American Reacts to British Police vs. American Police

[@catherinehaywood7092]

I’m a retired U.K. police officer. I’ve never held a gun in my life.

[@stevenmutumbu2860]

I thinks generally in we are not Bad we listen to our police Doctors I mean all professionals well done amd enjoy your retirement

[@catherinehaywood7092]

@@stevenmutumbu2860 Thanks

[@stevenmutumbu2860]

@@catherinehaywood7092 Wellcome

[@keithparker2206]

@NoMansLand What a stupid comment. Sounds like you're an American who has no idea how much safer the UK is then that sh*thole the other side of the pond with so many corrupt police officers and politicians.

[@scots_knight4706]

Yes, hope you have a nice retirement 👍 I generally support the police and I think the vast majority are fairly decent, I think in general British police are quite good at de-escalating compared to the American cops, obviously they have some good people but they seem quick to be screaming commands then resort to shooting first and asking questions afterwards. The thought of a traffic stop in America scares me but I'd be totally relaxed in the UK. Just my opinion, I'm not saying it's 100% right.

[@rbweston]

I made the mistake of the first time in the US of approaching a police officer for help, he shouted at me to back off, and reached for his gun. I learnt there and then not to trust them, and they treated everyone as hostile. The complete opposite of the UK where I’ve had many a laugh and joke with our “Bobby’s”.

[@debbiemohekey1509]

So did an Australian woman living in America who phoned police to say a lady was being attacked in an alley beside her house and when she ran out to meet them in her pajamas one of the cops shot her dead. I think she wanted to show them where to go.

[@c.b.h1151]

I remember an episode of Cops, it was in Las Vegas and a British Guy had got drunk and lost his friends and was in shorts in the street so the cops came and were trying to help him but he refused to turn his back to them or go near them because he said "I know what American police are like, you shoot people if they even move" or something to that effect, he was petrified of them.

[@sarahbowman7566]

I think like many things that it depends on which police force it is, as I have heard many from others areas say how shockingly ineffective and yet excessive my local constabulary is and I must say that they are not wrong.

[@geoffc3191]

There is no requirement in the UK police job spec for an officer to carry firearms. All those that do are volunteers. I spent time with the Flint Mi.PD way back in the 1980’s. I was an armed UK officer at the time. They were surprised at my shooting skills, until I told them tyhat in my force we had to re qualify every six weeks. They had just an annual requal with no compulsory firearms training requirements in between. They were great guys working a tough city.

[@geoffc3191]

@@sarahbowman7566 I get that. The cuts to the UK police and the outsourcing of services incl recruit selection is showing how bad its got.

[@RalphWigg1]

We in the UK have known of the differences for decades. The idea that it takes so little for a US cop to draw his gun horrify us!

[@Soleslav1]

Honest,

[@vedanttaneja8578]

So you want a criminal to catch them off guard? Maybe because your cops are literally weak , stabbing are sharply rising in the UK

[@DreadEnder]

I live in the uk and I’ve shot about 500 rounds in my life (300 are blanks.) the reason, I’m in the army. That’s where most of the guns in the uk are

[@TestGearJunkie.]

I've visited the US many times, and I know many people there, but (as far as I'm aware) none of them own a gun. I've only ever spoken to a US cop once, when I was in an unfamiliar town and I wanted to know if I was ok to park where I was, as there were no obvious signs. He said fine, no problem and that was it.

[@susandavey2361]

Everyone is scared in America, must be horrible to live like that

[@India.H]

I lived in UK city Oxford for 2 years, there for university. Three weeks into it, I decided to go and see a film. I got completely lost; GoogleMaps was being useless. I was 18 in a city I had never been in by myself before. I had no fear going up to 2 police officers and going "please help me, I'm lost". They ended up walking me to the cinema (I was going in completely the wrong direction), made sure I had the numbers for several taxi companies (the film ended around 11pm), knew where the police station was if I wanted help again, and told me to come and find them if I needed help again and enjoy the film, India. Okay, yes, I was worried they would think I was a moron, but no fear they would hurt me. 😂 As people have said in the comments, UK police SERVICE, US police FORCE.

[@aidancolyer7924]

The main cinema in Oxford is a little off the main drag and quite frankly the roads are a mess in the centre of Oxford unless you know where you are going. I don't blame you for asking someone for advice! Oddly enough I have no idea where the Oxford police station is and always assumed they moved most out to Kidlington.

[@vedanttaneja8578]

Police are not here to serve. They are here to get rid of the dangerous elements of society

[@ashhabimran239]

Oxford Uni? That's a huge deal!

[@India.H]

​@@ashhabimran239 It was an aim of mine to go there since I was five years old 😅

[@India.H]

​@aidancolyer7924 yeah, I'd been to Oxford and the cinema whilst on holiday with family before, but never by myself. I took the bus down from Headington then GoogleMaps decided to take a nap.

[@johnjamesflashman6856]

When I was young, back in the late 60's I remember watching an American cop movie. About 5 or 6 cars turned up at the criminal's house with sirens blasting and countless police waving guns while running around in circles. My Father remarked "If that had been in London they would have sent a bobby on a bike. A bobby was the affectionate name for our policeman who walked the beat, knew every household and told you he would tell your Father if he caught you misbehaving.

[@kirstygunn9149]

I remember the local Bobby that walked the beat in the area I grew up in ,in the early 1980s he would pop in for a cup of tea just to have a chat / catch up on the local gossip, the one and only time I got in trouble the police was when I was around 5 years old an I was on watch out while some of the kids from our street were scrumping apples from the tree that sat on the edge of a farmers land,that backed on to the end of our street . The Bobby saw me ( and heard me shout "bacon) as I ran home ,he ran behind me scooped me up and carried me home to tell my mum .he sat and told my mum and me ,if he ever caught me being naughty again I would be put in the police van with all the big naughty people and sent to prison...let's just say I never got caught again ( I was still a bit naughty every now and again though, but not prison naughty)

[@bobbobskin]

As a firearms owner in the UK, I can tell you that when I moved house I had local firearms officers arrive on the day I moved in, check my gun safe, check my ammunition safe (kept separately) ensure that I was suitable, have a lovely discussion with 2 firearms officers (as I had moved counties) and check all the serial numbers etc. I have lived in NI, England and Scotland, and have always felt that the firearms licensing regulations are superb.

[@tonys1636]

When my Father died had the problem of the disposal of his firearms collection (most were in his bank security deposit box as he was leading a nomadic life on cruise ships). The Antique weapons and Licensed Shotguns were not a problem as were sold at a specialist auction. The unlicensed WW2 ones were a big one as ammunition was still available for many (collected during the war as souvenirs). Most were donated to Museums after being deactivated under Police supervision. I kept the best pair of shotguns and added them onto my license. Sold them (reluctantly) when I emigrated as the paperwork and shipping was just too much extra hassle (no shipping container of household belongings). Acquired another (even better and more expensive) pair at auction and a new license once I was settled in the new country. They will have to be changed (or re-barreled but then won't be original) when lead shot becomes unavailable as steel shot will destroy the barrels or keep and just buy a brand new pair.

[@sandersson2813]

I also heard of a firearms officer visiting a man recently split up with his wife and been hitting the bottle a bit. Good policing.

[@Pinzpilot101]

I was lucky enough to be a soldier in the 70's and 80's and have fired many weapons, automatic, semi automatic, Pistols of several NATO countries plus the AK automatics and the German made rifles. I live in Poland today and can go to my local shooting club and fire the many weapons that they have. All I keep now is a Ruger .22 rifle converted to full auto and with a huge round magazine.....I hd a guy tell me it was nothing compared to a 9mm pistol. so we both fired at at target.....I put 20 rounds into the target to his one round......He changed his mind.

[@lesleygore5106]

Any normal, well-rounded human being would not want or need a gun!

[@sandersson2813]

@@lesleygore5106 Not necessarily. A well rounded person just wouldn't try to defend owning a gun with limp excuses such as protection or defending oneself against a tyrannical government. Clay pigeon shooting for example is awesome fun, and many people need shotguns and rifles on their farms. Not sure how you could have a problem with that.

[@concernedcitizen3476]

USA has a police Force . UK and Canada have a police Service

[@ajhorniman8285]

👍

[@Doreana48501]

Canadian here and this is true. The Mounties are very respectful and helpful to us. Mounties motto is To Serve and Protect

[@ajhorniman8285]

@@daibhidhSCO sorry, thank you for informing me.🖖 Though my other commitment that"in the USA thier Police have no duty to protect citizens is, I believe, still correct". There have been, and still are cases over there (some still on going). We're courts have affirmed this. I the UK, police are intended to protect the public. It seems the USA & UK Police were set up with different purposes in mind. 🖖

[@helenchelmicka]

If memory serves correctly, they say that in hot fuzz, that police 'force' is too aggressive a term

[@CymruEmergencyResponder]

@William Tell I think you missed the point.

