I NOTE with interest your report on the controversy over the arming of police officers ("Pressure grows for action on arming of officers", The Herald, July 18).
Having been an operational police officer for 30 years I have experienced the farcical state of affairs which existed in dealing with armed incidents before the standing authority to carry firearms was introduced by Sir Stephen House when he took command of Strathclyde and which has been a norm in the rest of UK police forces for some time. Prior to this standing authority we had occasions where highly-trained firearms officers were required to request permission to wait for a senior executive officer to be contacted and hopefully give permission for firearms to be issued.
Unarmed police officers were regularly placed in danger by having to approach and deal with suspects believed to be armed as authorisation had been denied by a senior officer remote from the scene.
Standing authority to carry firearms allows highly-trained police firearms officers to go quickly to a scene, assess the situation and deal with the incident safely. The murderers of l Lee Rigby were shot by police firearms officers who were already carrying firearms on patrol as part of standing authority. TV footage showed how quickly the officers had to react to defend themselves.
It is interesting that councillors in the Highland area have been most vociferous in their opposition to standing authority and Deirdre Mackay, Highland Council's area leader in Caithness and Sutherland, might be interested to know that the majority of firearm incidents with major loss of life in the UK have occurred in rural settings, in particular Dunblane 1986, Monkseaton 1989 and Cumbria 2010. Had Derek Bird crossed the Scottish border in June 2010 as part of his killing spree, there would not have been police capability to immediately deal with him as the then Dumfries and Galloway Constabulary had no armed response capability. Sir Stephen House has recognised this and all of Scotland, whether it be Brora or Beardsen, now has the immediate response and protection of armed officers should they be required.
It is sad that a key safety measure introduced to protect Scottish communities is being threatened with a backward step because the Chief Constable and elected members have failed to understand the need for respect and dialogue in their daily business.
Michael Greville,
48 Nithsdale Road,
Glasgow.
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