238 on December 02, 2004, 08:00:12 PM
Quote
Originally posted by Ripsnort
They've got plenty. How do you conclude they'd have more?  In the U.S., you have an FBI background check.  Sure, guns get stolen, but do you think that the lack of guns makes it difficult for someone who cannot purchase one legally to obtain a firearm? No, it just costs alittle more. Supply and demand exists even in the black markets.


How do you conclude they have plenty?
Title: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: American jailed for life for murder of British police officer.
Post by: Ripsnort on December 02, 2004, 08:09:06 PM
Quote
Originally posted by hawker238
How do you conclude they have plenty?


Supply and demand.  If they didn't there wouldn't be anyone shot now, would there? They'd be stabbed to death.
Title: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: American jailed for life for murder of British police officer.
Post by: hawker238 on December 02, 2004, 08:20:06 PM
Quote
Originally posted by Ripsnort
Supply and demand.  If they didn't there wouldn't be anyone shot now, would there? They'd be stabbed to death.


You don't know that.  Maybe there's a gross undersupply of guns in the criminal world.  When one person is murdered by a gun, you can't conclude all demand is met.
Title: American jailed for life for murder of British police officer.
Post by: Steve on December 03, 2004, 01:20:49 AM
public execution is the single most effective crime deterrent.... hang  him slowly in the square.
Title: American jailed for life for murder of British police officer.
Post by: beet1e on December 03, 2004, 04:15:06 AM
Ripsnort.

You're still living in your black and white vision of utopia. To you, unless a law works 100%, it should be repealed. I'm sure the speed limit gets broken daily in the town where you live. What do you suggest - repeal all speed limits?

Our gun laws DO work, but like any other law (eg. speed limits) there isn't a 100% success rate.
Quote
So why not allow citizens (and especially police officers) to defend themselves?
We may well have an armed police force within 20 years, but don't think that's going to the panacea to all crimes. You seem to overlook the fact that Ian Broadhurst was the only police officer killed in Britain last year.

So - give everyone lots of guns? Arm the police? In America, even though your police are heavily armed, around 70 of them are killed each year in the line of duty, as compared with NONE most years in Britain.

I rest my case.
Title: American jailed for life for murder of British police officer.
Post by: RTGorkle on December 03, 2004, 04:21:35 AM
Beetle, what's the reasoning behind the Bobby on the beat not being armed?
Title: American jailed for life for murder of British police officer.
Post by: Nashwan on December 03, 2004, 04:45:48 AM
Quote
They've got plenty.


What makes you think they've got plenty?

One policeman has been shot dead in the last 7 years, afaik (in the US, it's around 50 every year). Around 60 people were murdered with a gun in Britain last year, around 10,000 in the US.

Guns were used in 4% of British robberies last year, they were used in 40% of US robberies.

That suggests US criminals have plenty of guns, it's doesn't suggest that for Britain.

Quote
Beetle, what's the reasoning behind the Bobby on the beat not being armed?


There's always been a feeling that as the criminals rarely carried guns, there wasn't a need.

It's worth noting that 11 of the 52 police officers murdered in the US last year were killed with their own guns. I'm fairly sure if the British police were fully armed, you'd have a similar situation, with more policemen being killed with their own guns than are being killed now when they are unarmed.
Title: American jailed for life for murder of British police officer.
Post by: beet1e on December 03, 2004, 05:29:41 AM
Quote
Originally posted by RTGorkle
Beetle, what's the reasoning behind the Bobby on the beat not being armed?
Nashwan answered it. They've never been armed as a matter of course, but that is changing slowly.
Title: American jailed for life for murder of British police officer.
Post by: GRUNHERZ on December 03, 2004, 05:45:18 AM
Quote
Originally posted by beet1e
Nashwan answered it. They've never been armed as a matter of course, but that is changing slowly.


Why is it changing?
Title: American jailed for life for murder of British police officer.
Post by: beet1e on December 03, 2004, 05:54:21 AM
Quote
Originally posted by GRUNHERZ
Why is it changing?
The areas where I first noted change were at airports. I remember thinking - OMG, the police have guns. It's changing just as security is changing/has changed at US airports since 911. Also, our police have had the IRA to deal with - many bomb outrages in the 1970s.
Title: American jailed for life for murder of British police officer.
Post by: GRUNHERZ on December 03, 2004, 05:57:50 AM
911 might obviously change things at airports, but are regular street cops carrying weapons more now?
Title: American jailed for life for murder of British police officer.
Post by: beet1e on December 03, 2004, 06:03:54 AM
Quote
Originally posted by GRUNHERZ
are regular street cops carrying weapons more now?
No. Not as a matter of course - yet. I was surprised to see a cop in Salisbury with what Lazs tells me was a Heckler & Koch MP5. Why Salisbury? It's a quiet town, but...