[@alexlongmore621]

I was a British police constable from 2000 to 2012. The reason for the drop in police numbers was the government cutting police budgets. The police forces responded by medically retiring officers who couldn't do all police duties. Which is why we lost 20,000 officers who were doing essential duties so they had to be backfilled with frontline officers. I only saw 1 firearm 'On the streets' which had been discarded by a 'drug dealer' when he was being chased by a bobby.

[@AliceSylph]

I do think that's quite a big difference, I very rarely hear about police being shot at, usually if they have a gun on them they want to get rid of it instead of use it on the police

[@Austtube]

Yeah, Tory Governments do that. Just like they sacked all those teachers in Thatcher's time. Then they had a shortage and had to ship in Australian teachers as we had a teacher glut. And that was by subcontract by agencies. About twice the cost of employing local Brits. I know, I taught there in a similar time in history. Then someone told me how the shortage happened. I felt a bit awkward about that. The schools there were in utter chaos. No fault of the teachers, they were still recovering from Thatcher.

[@rodniegsm1575]

I have more respect for British police than for police in the US.

[@carltaylor6452]

what do you think about the Federation's claim that police are assaulted frequently in the UK? They haven't defined what 'assault' means, but I guess the bar is pretty low; I'm not downplaying the seriousness of being assaulted at work, but we aren't necessarily talking about injuries that would involve treatment or time off work, are we?

[@johnba291972]

Good riddance pig

[@barni_b]

Hi mate, this is a great video but I hope I can clear a few things up for you. (coming from a volunteer police officer in UK) Firstly, our police service are split into 43 territorial forces in the UK usually one for each county, plus 3 specialist forces (BTP who cover railways, CNC who cover nuclear sites and transport, and MOD police who cover military bases and other MOD sites). The main force covering London is Metropolitan Police who are the lovely chaps in the white shirts you have seen in the other video. The very centre of London is covered by City of London Police and the underground by BTP. Its important to note, the public have much less respect for officers in the UK than in the USA due to.. no guns, lack of powers, and as the UK police framework is based on policing by consent.. which is too long to explain so just go with it haha Officer deaths are much lower, it is very rare officers die on duty and whenever something like that happens, it is a massive shock that every police force then uses to better out system and procedures to prevent it from reoccuring. However, like the video said, police officers are assaulted a lot. The rates are very high and the estimates are probably near correct as many officers do not report it. In terms of number of officers, the decrease is due to no incentives (low pay, bad work hours, etc), budget cuts from government and lack of support and funding, and of course stricter recruitment standards. All recruits now have to have high school qualifications, as well as already have a degree or complete a degree apprenticeship to join. That being said the current number of officers in the UK has gone up to 164,000 since this video. Firearms: Most police officers in the UK are unarmed. We have a stab proof vest, radio, body-worn video camera, and our kit belt. The kit belt has handcuffs, PAVA (pepper spray), baton, and limited first aid suppies in a tiny bag. Some officers who have undergone extra training can carry Tasers but this is not standard issue. Specific units in the police have been trained further so they can carry firearms. In the Met Police the following are examples of armed officers (non exhaustive): - CTSFOs: Officers in counter terrorism unit - Avaition Policing: Officers covering Heathrow and City of London airports - Royalty and Specialist Protection: Oficcers protecting royal family and properties - Parliamentary and Diplomatic Protection: Officers protecting high profie buildings and personnel - Trojan units: Armed police officers who respond to serious incidents (primarily firearms related calls) It is rare to see police with guns in the UK in general, however of course you wil see many at airports and in the centre of London when you visit. FYI we go to most incidents unarmed, meaning if you come up against a knife you have a baton and pepper spray to defend yourself while a Taser or armed officer arrives (if available and nearby) but usually we deal with it then and there. And we do deal with it.. very often you get attacked by knives or worse and just have to deal with it then anfd there. Body-worn video: We have cameras just like US police. It records the last 60s of footage constantly without audio. You activate it with the big button in the middle. This means when activated you have footage with audio until turned off but also the previous 60s. So if I was attacked suddenly and pressed it, I'd have the footage of the attack. Stab Vest: All officers on duty wear a vest that is stab proof. I believe it also stops 9mm bullets from pirecing through but luckily I've never had to test that. Firearms officers of course wear bullet proof vests. Additional Kit: In theory all police vehicles are equipped with a first aid kit and torniquete, defiblirator, acid injuries kit, police tape. Firearms vehicles have extra bits like a ballistics first aid kit. Specialist units have extra gear like cones or spike strips for traffic units. PCSOs: Police Community Support Officers are all across the UK and do not have the power of a police officer but work along side them in their communities often dealing with similar incidents. Their uniform looks similar however PCSOs do not get any kit apart from the vest, radio and camera. They do not have batons, PAVA or even hadncuffs. They are the real heros of our police service. Overall, do not be scared off by this. This system works in the UK and London specifically is very safe. Police are also very friendly, so if you do visit, please feel free to stop officers for a chat. I'd also recommend you watch our polcing docuseries if you fancy a longer reaction video (eg: Police Interceptors, Police Night Shift 999, 24 Hours in Police Custody, Police Code Zero). And maybe even watch something about Special Constables who are full sworn police officers with the same kit and powers attending the same incidents as regular officers for FREE! Completely voluntarily.. We have around 8,500 in the UK. Pretty cool if you ask me. But anyways.. hope this is interesting for anyone who reads it all 😂

[@ianest]

All officers in Northern Ireland have guns and can carry them while off duty

[@barni_b]

@@ianest YES. Historically, the whole of Irish Isles used to be Ireland. They had a police force, Royal Irish Constabulary, of which the Royal Ulstar Constabulary was the regional section covering the Northern Irish territory. In 1920, Republic of Ireland and NI were separated. Rebulic of Ireland decided to swap RIC out for a new unarmed polcie force, Garda Siochana. RUC remained armed in NI which is now the PSNI. The reason for keeping firearms routinely available for all PSNI officers is partially due to the lingering threat of paramilitary violenece and to match the availability of forearms for the public, as I believe NI is the only country in the UK that allows the use of firearms for self defense... I believe.

[@Roadent1241]

Fascinating, as a fellow Brit, thanks very much. Positive at the end. Unfortunately, and very sorry, with recent years, stories and being a lass I'm not sure I can trust police as far as I can trust a stranger drunk in a bar. They've got them urges regardless and I'm not sure I'd take my chances even if I'm being chased by the latter. Even if it's only 1 in 3mil officers or whatever extremely low number. Probably just being paranoid but heck knows how much hasn't been reported. On the plus side, I don't have to worry about being ended for using sign language and 'being aggressive' here!!

[@barni_b]

@@Roadent1241 I am not going to try convince you police are good. I won't defend the ones who are not.. I hate them just as much as everyone else. And I think it is completely understandable if you dont have full trust in police because the UK police service is far from perfect, and we see that frequently in the news. But I will say, most police officers in the UK are absoutely fantastic people in my experience who try their very best everyday to provide a policing service in your and the pubics interest. I can also guarantee you that all forces in the UK are working extremely hard to weed out any officer or staff who does not meet the standards expected by the public. Like I said, it is far from perfect but its a work in progress. Hopefully, the police service will get to the point where every single police officer can be trusted.

[@Roadent1241]

@@barni_b Yep, I'd like that too. If it was a situation where I'd have to trust one or other based on whether they'd end me for being deaf and uncooperative, then yes I would go for ours.

[@HaurakiVet]

Some years ago I was a law enforcement officer here in New Zealand and like the UK we were and are as a rule, unarmed. We also call our police a service rather than a force and emphasis is on de-escalation of situations rather than going for a weapon as first option. Assaults vary from the serious to being pushed away when carrying out an arrest, so this should be kept in perspective as to how different countries record data. In my district we had a colleague who had a bad case of being the local sheriff. He was assaulted almost weekly while in seven years I did not experience anything I would seriously consider a real assault. A few years back two of my country folk were shot and killed by police in the US, neither committing any offence and one, a young woman for doing what she would naturally do here, approach a cop for information. She was shot as being, in the offending officer's words, an imminent threat. As a result of this, and other unpleasantries, on my last trip with the us as a stopover some travel agents have been advising against more than minimum stay due to lack of safety in the US. Sad.

[@dialee5016]

That is heartbreaking. Here in Canada our officers carry firearms but I haven't thought twice about approaching them with a question or even just a passing comment on the weather. Police Service rather than Police Force definitely has a different connotation.

[@alancook]

Tasers are considered to be firearms in the UK and are thus prohibited to the public. Police may carry tasers after extensive training, and around 20% do so. Only specially trained and accredited firearms officers have access to guns, and these comprise around 5% of all UK police.

[@georgebarnes8163]

A lot more than 5%

[@_starfiend]

@@georgebarnes8163 No

[@georgebarnes8163]

@@_starfiend closer to 15%

[@_starfiend]

@@georgebarnes8163 Closer to 5%

[@georgebarnes8163]

@@_starfiend probably 5-6% in England and Wales, Scotland has a higher percentage and all police officers are armed in NI so closer to 15%

[@lileyzei6489]

Just swearing at a police is sometimes considered an assault and the fact that Britain has more of those proves at least to me that they’re not as afraid of their police as Americans

[@jupitersnoot4915]

We're not afraid of our police because you're not supposed to fear the police. The police are supposed to protect you and serve you, not beat you into submission and shoot you if you look at them wrong

[@lileyzei6489]

@@jupitersnoot4915 exactly!

