Thread: Why frontline cops should be armed

Originally Posted by Tussock

If they (whoever they are) decides to stab or shoot someone then someone may or may not get stabbed or shot. Or they might get rabies. Or struck by lightning.

I thought about what a criminal might do at large in 6 hours. But while I was at it I started to worry about germs on my hands and started furiously scrubbing them. Then I remembered I don't actually have acute paranoia and so I stopped imagining up horrific improbably scenarios.

Crime is 30% of tv and print news and 0.00000005% of actual events. Of that 0.00000005% only about 1% of those crimes of any physical threat to you. In New Zealand, on a spectrum of things worth worrying about, it does not make it on. Worrying about obscure improbable negative experiences will kill you far sooner.

Having lived in actual dangerous places and twice lived alone where people actually actively wanted to do me in, I would suggest rather than putting an armed cop on every corner, you just stop worrying.

Your nervousness makes you a mark. Its obvious a mile away. Watched my mother in law get all fretty because of two dudes in a car park recently. "They look dodgy" she said. They looked like painters eating lunch to me. Just relax. Nervous people get done over. Easy marks. You get left alone if you look comfortable.

I always love sitting somewhere and watching middle aged middle class people walking like they are on sniper alley because someone (me) has a black hoodie up.

You are 40x more likely to be robbed by a white collar criminal than a blue collar criminal. This is my least favourite statistic. With modern banking its closer to 100%

Just chill

So while you had people 'actively wanting to do you in' did you take any steps to defend yourself if need be?

You're right chances are I won't get shot or stabbed. But then I'm not dealing with people on a daily basis that have charges for carrying concealed firearms in public either, or numerous other firearms charges, or some that have yet to have firearms charges, take Daniel Luff for example. Not to mention the other charges not related to firearms. And lets not forget that most violent offenders probably have a grudge against Police.

I'm quite certain if I had a Glock 17 on my hip I'd get left well alone whether I looked comfortable or not.