According to Sir Peter Fahy, chief constable of the Greater Manchester Police, a police officer's "best weapon is their mouth.”
Fahy, who is also the spokesman on workforce development for the Association of Chief Police Officers, currently commands 6,700 officers, just 209 of which are armed. Talking through a situation and remaining calm are some of the tactics Fahy puts before employing weaponry.
Handguns and assault rifles are completely banned in Britain, and a very small percentage of British police officers carry guns, something that has led to a lower number of fatal police shootings. Over the last three years, just three people died at the hands of law enforcement in Britain—in 2012 alone, 409 Americans were killed by police shootings, according to data compiled by the FBI.
Sir Peter Fahy joins The Takeaway to discuss the differences in policing across the pond, and how Americans can avoid some of the high-stakes policing we see more and more often in the media and in cities across the nation.