[@stevenmutumbu2860]

Trrue our police are friendly

[@michaelatkins4501]

True ….then when you’re in court for it he’ll be there in a neck brace on 😂

[@alisonwilliams-bailey3561]

Exactly what I thought they call emotionally upsetting stuff "violence" now.

[@johnbrookes4892]

i worked for UK police for 4 years, never held a gun. I knew a guy in firearms unit, he said they are taught how NOT to use their guns, but to de-escalate. they had a vote in 2003 - 97% of police voted to not be armed. Also 42% of uk police are actually unpaid volunteers called Special Constables

[@esaedvik]

Definitely something your US colleagues don't get trained enough in. It's rough.

[@Sarah-Harvey]

PCSO’s do get paid. I’m not sure if it’s a new thing or if there are volunteers too but a friend of mine is one and earns a good wage.

[@paulag7634]

@@Sarah-Harvey PCSC's are not Special Constables. "Specials" are volunteers and wear the same uniform and have the same powers and responsibilities as regular police officers.

[@lewistaylor1965]

I looked up the stats for armed UK police and it was in the region of 5% armed...which is nothing really and those police officers would be specialist firearm units...and Thank you for your service...it's a tough job and just as tough training in the UK...full respect

[@mariahoulihan9483]

they had one in the 90s too. Again.. overwhelmingly voited against being armed. Myself and many of my collegues stated they would rather leave the Service than be routinely armed. I left that to thowe suitable for it as we do need them but not routinely. I wonder what the figure will be nowadays, 20 years on.

[@michellemoores6327]

When they say police officers are assaulted 19 times a year, an assault could mean being spat at, pushed or any physical assault, serious or not. In the UK, an assault does not necessarily mean being put in hospital.

[@mgz_lxw4492]

They try slap assault charges on people for calling them dickheads, physical assault figures are definitely nowhere near that number😂

[@wesleyward5901]

@mgz_lxw4492 Verbal assault is indeed a thing..

[@mgz_lxw4492]

@@wesleyward5901 it is but it’s a joke, who’s reporting someone for saying something mean😂😂

[@missharry5727]

Assault in English law includes not just using violence against someone, but also putting them in fear of violence. There's a difference between common assault, which is threatening violence, and assault and battery, which does involve physical violence.

[@the_reader63]

As a Londoner, I have never in my life heard anyone call a police officer a “bobby,” it’s a fairly old-fashioned name for them - most of us just call them police officers or coppers (though this may be different in less urban communities). Another fun fact is that “bobbies” isn’t the only name for them that comes from Sir Robert Peel, they were also called “peelers.”

[@vanburger]

A point to note, Verbal abuse of police officers in the UK is often reported as assault. And wages always factor in the price of healthcare post and pre retirement.

[@jmurray1110]

That’s bullshit The pigs need to be slandered

[@KWin246]

That's how assault is defined in most places. It's battery if you make contact.

[@stewedfishproductions7959]

Even a police officer being spat at is considered an assault and is reported... So that is why the number of assaults is so high.

[@horyzengaming3935]

It is not even a public order offence for swearing at the police in the UK. Verbal abuse is not assault. You can swear as much as you like as long no public are about or can hear you. Police are not a member of the public so are not included in the law.

[@bobbobskin]

Taken from UK government data: Key findings In the year ending March 2022 there were just over 41,000 assaults on police officers in England and Wales (including British Transport). Of which: 29,491 were crimes of “assault without injury on a constable” recorded across all forces an increase of 11% compared with 26,539 in the previous year 11,730 crimes of “assault with injury on a constable”[footnote 1] recorded across all forces (including British Transport Police), a small increase of 2.6% compared with 11,429 in the previous year National statistics Annex: Statistics on the number of police officers assaulted in the year ending March 2022, England and Wales Published 27 July 2022 --- That incidentally is a total of 31 "assaults with injury on a constable" per day. There are 164,000 constables. So that is approximately 1 assault with injury per constable every 14 years or so. (number of constables) / (number of assaults per year) = (number of years per constable between assaults). The claim of 19 times a year would have every constable off work all year around on medical leave (assuming 14 days sick each time) Basically, infographics made a total hash of the numbers.

[@thepsyentwist8452]

I am in the uk and i've seen armed police exactly twice in my 40 years and it freaked me out both times not that they were coming for me but just the sight of officers with guns

[@jerry2357]

Do you never go abroad on holiday? It’s quite common to see armed police at the airport.

[@thepsyentwist8452]

@@jerry2357 nope the last time I saw armed police was about 10 years ago at Durham train station waiting with my son and I looked around and therre are 2 officers with big guns strapped to their chests , I had to do a double take, obviously some fool had been causing mayhem on the train .... my point is it's so unusual to see armed police in everyday life here

[@Bob10009]

You don’t get out much.

[@thepsyentwist8452]

@@Bob10009 nope I'm a recluse

[@eilidhwatson8406]

@@Bob10009 I get out a lot and still have never seen police with a gun in the UK

[@DavidSmith-cx8dg]

I've never left my house even considering the prospect of encountering a gun in normal life . They aren't part of our culture and anyone who wants to own one has to go through exhaustive checks . Assault on Police Officers statistics include verbal abuse and a few other non violent categories I'm led to believe . The Police in the UK. do generally have the respect and support of the public .

[@thruddedify]

Also ALL gun owners in the UK are registered on the police central database. So there is nothing private about private ownership here, and you have to have a good reason for owning a gun (clay pigeon / rifle/pistol range / farming)

[@prettypointlessvideo]

Of course other than criminals. I agree its reassuring to know that a small drunk argument at the pub won't likely lead to anyone getting shot.

[@samuelthomas8777]

Maybe five years ago. But the met police has over 1000 internal investigations currently open, there's multiple cases looking at rapists, domestic abusers, officers who destroyed evidence etc. After Sarah evrard got kidnapped, raped and murdered by a met police officer, there's a LOT less public support for them. Women in London were told to "flag down a bus" if they didn't think they were safe with the police. Which, if the police decided, could be an arrestable offense 🤷🏼‍♂️ it's pretty disgusting. Our met police are a bunch of rotten apples.

[@Felled-angel]

Respect for police in the uk is at 0% a lot of them are wife abusers and they’ve been hiring unverified people with criminal ties or criminal records also they have a real distaste for Women or so it would seem.

[@PandaCake978]

@prettypointlessvideo "other than criminals" average criminals don't have guns. Think about it, if you are selling guns where they are illegal and one of your customers is caught, who do you think will be next? They have to exercise caution while selling, meaning they don't sell it by the bucket to someone with a pulse. As you said, if guns were legal, I'd be more worried about my neighbour accidentally shooting me or some drunk getting angry than a "criminal" attacking me.

[@ianest]

I live in Northern Ireland and I remember being shocked the first time I went to visit family in England and the police stations weren't fortified with big walls, steel gates and cages and also that all police didn't have guns. Our police stations look more like military bases and all cops have guns that they can carry while off duty. I think they still get 'danger money' as an extra payment because they still have to check under their cars for bombs etc

[@acwilsonuk]

Yep what's funny is your more like to see an officer with a gun than a tazer here

[@IshtarNike]

But of course, the fact yours are armed and ours aren't is a direct result of British colonial policy in Ireland. A clear example, very close to home, of how colonialism breeds greater violence and danger abroad. And it leaves those scars there long after the real trouble has subsided.

[@james3098]

I spent 3 months in Northern Ireland and found it shocking how hard-core the PSNI are. Lovely people but dang was it a surprise

[@tophatgaming1873]

@@IshtarNike ffs the people of northern ireland chose to remain in the union

[@aidancolyer7924]

I grew up in NI. Took me years to stop looking under cars before getting in them after leaving (Dad was RAF, I also still occasionally check out of habit and I'm nearly 40.) I was taught to run towards the guy holding an SA80 if out in Antrim or Ballymena (rarely went to Belfast apart from for the zoo)

[@steveridley9766]

I served for 30 years as a police officer in the UK before I retired, and whilst injured badly dealing with a riot in the late 80's suffering 7 fractures of the skull, still never felt the need to carry a firearm. Indeed many police officers even today would not want all officers to be routinly armed. We now have a number of officers who carry a taser, and can be called to an incident. Similarly there are firearms units that can be deployed when the situation demands it.

[@TestGearJunkie.]

I think that all UK police officers should be trained in how to tell a fake gun from a real one, and how to make them safe.

[@scarba]

Assault has a loose definition, can just be swearing or spitting at an officer.

[@moonramshaw1982]

I'd rather be punched than spat at.

[@gibsonms]

You can’t be arrested for swearing at a police officer, if just the police officer can hear.

