As the UK Government continue to push the fear propaganda down the throats of it’s populous in an attempt to encourage people to accept further restrictions on freedom and increased security measures nationwide, we now hear suggestions that the Army may have to patrol the streets of the UK as the plan to place more armed police on the streets is unlikely to be met due to lack of willing participants.
Published in the Telegraph today:
The Army may have to be deployed on the streets of mainland Britain to carry out routine policing duties because constables are reluctant to train as firearms officers, it has been warned.
Steve White, chairman of the Police Federation, said officers are not volunteering to carry guns because they fear being “hung out to dry” and treated like a suspect if they discharge their weapon.
It could force the Government to call in troops to carry out day-to-day guarding and patrolling duties at major transport hubs, city centres and key buildings such as the Houses of Parliament, he suggested.
Mr White, who opens the federation’s annual conference in Bournemouth, Dorset, on Monday, said a national shortage of armed police was leaving Britain vulnerable to terror attack.
“I think there is a real possibility the Army could have to be called in to conduct routine duties that are currently performed by authorised firearms officers,” said Mr White.
“If you cannot get police officers carrying guns then you are going to have to have the Army on the streets.”
The Government has announced plans to recruit 1,500 extra firearms officers in the wake of the Paris and Brussels terror attacks.
But there are already at least 300 vacancies across England and Wales as numbers of authorised officers have fallen to the lowest level for seven years.
This comes as little surprise to many of us, the push for military on the streets of Britain is a topic which is cropping up more and more as we journey on in the post 9/11 era.
Last year we heard of the UK Governments ‘secret plans’ to deploy thousands of troops in the wake of a Terrorist attack – The Independent reports:
Secret police plans to deploy more than 5,000 armed soldiers on British streets in the wake of a UK terror attack have been questioned by a prominent peer as a “provocative” act that could potentially endanger the public.
Codenamed Operation Temperer, the plans were revealed when documents from an 22 April meeting of the National Police Chiefs Council (NPCC) were accidentally uploaded to their website.
However, regardless of what Government body ends up patrolling the streets of Britain equipped with automatic weapons, this is extremely worrying.
Source: The Independent , The Telegraph