Armed police
Sir,—So the police are talking guns again. Unfortunately the only effective result of arming the police is dead or injured people. Dead criminals, who frighten the police; dead police, who frighten the criminals; and dead bystanders, who frighten both. Guns do not reduce crime. If they did, the crime rate in America would be zero. All the gun does is to raise the stakes for all concerned. The
gun puts an unreal stress on members of the police, their families, and the rest of society. An armed person, whether a lawenforcer or law-breaker, is a target. When that target is hit, as all targets eventually are, we all die a little. The gun would not have halted any of the murders comitted in New ZEaland this year, but it certainly could have contributed to many more. I am not willing to pay that price. — Yours, etc., JOHN FAWCETT. November 10, 1985.
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Press, 13 November 1985, Page 20
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153Armed police Press, 13 November 1985, Page 20
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