[@bobbobskin]

@@gibsonms you can in fact, if the swearing were to be such that it caused the officer to expect immediate violence (which is the definition of ASSAULT in the UK). Battery (Common Assault) is the offence of hitting someone.

[@gibsonms]

@@bobbobskin good luck slinging that one in front of a court when it’s already been decided that the threshold for s5 is higher for a police officer

[@bobbobskin]

@@gibsonms I work as a paralegal. I am NOT talking about a s5 public order offence. Common Assault - s.39 Criminal Justice Act 1988 An assault is any act (and not mere omission to act) by which a person intentionally or recklessly causes another to suffer or apprehend immediate unlawful violence. The term assault is often used to include a battery, which is committed by the intentional or reckless application of unlawful force to another person. Where there is a battery, the defendant should be charged with ‘assault by beating’: DPP v Little [1992] QB 645. Provided there has been an intentional or reckless application of unlawful force the offence will have been committed, however slight the force. Assault, as distinct from battery, can be committed by an act indicating an intention to use unlawful violence against the person of another - for example, an aimed punch that fails to connect. In Misalati [2017] EWCA 2226 the appellant spat towards the complainant. The appeal court confirmed that although there was no actual violence, spitting is an assault whether it makes contact with the victim or causes fear of immediate unlawful physical contact. Guidance on potential defences is set out in the separate legal guidance Self-defence and the Prevention of Crime. A person may use such force as is reasonable in the circumstances for the purposes of: self-defence defence of another defence of property prevention of crime; or lawful arrest. An element of the offence of common assault is lack of consent so that the prosecution may (where it is a live issue) have to establish that the offence was committed without consent. However, a lack of consent can be inferred from evidence other than the direct evidence of the victim - CPS v Shabbir [2009] EWHC 2754 (Admin). Most of the physical contacts of ordinary life are not actionable because they are impliedly consented to by all who move in society and so expose themselves to the risk of bodily contact: Collins v Wilcock [1984] 1 WLR 1172. Common assault is a summary offence. However, if the requirements of section 40 of the Criminal Justice Act 1988 are met it can be included as a count on an indictment. Special considerations apply to common assault where the defence of reasonable punishment of a child falls for consideration - see the Reasonable Punishment of a Child section below.

[@AliceSylph]

One of the only times I've been around police was at a party where someone came in with a machete and started attacking, 6 (ish) police officers came without guns, I'm sure some had tasers but never used them. Mostly it was just talking to the guy and getting him to drop the weapon and give up. No one was killed, worst injury was someone lost their ear. I imagine that kind of situation would be very different in America.

[@megadesu69]

That's fine if the guy can be talked out of what he's doing, but that isn't always the case.

[@bobbobskin]

@@megadesu69 It's normally the case. In the UK when someone has a knife, the first officers to attend are probably only armed with a baton and spray. They will have backup on the way with riot shields The safest way of stopping someone with a knife is to surround them with shields and disarm them. There will normally also be specialist armed officers enroute (say a Trojan unit) who will have taser, and quite likely a dog. Police are trained really well at talking people down. Remember that for people who won't be talked down (say, are hoping to commit a terrorist act), the majority of them are more than willing to get shot. That's what we see all the time with US school shooters. Many incidents with knifes being wielded about are due to mental illness or drugs - people suddenly suffering from paranoia attacks. Officers wielding guns are seen by someone paranoid as threatening them (which is what they are doing) whilst they see their own behaviour as being reasonable in the circumstances. As such, an increased likelihood of seeing the police as a threat to their life, and thus an increase in risk (fight or flight).

[@michaelcole-hamer607]

@LL CoolJ it's perfectly plausible lol, every single officer in the UK is trained extensively in de-escalation, unlike in the good ol' YS where its not regularly taught to everyday officers

[@richt71]

While tasers have been introduced to UK cops not all cops carry them as standard. The normal cop relies on pepper spray and their baton. UK cops spend 29 weeks of classroom and on the job training before going solo. All police forces have armed response units. These cops are trained with lethal and non lethal weapons. To be selected to be trained as an armed response officer you first need to have served as a 'normal' cop for a number of years. Every time an officer fire his weapon in the UK it is referred to an independent panel.

[@egeg4216]

This is changing, most response cops are now being issued tasers. The Metropolitan police is allowing officers from 18 months service to apply for one. (I'm a UK cop)

[@richt71]

@@egeg4216 thanks for the update. Makes sense for the cops safety. A good mate is a police Sargent with GMP covering some interesting areas of Manchester so Taser would be good.

[@katehobbs2008]

I am Australian and I know about England’s Bow Street Runners. I have also heard of Bobbies, and Peelers. They are in lots of novels. My understanding (years ago) was that the police did not carry guns, so the criminals did not need to either. Sort of a sane balance.

[@TedJM]

Guns have been made illegal to own (unless you have a good reason too such as being a farmer) since 1996 after the Dunblane shooting so it makes sense as to why UK cops don't carry guns because they are way less likely to come across them in their normal duty than their European and American counterparts

[@Great_Cthulhu]

It's an element of that and an element of "If you use a gun, you are likely to be shot and killed. If you use a knife, you're going to prison." which is why we have a lot of knife crime in major cities.

[@cafesociety8525]

I went on holiday to Vermont as 12yr old in the 90s. My little brother and I were arguing in the back of the car as our parents grabbed something from a convenience store and a cop flung open the door, grabbed me out of the car and was dragging me around by the scruff of my neck. My parents came running out and he treated them as hostile and ordered them to back off. The whole situation was ridiculous and unfit for civilised society.

[@stevebagnall1553]

I had to take a firearms course as I was one of four, station officers in our station and was responsible for the issuing of arms to licensed officers as and when required. When handed back in, I had to check the action of the firearms and ensure that the same officer returned the same firearms, clean and oil return it to its allotted space. Never had to return a firearms that had been fired in 25 years.

[@mariahoulihan9483]

We called those Authorised Shots in the Met.... a very long time ago. They did away with them, I think, in the 80s or maybe very early 90s.

[@stevebagnall1553]

​@Maria Houlihan it was whoever was the Metropolitan Police Commissioner at that time. Sorry for the delay in replying.

[@MarineAqua45]

@@mariahoulihan9483It was in the early 90s,when,the new:armed-response units took over,the general firearms duties. This was in around late 1991,but local,AFOs phased-out in around 1992,completely:according to a book,written by an ex-firearms officer. The exception was,with the likes of:The Flying Squad,Special-Branch, etc:as they kept their armouries of Smith & Wesson revolvers & Browning Hi-Powers,due to the violent nature of their jobs. Operation Trident detectives also had their own firearms too.

[@jamiewoods33]

Biggest reason for less police officers in the UK in the last 10 years is because of our current government and their policy of austerity (budget cuts across all public services)

[@DoomsdayR3sistance]

an unpopular scandalous government who's current leader was not elected by the people and most people want a general election so that we can oust them for more parties that traditionally would increase spending on public services.

[@jmurray1110]

Still too many of them

[@I_Evo]

And the reduction only reduced the number to the figure there were in 2001.

[@ShaneWalta]

@@jmurray1110 too many Tory politicians, I agree.

[@jmurray1110]

@@ShaneWalta too many of both fuck the tories and the peelers

[@pennycarter3433]

When I was a child it was said 'if you want to know the time, ask a policeman'. Probably because very few, if any, children had a watch then. There were always police about walking the beat.

[@BillCameronWC]

I’m in the UK and almost the only time I’ve ever seen armed police is at airports or occasionally at railway stations if there has been some kind of ‘incident’, mostly related to terrorism. We did have a (still unsolved) murder quite close to where I live about 18 years ago, yes such incidents are mostly quite rare here, specially outside large cities like London or Manchester etc. In the local murder I refer to there were several dozen ‘men in black’, armed and meaning business, brought in overnight and by the next morning, to conduct searches for the perpetrator and indeed the gun used in the murder was found a few days later down a drain, presumably having been discarded by the murderer during his escape (yes, we do know it was a male, but little more than that). Generally speaking most British people regard police as a friendly presence and their instinct is I think to be friendly in return too.

[@TheMoonRover]

I've only seen armed police 3 times. Once outside parliament. Once in Manchester fairly soon after the arena bombing. Once while passing by a football match between two teams who were local rivals (called a derby match).

[@sillyface6950]

I think I've seen armed police once. 🤔 And that was when all the army and musicians were traveling to the kings coronation.

[@kwchalky02]

Fascinating to watch your reactions to the UK police not generally having guns! The stats about deaths speak for themselves ... more guns more people shot and killed. It isn't rocket science! I don't understand why people want to live in a society where lots of people have guns. Wouldn't make me feel more secure. I for one am very grateful I live in UK and not in "gun culture" US. I don't have an issue with licensed guns where appropriate, but that's different.

