I’m a retired U.K. police officer. I’ve never held a gun in my life.

I made the mistake of the first time in the US of approaching a police officer for help, he shouted at me to back off, and reached for his gun. I learnt there and then not to trust them, and they treated everyone as hostile. The complete opposite of the UK where I’ve had many a laugh and joke with our “Bobby’s”.

We in the UK have known of the differences for decades. The idea that it takes so little for a US cop to draw his gun horrify us!

I lived in UK city Oxford for 2 years, there for university. Three weeks into it, I decided to go and see a film. I got completely lost; GoogleMaps was being useless. I was 18 in a city I had never been in by myself before. I had no fear going up to 2 police officers and going "please help me, I'm lost". They ended up walking me to the cinema (I was going in completely the wrong direction), made sure I had the numbers for several taxi companies (the film ended around 11pm), knew where the police station was if I wanted help again, and told me to come and find them if I needed help again and enjoy the film, India. Okay, yes, I was worried they would think I was a moron, but no fear they would hurt me. 😂 As people have said in the comments, UK police SERVICE, US police FORCE.

As a firearms owner in the UK, I can tell you that when I moved house I had local firearms officers arrive on the day I moved in, check my gun safe, check my ammunition safe (kept separately) ensure that I was suitable, have a lovely discussion with 2 firearms officers (as I had moved counties) and check all the serial numbers etc. I have lived in NI, England and Scotland, and have always felt that the firearms licensing regulations are superb.

Tasers are considered to be firearms in the UK and are thus prohibited to the public. Police may carry tasers after extensive training, and around 20% do so. Only specially trained and accredited firearms officers have access to guns, and these comprise around 5% of all UK police.

When they say police officers are assaulted 19 times a year, an assault could mean being spat at, pushed or any physical assault, serious or not. In the UK, an assault does not necessarily mean being put in hospital.

When I was young, back in the late 60's I remember watching an American cop movie. About 5 or 6 cars turned up at the criminal's house with sirens blasting and countless police waving guns while running around in circles. My Father remarked "If that had been in London they would have sent a bobby on a bike. A bobby was the affectionate name for our policeman who walked the beat, knew every household and told you he would tell your Father if he caught you misbehaving.

USA has a police Force . UK and Canada have a police Service

I was a British police constable from 2000 to 2012. The reason for the drop in police numbers was the government cutting police budgets. The police forces responded by medically retiring officers who couldn't do all police duties. Which is why we lost 20,000 officers who were doing essential duties so they had to be backfilled with frontline officers. I only saw 1 firearm 'On the streets' which had been discarded by a 'drug dealer' when he was being chased by a bobby.

Hi mate, this is a great video but I hope I can clear a few things up for you. (coming from a volunteer police officer in UK) Firstly, our police service are split into 43 territorial forces in the UK usually one for each county, plus 3 specialist forces (BTP who cover railways, CNC who cover nuclear sites and transport, and MOD police who cover military bases and other MOD sites). The main force covering London is Metropolitan Police who are the lovely chaps in the white shirts you have seen in the other video. The very centre of London is covered by City of London Police and the underground by BTP. Its important to note, the public have much less respect for officers in the UK than in the USA due to.. no guns, lack of powers, and as the UK police framework is based on policing by consent.. which is too long to explain so just go with it haha Officer deaths are much lower, it is very rare officers die on duty and whenever something like that happens, it is a massive shock that every police force then uses to better out system and procedures to prevent it from reoccuring. However, like the video said, police officers are assaulted a lot. The rates are very high and the estimates are probably near correct as many officers do not report it. In terms of number of officers, the decrease is due to no incentives (low pay, bad work hours, etc), budget cuts from government and lack of support and funding, and of course stricter recruitment standards. All recruits now have to have high school qualifications, as well as already have a degree or complete a degree apprenticeship to join. That being said the current number of officers in the UK has gone up to 164,000 since this video. Firearms: Most police officers in the UK are unarmed. We have a stab proof vest, radio, body-worn video camera, and our kit belt. The kit belt has handcuffs, PAVA (pepper spray), baton, and limited first aid suppies in a tiny bag. Some officers who have undergone extra training can carry Tasers but this is not standard issue. Specific units in the police have been trained further so they can carry firearms. In the Met Police the following are examples of armed officers (non exhaustive): - CTSFOs: Officers in counter terrorism unit - Avaition Policing: Officers covering Heathrow and City of London airports - Royalty and Specialist Protection: Oficcers protecting royal family and properties - Parliamentary and Diplomatic Protection: Officers protecting high profie buildings and personnel - Trojan units: Armed police officers who respond to serious incidents (primarily firearms related calls) It is rare to see police with guns in the UK in general, however of course you wil see many at airports and in the centre of London when you visit. FYI we go to most incidents unarmed, meaning if you come up against a knife you have a baton and pepper spray to defend yourself while a Taser or armed officer arrives (if available and nearby) but usually we deal with it then and there. And we do deal with it.. very often you get attacked by knives or worse and just have to deal with it then anfd there. Body-worn video: We have cameras just like US police. It records the last 60s of footage constantly without audio. You activate it with the big button in the middle. This means when activated you have footage with audio until turned off but also the previous 60s. So if I was attacked suddenly and pressed it, I'd have the footage of the attack. Stab Vest: All officers on duty wear a vest that is stab proof. I believe it also stops 9mm bullets from pirecing through but luckily I've never had to test that. Firearms officers of course wear bullet proof vests. Additional Kit: In theory all police vehicles are equipped with a first aid kit and torniquete, defiblirator, acid injuries kit, police tape. Firearms vehicles have extra bits like a ballistics first aid kit. Specialist units have extra gear like cones or spike strips for traffic units. PCSOs: Police Community Support Officers are all across the UK and do not have the power of a police officer but work along side them in their communities often dealing with similar incidents. Their uniform looks similar however PCSOs do not get any kit apart from the vest, radio and camera. They do not have batons, PAVA or even hadncuffs. They are the real heros of our police service. Overall, do not be scared off by this. This system works in the UK and London specifically is very safe. Police are also very friendly, so if you do visit, please feel free to stop officers for a chat. I'd also recommend you watch our polcing docuseries if you fancy a longer reaction video (eg: Police Interceptors, Police Night Shift 999, 24 Hours in Police Custody, Police Code Zero). And maybe even watch something about Special Constables who are full sworn police officers with the same kit and powers attending the same incidents as regular officers for FREE! Completely voluntarily.. We have around 8,500 in the UK. Pretty cool if you ask me. But anyways.. hope this is interesting for anyone who reads it all 😂