...this was in the square where former PM Edward Heath lives. And what with all the kerfuffle with Bloody Sunday, which occurred when he was PM, I think the police were taking precautions against the IRA or whatever...
Title: American jailed for life for murder of British police officer.
Post by: mora on December 03, 2004, 06:30:39 AM
To me an unarmed police is a big joke. What keeps the perps from assaulting officers if they have only a stick to defend themselves? You could give them knives at the very least.:)

OTOH your system seems to work pretty well.
Title: American jailed for life for murder of British police officer.
Post by: beet1e on December 03, 2004, 06:45:44 AM
Quote
Originally posted by mora
What keeps the perps from assaulting officers if they have only a stick to defend themselves?  
Probably the fact that most of them can't get guns. And as you say, our system seems to work pretty well. Admittedly, it's not perfect, and we've always had armed criminals in Britain, but we don't have hundreds of cops killed each decade. The only three I can think of in the past 20 years are Ian Broadhurst (2003) Keith Blakelock (1985 - killed by knife) and Yvonne Fletcher (1984) - killed by machine gun bullet fired from the Libyan Embassy.
Title: American jailed for life for murder of British police officer.
Post by: mora on December 03, 2004, 06:51:46 AM
While they don't have guns they may have bigger sticks. I could never imagine unarmed cops here. Even if it's quite rare for police to use firearms their presence creates a fair amount of respect. If yours manage without them, then good for them.
Title: American jailed for life for murder of British police officer.
Post by: Muckmaw1 on December 03, 2004, 07:38:13 AM
Quote
Originally posted by Nashwan
What makes you think they've got plenty?

One policeman has been shot dead in the last 7 years, afaik (in the US, it's around 50 every year). Around 60 people were murdered with a gun in Britain last year, around 10,000 in the US.

Guns were used in 4% of British robberies last year, they were used in 40% of US robberies.

That suggests US criminals have plenty of guns, it's doesn't suggest that for Britain.



There's always been a feeling that as the criminals rarely carried guns, there wasn't a need.

It's worth noting that 11 of the 52 police officers murdered in the US last year were killed with their own guns. I'm fairly sure if the British police were fully armed, you'd have a similar situation, with more policemen being killed with their own guns than are being killed now when they are unarmed.


You have to compare these numbers per capita. There's almost 300 million people in America. How many in the UK?

How many murders in the UK involving a blunt instrument, or Knife or other means? VS. the US per capita.
Title: American jailed for life for murder of British police officer.
Post by: Nashwan on December 03, 2004, 07:47:44 AM
There are about 53 million in England and Wales (the Scotish and NI figures are compiled seperately)

The murder rate per 100,000 people is 1.6 in England and Wales, 5.7 in the US.

That's for all murder and manslaughter in England and Wales, but excludes manslaughter due to negligence in the US, so the US rate would be higher under British counting rules, the England and Wales rate lower under US counting rules.
Title: American jailed for life for murder of British police officer.
Post by: mora on December 03, 2004, 07:48:50 AM
Muck, check this (http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk/rds/pdfs2/hosb1203.pdf).

Tables 1.1, 1.2, 1.3
Title: American jailed for life for murder of British police officer.
Post by: Muckmaw1 on December 03, 2004, 07:54:30 AM
The percentage of the population that suffered "contact crime" in England and Wales was 3.6 percent, compared with 1.9 percent in the United States and 0.4 percent in Japan.
Title: American jailed for life for murder of British police officer.
Post by: lazs2 on December 03, 2004, 09:16:48 AM
nahwan... you are wrong on at least one thing... the bobbies in your country never were armed even when a sustantial portion of your population was... it was at one time a law that citizens were r3equired to use deadly force to stop a fellon or aid a policeman.  It has nothing to do with them feeling that there is so few people armed.


I don't think this one incident is cause for panicky laws being passed... that is the liberal way.... if I were a liberal tactician with an agenda to get armed police I would use my friends in the media to make this one event the most important thing on the news with politicians and weeping family members and a call to do something instantly to "stop the slaughter"

much as the liberals did in england and australia to pass draconian gun control laws after one isolated crazy person went on a shooting rampage.

lazs
Title: American jailed for life for murder of British police officer.
Post by: beet1e on December 03, 2004, 09:32:28 AM
Quote
Originally posted by lazs2
nahwan... you are wrong on at least one thing... the bobbies in your country never were armed even when a sustantial portion of your population was... it was at one time a law that citizens were r3equired to use deadly force to stop a fellon or aid a policeman.  It has nothing to do with them feeling that there is so few people armed.
I don't know which site Google directed you to in order to find this, because it sure doesn't sound like the Britain my grandparents knew and told me about.

:confused:
Title: American jailed for life for murder of British police officer.
Post by: Nashwan on December 03, 2004, 10:12:05 AM
Quote
nahwan... you are wrong on at least one thing... the bobbies in your country never were armed even when a sustantial portion of your population was...


I'm not so sure about that. They weren't issued firearms, but were free to carry them if they wanted.
Title: American jailed for life for murder of British police officer.
Post by: lazs2 on December 03, 2004, 02:51:23 PM
the data is rfrom Joyce lee Malcolms book "Guns and Violence the English Experiance"  

lazs