[@TimpBizkit]

I think of guns in the police force like I do casinos. Every now and again, a casino win gets someone out of a big debt, or a homeless guy off the street, but on average people are poorer for using them and would save money by not. Every now and again, a gun gets someone out of a sticky situation but on average far more deaths occur because of them. However with an armed population in USA the UK police would get walked all over in the rough parts of the USA

[@vedanttaneja8578]

Ok so criminals will possess guns and shoot the cops and what will the cops in the UK do? Whip their dick out? Good stay in the UK, 20 percent food inflation rate, soon you’ll run out of food to eat due to the cost of living crisis and beg to live in the “gun culture”

[@coltsfoot9926]

My dad was a UK police officer for most of his working life. He was trained as a firearms officer, and didn't carry a firearm for most of the time, but drove around for his day to day duties in a vehicle with a weapons chest in the boot (trunk). At the start of his shift, he would be told whether he was a designated firearms response team, in which case the weapons chest was carrying, or secondary response in which case his first job when there was a call for armed officers was to head to the nearest armoury and get tooled up. He retired a lot of years back, and the systems now have changed. Depending on the threat situation (normally terrorist threats) a large %age of the on duty will be overtly carrying a firearm, with others covertly carrying, or having immediate access to firearms. This is mostly in the large cities. Rural and smaller towns will have very few armed police.

[@AndrewHalliwell]

One thing it didn't mention, the pay might be lower, but they don't need health insurance over here, and we get one hell of a lot more "vacation" days as standard, at least 20 to start with,for raw recruits.

[@iriscollins7583]

And those paid days are paid.

[@AlexaFaie]

@@iriscollins7583 Yeah that's really important because you will often see Americans not taking their holiday allowance if they even get one because they "can't afford" to do so as they get the option to take the day off, but its unpaid. Very few places offer paid days off there, and there is no legal right. As is places of work do not have to offer that by law like they do in the UK and everywhere else in the world.

[@tonybmw5785]

Like most motorcyclists, I have had speeding-related interactions with the police before the advent of the speed camera, and the biggest difference I found between getting a pull from a UK traffic plod and US police was the aggression level. I always take my lid off when I get pulled, and stand beside my bike and I expected the same in the US. I've only had one interaction with an American highway cop and he was way more aggressive in how he pulled me. The biggest difference was he stayed in his car using a PA to order me keep my hands in view (I was taking my lid off). Needless to say, I did as I was told and I could see in the handlebar mirrors as he came towards me that his hand was on his firearm (I was shitting myself BTW). Got to say his attitude changed with I opened my mouth and he heard my accent and I handed him the bike hire documents, insurance, my passport, and UK license. In the end, he was a nice enough guy and even let me have a peek in his car before telling me to enjoy my Route 66 adventure and that doing a ton (100mph) was not acceptable. (I was trying to catch up with the tour group having taken a wrong turn onto the I-40 rather than the road to Santa Fe..)

[@tonyseifart]

As someone who has visited the UK on an infrequent basis, I have found the UK police and Border Agents incredibly friendly. The only exception was a grumpy Border Agent at Stansted when my flight arrived at 5am but I forgive him for that. I once got turned around in London, and asked a police officer how to get to the nearest Tube station. I figured once I was there I’d be able to use the Tube maps to re-orientate myself. He didn’t just show me where to go, he walked me there, right up to the platform, while keeping a very friendly and lively conversation. I have no idea if he was trying to sus me out, or if that is the general way they work, but it left a really great impression. With regards to the smaller front-line police force, I was told that 99% of London is monitored by CCTV, so there’s a lot more focus on using technology for policing, and then dispatching people to hotspots. It sounds like a plausible reason for a decrease in the number of active police officers. I doubt a U.S. cop would have been OK with me approaching, asking for help, and then walking me to my train. In fact, I’ve been told to NOT ever approach a U.S. cop, even when in trouble. 😳

[@bbomber2299]

With the assaults on police officers statistics in the UK you have to take into account the definition of assault most of those assaults will be minor things like pushing or spitting

[@neuralwarp]

Exactly.

[@JarlGrimmToys]

You only have to look at the difference between the amount of cops being killed in the line of duty. In the UK it’s about 1-2 a year on average. While in the US it’s 100’s a year.

[@lewistaylor1965]

and more common is verbal assault which is still classed as assault in the UK - Offences against the Person Act 1861, the Criminal Justice Act 1988 and the Crime and Disorder Act 1998.

[@jackowens4811]

Spitting is not a minor offence especially with the people that we have to deal with

[@bbomber2299]

@Jack Owens I agree with you I'm not saying it's minor I'm a prison officer so deal with much of the same things as the police but on the scale I wouldn't rank it as a serious assault

[@douglasmcclelland]

There is another video that goes into more detail about training for police in UK & US. I think overall training in the UK, especially for those who are licenced to carry guns, is much more extensive.

[@banquetable]

Leaving aside specialist roles like counter terrorism; your bog-standard authorised firearms officer only shoots once every three months to requalify on their weapons. That's a very basic level of competency and they are definitely not extensively trained. Regular range time should be available to all AFO's but penny pinching prevents it.

[@davedavids57]

It's not though. I work as a firearms trainer in Austria (I am originally from the UK) and I once got contracted to work a job in the England with the armed police there. Very very odd it's like going back to the 1970s. Most the tactics come from ex military instructors that haven't read a manual since 1980. They always insist on lanyards. Lanyards make sense for the military as they are designed to stop you accidentally losing your gun if you are rolling around on the floor or commando crawling etc. Lanyards can't be too strong as they can get caught in vehicles etc and not only pull the gun out the holster but have the officer dragged with the vehicle. They say they are to stop the gun being stolen or used against the officer but the lanyard has to be long enough so it can be easily used, which means it can also be used on the gun wearer and if you pull fairly hard it will break anywhere. Only the UK and the Japanese police use lanyards now as the have been obsolete for 50 years (since retention holsters). Also many forces use the G36 which is a fantastic firearm but there have been some very well publised issues with it when it gets too hot. The British police keep them in a metal box in their unconditioned patrol vehicles. I asked one of them about it and I got forwarded a memo about how storing an M4 in a car was no issue. They also won't use correct hollow point ammo (god knows why). Also the numbers of flagging, over penetration and cross fire incidents are way way higher than other European police during incidents. With the police often told to point a weapon at a suspect even if no weapon is visible. Anyway that's enough about the British firearms police I was pretty shocked tbh.

[@mubbles1066]

The entrance requirements in the video are wrong, There are minimum educational requirements….. 5 GCSE passes in core subjects (including: English Language and Maths). Applicants may also want to consider taking GCSE P.E. and Modern Foreign Languages, and should try to focus on passing Science too. 3 A-Levels (it is recommend taking subjects such a A-Level: Law, Sociology, Physical Education, and a Modern Foreign Language) or a BTEC in Uniformed Public Services. though once you’ve successfully completed your training, you’ll end up with a degree in Professional Policing Practice. First 2 years are considered ‘probation’ as follows: First 4 weeks residential basic training at your force headquarters Then 16 weeks training at a National Police Training centre Then 12 weeks with a tutor - supervised in the field doing regular police duties. The remainder of the 2 years working as part of a team (sometimes alone) while you complete your skills evidence file. Then when you finally qualify you can then train up in different areas,Transport,Fire arms units etc,all of which are extensive and in depth and can take months/years more of continuous training…… the 2.3 million assaults per year is very misleading as this includes verbal assaults,so if someones swearing at the police this counts as an “assault “ in the stats.

[@barrysteven5964]

This is very detailed but I'm puzzled by the two year timeline. You can only qualify in two years if you have a university degree. Otherwise it takes three years. I have copied and pasted this from the government National Careers website under Police Officer - - If you have a university level degree you can do a 2 year work-based training programme supported by off-the-job learning. As part of the programme, you'll focus on a specialist area of study from either Investigation, Intelligence, Community, Roads or Response policing. You'll earn a Level 6 Post-Graduate diploma in Professional Policing Practice once you've completed your probation. - Alternatively, you can do a three year undergraduate course leading to a Degree in Professional Policing (at an approved university). - Or you can do a Police Constable Degree Apprenticeship (PCDA). It's a 3 year work-based programme that leads to a degree in Professional Policing Practice.

[@-Untitled-]

Swearing at police is technically legal as it a section 5 public order offence and police can't be the complainant.

[@joyfulzero853]

As the video said the first police service in England started in 1829 by Robert Peel. It is in memory of him that police constables were often (in the past) known as 'Bobbies' and also as 'Peelers'.

[@karinmcinally6842]

In Scotland we have had one school shooting. This happened in a primary school. Dunblane caused a rapid change in the law on hand gun possession. You cannot own a handgun legally so the gun statistics will only include shotguns or rifles. Sport pistol competition participants have a whole load of rules that they must follow. Even air guns I think you call them BB guns are subject to licensing.

[@jonshapcott5042]

Air guns are not subject to licencing in the UK. I live there and own two, and have never had to go through the rigmarole of getting gun and ammunition safes. Nor have I had to go through the are regular checks that owners of other kinds of gun do. The shooting club I attend demands that we treat air guns as just as dangerous, and follow all the safety rules. I did have to go through a police check when I joined the club, and the fact that I own air guns will be on file with them.

[@elizabethmair2948]

​@Jon Shapcott In Scotland you need a license I assume you live in another nation of UK.

[@jonshapcott5042]

@@elizabethmair2948 I had heard that Scotland was plannning this but not that they had actually done so. I live in England.

[@TestGearJunkie.]

@@jonshapcott5042 I live in Scotland and can confirm they have. It's planned for England at some stage, I believe, but I don't know when. Not sure about Wales, they usually lump that in with England. Also, airguns have to be powered purely by air, and not another gas such as CO2.

[@JT.Pilgrim]

When comparing wages Americans should always consider is that when an American looks at their net pay, they have to buy a who,e lot of insurance or a big part of their pay is used to buy insurance. When we see our pay, we already know everything is paid, ie.. Universal healthcare, unemployment benefits, paid vacations, pension plans…so on. So it’s not apple to apple comparison. But great content as usual 😊

[@barneylaurance1865]

Plus our groceries are a lot cheaper. E.g. for an apples to apples comparison, apparently apples in shops in the USA cost $4.78/kg, in the UK they're only $2.32/kg.

[@bobbobskin]

@@barneylaurance1865 is now the time for me to mention that I bought a 1 KG (2.2lb in "freedom" units) of Sirloin for £9.90 today, that's $12. I compared that to purchasing the same cut in the USA and the damage was $26.49. Ouch.

[@ple8379]

But you know, no matter how much you make if your chances of getting killed are high af imo :0

[@brianduffin5405]

Back in the day in the uk you got a clip around the ear off a copper you also got it from your mum and dad for getting in trouble from the police

[@petertrabaris1629]

If only Americans could learn from British Policing.... Great video, Tyler. Thanks

[@maigepresents5840]

As long as they don't learn from thr Metropolitan police then yep. The worst sexual offender in British history committed all of his assaults on women while being a serving police officer in the Met.

[@OnlyGrafting]

@@maigepresents5840 anything London run is a shitshow of twisted ideals

[@rjo9296]

@@maigepresents5840 you seriously cant tar all met police with the same brush though

[@maigepresents5840]

@@rjo9296 I'm pretty sure I can... you know that profiling goes both ways yeah? As far as I'm concerned, every police officer is a tyrant until proved otherwise...

[@rjo9296]

@@maigepresents5840 well same goes for people like you then IMO ...until you need help from the police of course then it's a different story isn't it.

[@timbervalleyproductions]

As a British resident, your reactions to our norms are priceless! 😂😂

[@HelenDinsdale]

In the UK (excluding Scotland) we also have community support officers who are similar to police and are there to help local communities. They don’t have the same rights as police officers but help to keep the peace and help communities and local businesses. They are very approachable, and most of the interactions I have had with police officers has been to ask for directions to my destination.

[@TestGearJunkie.]

We don't have PCSO's in Scotland.

[@HelenDinsdale]

@@TestGearJunkie. my apologies, I wasn’t unaware there aren’t any in Scotland.

[@TestGearJunkie.]

@@HelenDinsdale No probs, a lot of things are different up here, as I'm finding out (ex-pat Londoner here..!)

[@juliajoyce4535]

Hi Tyler, I absolutely love all your videos, I admire your reactions and the way you comprehend The British culture and history, your laugh and sense of humour makes the videos special, you have caught the attention of my young teenage daughter whilst I started subscribing to your channel, she thinks you are amazing, keep up the good work, from a proud Welsh woman

[@jennettesimons2415]

Training timeline: 18 weeks in college (Monday to Friday) finishing with passing out parade. 1 week break. 10 week on Local Policing Area (LPA) with a tutor (with taskings to complete). t's a 3 year work-based programme that leads to a degree in Professional Policing Practice.

[@beverly_310]

You might want to define "passing out parade". The term "passing out" means fainting/becoming unconscious in N. America. 😂

[@Chris-hw3yy]

I retired in 2007after 30 years of pounding the beat and a response car driver. Never got anything thing on retirement so does that mean I can apply for my degree in PPP, LOL.

[@johnp8131]

A couple of problems with this Tyler. I can't speak for the US but in England & Wales, you have to look at what constitutes a 'violent crime' etc....here and how that has affected the numbers since terminology was changed? Also the video you're watching has done extremely poor research, if any? when it comes to British Police training, Hendon Police college isn't even mentioned. Basic training is far longer and more stringent here. And remember, overall the US is a more expensive place to live.

[@mariahoulihan9483]

Hendon hasn't exited for donkeys years. It was buldozed and is a housing development.

[@ingznricky472]

You're forgetting, the US has added benefits attached to the job, but the UK has the same benefits for everyone, for free. No co-pay. Also, guns in Europe are mostly not considered weapons. They're tools used for hunting. I think I remember seeing statistics about 75% of households in Iceland having guns in the household. Swat use is almost unheard of, and average police officers carry a baton. There have been 2 gun related deaths, last I checked, on record... Ever

[@raysmancave1]

I retired from the Metropolian police 4 years ago, after 18 years of service, I have never used or held a gun, this was dealt with specialised armed units, when they show up we, the normal police officer. back off and leave them to do what they are trained to do . My main means of protection was my stab vest, taser (only trained officers have them) my baton and pepper spray. We are trained to de-escalate problems even under severe intimidation or threat of violence is being shown by the criminal. Asaults on UK police are not usually serious, remember we are more hands on, but the slightest injury to a police officer, even if it is caused by a scuffle every scratch or scrape is recorded. The police helmet was designed to make the officer stand out in a busy city area, many members of the public wear uniforms, you can spot a police officers helmet in the busiest of scenarios. I don't think I could have served 18 years in the force if I had to wear a gun, I served to protect the public, and to take criminals to justice, not shoot or injure them. Yes there are many things I would like to see changed in the UK police system, but guns are not one of them.

[@rowenawragg3903]

Nice to see you pop up this morning.

[@jeremywilson2022]

In Britain Swearing at someone can be classified as an assault

[@PedroConejo1939]

I love the face, "Do police not carry guns?" This animation really doesn't give a very realistic impression of UK police, or indeed, the US police forces. You need to see what they and their equipment, cars, etc look like in reality, not cheapo cartoon versions. There are IRL videos on KZbin, often from TV shows, such as Interceptors, Motorway Cops, Traffic Cops, Hour of Duty and so on. The latter is my favourite because it features my home town. Almost no-one calls coppers 'bobbies' anymore, and of course, what everyone else says about the definition of assault in UK law. I'm assaulted at least five times a day at work - and I work in a school.

[@lucyhardy-styles-shield2728]

Mine are Traffic Cops and Police Interceptors, I work in McDonald's and the amount of times we've had the police called to the store to deal with arsey customers...I've lost count of how many times they have been called. Also, I went to college in Durham around the time Police Interceptors was filmed there and met 3 of the officers, they were there for a career day thing and were so friendly and answered so many questions I had

[@fluffygutts]

I'm a retired British nurse and we got assaulted all the time, I stopped filing out forms about it. Spitting was classed as assault, I didn't have time to file a report every time I got spat on. So you can double those assaults on officers. Those folks don't get paid enough for what they go through

[@TestGearJunkie.]

I used to be a bus driver in Birmingham and I've lost count of the number of times I was spat at. It's a vile, disgusting practice and if I had any say in it the little scrotes would be... well let's just say made to see the error of their ways..!

[@Dave-kw7jq]

I remember growing up in the seventies our local "bobby" was Sgt Murphy.. when you became an adult you could call him "Murph".. He knew everyone round here even though as kids we didn't believe that.. He would keep us in line by a swift whack off his rolled up raincoat. You will never know the heart sinking moment when after Sgt Murphy told you he knew your dad and would be waiting for you later. .that as you walked up the front path you could actually see Murph sat on the couch ...

[@zo7034]

Just to update this video a little, now to join the police in the UK, you need to have a university undergraduate degree before joining, or you must get one as part of your training (this training being full time police work and a full time university course for 3 years).

[@Cheezsoup]

Not quite accurate, the Met (possibly other forces) have the IPLDP entry route where a degree is not required nor does it lead to one.

[@bethcushway458]

That's not true. They're doing fast tracking recruiting in the MET at the moment and they're literally taking all comers and not even providing them with full and adequate training. This government got rid of 20,000 officers and is now desperately trying to fill the hole they created in the most reckless way possible. It's disgusting

[@bethcushway458]

@Робърт they go out in pairs for safety

[@bethcushway458]

@Робърт my brother and sister-in-law are police officers. My brother has been attacked on several occasions. On his first day on the job a homeless man took him to a dead body in a bush. He saved a young man's life by having to hold his intestines in after he'd been eviscerated. His colleague was murdered by a nutcase with a machete! It's a hard, nasty, thankless job so just think before you type next time

[@tonycutler3769]

This isn't true, I have a friend who is still 17 and training to be a police officer, and nowhere has there been any mention of anything regarding university.

[@claregallagher8550]

The figure for assaults will include someone swearing or spitting at a police officer, even a bit rowdy. It doesn't actually mean that number were all physical assaults, even though it is still unreasonable to do that to someone just doing their job.

[@DoomsdayR3sistance]

If the populous don't carry guns, more so that they don't carry concealable handguns, the police just don't need to carry guns either, makes everything safer for everybody. This is the effect of heavy gun regulation in the UK. There are a lot of illegal guns still but the number is quiet small and you are going to jail if the police catch up with a gun, guns can only be used in very limited situtations which are stipulated in the gun license that you are required to have, to have a gun. The illegal guns in the UK come either from Eastern/Central Europe or from the US. Most US guns are just straight up illegal over here in the UK. Another factor to consider is when people do get guns, the ammo is also extremely difficult to get a hold of in the UK. Personally, I am for even tighter gun control laws here in the UK, the less guns there are on the streets, the safer we are. As for Tasers, they are used but most police officers won't have those either.

[@rach8241]

I'm 66 and live in the uk . I have only seen officers carry fire arms once and that was at Birmingham Station during the pandemic. First time I'd actually seen a firearm for real. Looked like a toy to me expected it to be metal and wood lol

[@lottie2525]

Assault includes 'swearing' at a police officer in those statistics, not just physically attacking them.

[@grabtharshammer]

"Bobby's" after Robert Peel, also "Peelers" after the same guy. "Coppers" (hence the word cops) . because you could recognise them by their highly polished Copper buttons on their uniforms. "fuzz" because their helmets (the tall hats as you call them) are covered in felt. By the way, those are helmets to protect their heads. "Pigs" from various reasons, but partly because of the political novel "Animal Farm" also songs by the Beatles. They have lots of other nicknames depending on which part of the UK you live in. Like "Rozzers" - no idea why. By the way there was never a single UK Police Force, it has always been done on an area / County basis, paid for in your local taxes. So yes it is a public Service.

[@mikepowell7385]

As the video showed, there are 18,000 police jurisdictions in the US. In the UK, 43. Even adjusted for population, that is a massive difference and puts into question whether it's possible to have a uniform standard of training, resources and supervision. The overlap of duties alone means that an incident in the US can be attended by multiple police agencies. Difficult to see that being efficient.

[@brendamiller5785]

The wage and benefits are a little better in the USA, but you need to survive to enjoy them

[@seancampbell9896]

The cost of living is higher in US too

[@TehJumpingJawa]

@@seancampbell9896 Costs are different, not higher. Most food, products & fuels are significantly cheaper in the US. However many services are more expensive, and the US's social care benefits are significantly less generous. For the rich, life is easier in the US. For the poor, life is easier in the UK. As a Police Officer falls squarely into the middle-income bracket in both countries, I wouldn't consider earnings as a deciding factor in either direction.

[@Flaggyt]

@@TehJumpingJawa food in the usa is not cheaper it is of really low quality and that makes it cheaper. We could get the ultra cheap food here too but we just don't except it.

[@christopherwoolnough2160]

The hat being that shape, also acts as a crash helmet!

[@rosemarielee7775]

Introduced to make policemen visible in crowds.

[@AlexaFaie]

@@rosemarielee7775 The original forms were specially stiffened top hats made so that they could stand on them to look over walls. Some even had a compartment at the top to keep sandwiches in!

[@gemjamjones2656]

Living in Scotland I've only seen armed police a couple of times. Either at the airport or at a train station when a big international event is happening (Commonwealth games, Political event, Edinburgh fringe) and this is to mainly make people feel safer. It always a surprise and everyone is like okay okay the guns are here... there must be a big event on today.

[@o_blivian]

The Custodian (massive hat according to you) hat is used for foot patrols, normally, male officers would wear the Peaked Cap and female would wear the Bowler Hat. "The Bow Street Runners." I've honestly never heard of. The first officers used formals and custodian hats, that's why we still use Custodian hats for the history (the females still wear bowler hats), formals are used for inspections etc. The name of "Bobbies" usually mean foot patrols. Adding onto the fact that we don't use firearms and scream and swear to control someone, and, most of our country aren't in the business of gangs and crime because as most people say, once your in a gang, you can't get out of it (or it is VERY hard to get out of a gang without being stabbed or killed or targeted by the gang). We use numbers and sometimes you have 5 police officers all wrestling one big man. The issue with you guys is that EVERYONE has a gun and so police NEED a gun otherwise they're dead. "That is such a strange concept to me", the fact that we don't carry guns is because guns are **illegal** and you should probably visit London (You'll see police with rifles everywhere because it is where the royal family, Buckingham Palace, government etc so really important). And when you call 999 (or 911 in your lands) and mention guns, you'll probably have 1-3 ARVs (Armed (guns) Response (responding to 999s) Vehicle (car)) and if you mention stabbing, you have the police come and ambulance come. Mostly, Armed Police respond to all weapons but when there isn't so much violence, some of the normal officers who have tasers, will use the tasers instead. Most officers DO NOT CARRY GUNS OR TASERS, all they have is a Baton, PAVA Spray (similar to pepper spray) and handcuffs. The guns that are illegal are imported, are brang from Europe on small boats and are rarely used (it is just to show off to other gangs). The legal ones are used mostly by farmers and are never in city centres, they're shotguns for protecting their animals. America only eat donuts, we don't! please pin this and give this some love!!

[@michaeldenton2503]

You maybe need to brush up on your history re: peelers. It was the original name.

[@briantitchener4829]

British cops rarely shoot anyone as hardly anyone owns a gun in the UK. Only soldiers, farmers, and armed police units have them. Some criminals get their hands on a gun, but not too many. Anti-terrorist police are seen patrolling with guns in UK airports sometimes. I once commented to a regular policeman at a petrol station about him carrying a gun. He said it was becoming more common because of rising terrorist threats. Most UK police are friendly to the public.

[@banquetable]

Statistically, on a typical terraced street in the UK there will be two houses with (legally held) firearms in them - firearm ownership is not as uncommon as people seem to believe. You probably know someone who owns them but we don't have the same culture as in the US and no-one will go out of their way to let people know they shoot so it's a fairly invisible sport.

[@maigepresents5840]

As recent events show... some police in the Met should probably be a little less 'friendly' with the public... well, less grabby anyway

[@geoffpriestley7001]

The building trade is considered more a dangerous job than the police service

[@iapetusmccool]

That's true in both the UK and US. Also farming, forestry, fishing, trucking, and couriers/delivery drivers. Basically anything involving working at height, or with heavy machinery, or spending all your time on the roads, or in remote places far from help.

[@daveward4358]

The main thing about our UK police is they get 28 weeks training before they are a go out on the street with 3 years on the job training and can get a University Degree if they wish for free. As far as i know USA cops get only 6 weeks, i could be wrong. Also some UK police carry tazers but have the go though training to use them. Normal cops do not carry guns. An authorised firearms officer (AFO) is a British police officer who is authorised and trained to carry and use firearms and are only called upon if needed.

[@chrisbentleywalkingandrambling]

We have two Armed Response Vehicles in my town in England. The 'official' one has a different colour Car and the 'unmarked' one is a black SUV. The only reason I know about the second one is that they were at the Chip Shop getting tea. All our Airports have open carry Police and they carry Heckler & Koch MP5s. There are more guns held by criminals. But it is an automatic 6 years inside for having a firearm or imitation one in UK.

[@KidarWolf]

It was interesting moving from the UK to the US - I had to essentially normalize a behavior I'd always thought weird. As a result, now that I've returned to the UK, my reaction to those occasions where I have seen armed police in the UK is vastly different to the average Brit. As an example, a recent incident in my street involving knife crime resulted in pretty much the entirety of my area's armed units being deployed to my street to resolve the conflict. This shocked a lot of the people on the street, while I was unworried, but aware of the risk to myself, I retreated to cover behind a brick building in case shooting did start and a stray round came my direction. I had to prompt others in the street to get to cover, as they really had no understanding of the risk of being in the open, since even with a well trained unit armed with firearms, things can go horribly wrong, very quickly.

[@szabados1980]

In the UK when police show up, people show sympathy and even help them to do their job. In the US, they run away and let them to their own devices.

[@philiprice7875]

saw a cop car pull into our close cop asked for number 7 i pointed and asked is she ok? as i was worried cop smiled and said yea, we found her dog

[@geddesjimmy]

You should look at the difference in police training in the US compared to the rest of the world.............. shocking!

[@kevb044]

As others have said, "Assault" in the UK has a very different meaning to the US. In the US only a few things are counted as an assault. In the UK an assault is classed as "any form of assault on a person" with a huge number being non physical, like "verbal assault" so say, in the US you called a cop a f***ing c***, that wouldn't be counted as assaulting him/her, but in the UK it would. Also, in regards to US Police carrying firearms etc, it's worrying when the rest of the world are starting to say that the number 1 crime punishable by death in the US is disrespecting a police officer.

[@0saintsfan0]

Technically assault is the action of making another person fear for their physical safety, and battery is the infliction of physical violence. Beyond that the seriousness of the injury is taken into account, via the charges of Actual Bodily Harm and Grievous Bodily Harm (ABH and GBH).

[@Roadent1241]

So, as I can no longer ask my mum who worked in the force, if I told a Bobby to 'go away you twit' I'd win a pair of locked bracelets? XP

[@glendajarrett5507]

Most British police don't carry guns because most British people don't have guns. They have strict gun laws, except they do have hunting rifles. The same is true in Canada. People don't have guns except for hunting rifles. Automatic weapons and now handguns are banned in Canada.

[@London_J]

very few UK officers DO carry firearms (Police Service northern Ireland) carries firearms on a daylily because Irish politics, policing, history, etc. is so volatile and... Harsh. Riots, Personal attacks on officers, assassination's, car bombings, something that is 99% unheard of / not done in the rest of the UK.. The Irish police (An Garda Síochána, more commonly referred to as the Gardaí or "the Guards" by Irish Citizens and "Garda" by well-meaning British) but English, Welsh, Scottish and Crown Colony (Falklands, Gibraltar, etc) police forces do NOT routinely carry firearms, they have specialized units. (MET SCO 19, Regional Armed Response units ARU's / Armed response Vehicles ARV's.) In other commonwealth countries (Like my Nation of Canada.) Firearms ARE routinely carried by officers (mainly due to the Americans and their crime leaking into our nation, leading to high firearm crime.)

[@thedisabledwelshman9266]

this is just a guess tyler but i think the hats are for wearing on the head.

[@scarba]

I thought they were for hiding cheese sandwiches 😂

[@bedwynevans206]

They are helmets and offer protection for the head

[@neuralwarp]

They used to have top hats, but they were Germanised during Victoria's reign. They had two functions: (1) to protect constables from being coshed on the head; (2) to stand on to climb over walls during chases.

[@stewedfishproductions7959]

@@neuralwarp - To be more visible in crowds...

[@martinsutton8590]

@@stewedfishproductions7959 They also make the officer look taller and therefore a little intimidating.

[@richardseed8253]

Here in the uk there is universal healthcare free at point of delivery.

[@Sorarse]

I read a statistic somewhere that more people in America are killed by cops than are killed by terrorists. If that's true, it's a sad indictment of the police in America and the training they receive.

[@_starfiend]

Supposedly, as in I've heard it said but have no proof, US police kill more people, per capita, than Somalian police!

[@Captain_Blue_Beard]

It’s funny how Americans talk about the Wild West like it was an expansive period of time but it was reality short

[@lich5956]

wow these comments about US police officers treating people asking for help as hostile is crazy to me as a UK citizen. As a child i was always taught that if i was in trouble and needed help to always approach a police officer and they would help/ protect me. We complain about police here because they dont have the budget to deal with small crimes (stealing from shops, someone breaking ur car window etc) but im glad they arent like the US police that seem so ready to use lethal force against innocent people because they 'feel threatened'. honestly if they are so jumpy they shouldnt be officers.

[@Ruby-Playz0340]

The British Police Uniform varies from where you are in the UK. But either have an cap or that helmet in the beginning of the video. Edited: It's true. That we don't exactly have enough police officers for England but the British Army has it's own regiment called Royal Military Police. The Royal Military Police or RMP for short could also do Officer's job if necessary but also help with vaccines and general assistance.

[@psychosoma5049]

In the UK we are taught to run TO the police when you’re in trouble, not away.

[@timglennon6814]

It was us Brits that started the Police Force.

[@jani7166]

Only just stumbled upon you yday...Love your honest reactions. .Going to do a binge watch 💕👏👏👏

[@royw-g3120]

Another big difference is there is a central register in the U.K. So if you get kicked out of say Kent Police you can't go get a job next police service over. You are also barred from becoming a prison officer and some other roles. There is a problem in the US where bad cops just resign before being disciplined and go get a job in the sherriffs office or airport security or whatever.

[@oldman1734]

The British were first in just about everything.

[@alanleys]

Did you note the 'more guns than people in the u.s' part, bud? ;-) ~ Good review as always. Cultural curiosity is to be applauded. Kudos.

[@EveryoneWhoUsesThisTV]

Just spending more on police rarely changes the crime rate as substantially as we'd like... Social security and welfare spending consistently does that, the crime rate always goes up during periods of financial insecurity and income inequality... But under-spending on police resources and wages can definitely result in reduced effectiveness..

[@SimonTBam]

In the US there were 45,222 total gun deaths in 2020. In the UK, where there is gun control, there were 35 gun deaths in 2020. The pop. of the US is about 4 x that of the UK, so with UK style gun control gun deaths would be 140 rather than 45,222.

[@johnmartin7599]

The founder of the British Police was called Robert Peel, Robert is shortened to Bob and that became Bobby as slang for police. Also they are called Peelers which is a play on Peel. The reduction in numbers in police in England and Wales is due to the Conservative government implementing savage public spending cuts. To save money police force's sold building and in the end used forced early retirement as a way to cut numbers. As for guns, the average beat police officer does not carry a gun, they are equipped with a baton, CS Spray and now (2023) they are armed with Tazers. All UK police force's have specialist armed police units that are called out when firearms are used, there are a few police force's in UK are armed at all times (a couple are Police Service of Northern Ireland, Ministry of Defence Police and the Civil Nuclear Constabulary)

[@soongone99]

I was stationed in the U.k. With the U.S. Air Force in the 1980s. My landlord was British police officer, and he said they always took care when dealing with American GIs because we had a tendency, especially when drunk, or go all “john Wayne” because we knew the British PD didn’t carry guns…

[@capablancauk]

The pension for police that survive in the USA is.....

[@Chillmax]

All Brits know that an armed officer can be called at any moment if required, but if a regular 'Bobby' turned up to an incident or your house with a gun, many people, whether the innocent or guilty party would ask them, why did they had a gun, it could quite easily make a bad situation worse!

[@DarrenMalin]

the funny hats on Bobby's are traditional. but have a function , they are based on an old military helmet made for hot climates , so it will deflect a blow. but will also keep the head cool. It also made the police seem taller so more intimidating and authoritarian.

[@jaredbeever4629]

Our regular police, here in New Zealand don't carry guns. Armed Offenders Squads (Similar to US SWAT) are brought in when needed.

[@catherinewilkins2760]

Our Police wear body cameras.

[@briantitchener4829]

Who is "our" police ? British or American? I know British police wear body cameras.

[@jmurray1110]

Both do but weather they keep them on is another story

[@catherinewilkins2760]

@@briantitchener4829 I am British.

[@davelangton1217]

In the UK, it's reinforced that it's called "Police Service" rather than "Police Force" - the word "Force" is seen as being a bit aggressive. An interesting fact about those hats, is that if a pregnant woman needs to pee, she can request the hat to pee in xD

[@_starfiend]

Myth. Sadly. But those hats are actually hard helmets!

[@peterrivet648]

Those helmets are only used in England and Wales. They stopped wearing them in Scotland in 1950.

[@SilentTypo]

I served for 30 years in the UK police, having retired 17 years ago. I served for 21 years in the Metropolitan Police in London, and then spent the last 9 years in a provincial force outside London. I was a firearms officer for several years in the 1990s and concluded my service as a sector commander. When I transferred from the Metropolitan Police, there were 35,000 officers in London, but due to political ineptitude, the numbers have declined, and surprise, surprise, the crime rate is rising and confidence in an overstretched and relatively inexperienced police service is declining. Due to a policy of replacing experienced officers with inexperienced civilians, even as senior staff, the whole aspect of leadership and making sound policy decisions have also declined. We recently witnessed the hounding out of the Police Commissioner from London by a left-wing Mayor of London as a political scapegoat, and the broad-based, morally destructive woke agenda of identity politics being forced to be adhered to by officers who should be preventing real crimes and arresting serious offenders rather than warning people over making offensive tweets over misgendering people and making possible offensive jokes as a stand-up comedian. I am sorry, but the inmates have taken over the asylum. My heart goes out to those men and women who have to patrol our streets... I did it for 30 years and am bloody glad they are there... and they still don't carry firearms on general duties!

[@AlexaFaie]

This was good up until you got to being a racist bigot. Can not trust a police officer who does not respect people of a whole variety of racial, ethnic and social backgrounds, can't trust them if they are homophobic or transphobic either. They're not fit to serve the population if they do not respect large chunks of the population. Hate crimes are real crimes which hurt people. Pretending they are not is just disgusting.

[@hommedterre1]

Police in Britain don`t carry guns because they are more trained to de-escalate as opposed to provoke. Besides They have a lot better and longer training than the American cops. Also, the Europeans in general are better educated when it comes to these things i.A .Europeans are a lot more civilised and aware, recognizing that differences in opinions or outlook can be better resolved by explanations than by brutal force. Unsurprising though as in the US, the absence of intelligence can, as far as the average American logic is concerned be substituted by brute force.

[@GamingHilights]

Right, so ima just go over some stuff… the ‘big hats’ are only really used for Foot Patrols, only Armed Response Units carry guns, We have different services such as East Sussex and West Midlands.