Some years ago I was a law enforcement officer here in New Zealand and like the UK we were and are as a rule, unarmed. We also call our police a service rather than a force and emphasis is on de-escalation of situations rather than going for a weapon as first option. Assaults vary from the serious to being pushed away when carrying out an arrest, so this should be kept in perspective as to how different countries record data. In my district we had a colleague who had a bad case of being the local sheriff. He was assaulted almost weekly while in seven years I did not experience anything I would seriously consider a real assault. A few years back two of my country folk were shot and killed by police in the US, neither committing any offence and one, a young woman for doing what she would naturally do here, approach a cop for information. She was shot as being, in the offending officer's words, an imminent threat. As a result of this, and other unpleasantries, on my last trip with the us as a stopover some travel agents have been advising against more than minimum stay due to lack of safety in the US. Sad.

You must remember, if you put your hand on a police officer in the UK, that is classed as an assault, assault does not have to be a violent attack, hence the high figures.

Just swearing at a police is sometimes considered an assault and the fact that Britain has more of those proves at least to me that they’re not as afraid of their police as Americans

As a Londoner, I have never in my life heard anyone call a police officer a “bobby,” it’s a fairly old-fashioned name for them - most of us just call them police officers or coppers (though this may be different in less urban communities). Another fun fact is that “bobbies” isn’t the only name for them that comes from Sir Robert Peel, they were also called “peelers.”

I am Australian and I know about England’s Bow Street Runners. I have also heard of Bobbies, and Peelers. They are in lots of novels. My understanding (years ago) was that the police did not carry guns, so the criminals did not need to either. Sort of a sane balance.

i worked for UK police for 4 years, never held a gun. I knew a guy in firearms unit, he said they are taught how NOT to use their guns, but to de-escalate. they had a vote in 2003 - 97% of police voted to not be armed. Also 42% of uk police are actually unpaid volunteers called Special Constables

A point to note, Verbal abuse of police officers in the UK is often reported as assault. And wages always factor in the price of healthcare post and pre retirement.

I live in Northern Ireland and I remember being shocked the first time I went to visit family in England and the police stations weren't fortified with big walls, steel gates and cages and also that all police didn't have guns. Our police stations look more like military bases and all cops have guns that they can carry while off duty. I think they still get 'danger money' as an extra payment because they still have to check under their cars for bombs etc

I served for 30 years as a police officer in the UK before I retired, and whilst injured badly dealing with a riot in the late 80's suffering 7 fractures of the skull, still never felt the need to carry a firearm. Indeed many police officers even today would not want all officers to be routinly armed. We now have a number of officers who carry a taser, and can be called to an incident. Similarly there are firearms units that can be deployed when the situation demands it.

I am in the uk and i've seen armed police exactly twice in my 40 years and it freaked me out both times not that they were coming for me but just the sight of officers with guns

I've never left my house even considering the prospect of encountering a gun in normal life . They aren't part of our culture and anyone who wants to own one has to go through exhaustive checks . Assault on Police Officers statistics include verbal abuse and a few other non violent categories I'm led to believe . The Police in the UK. do generally have the respect and support of the public .

I went on holiday to Vermont as 12yr old in the 90s. My little brother and I were arguing in the back of the car as our parents grabbed something from a convenience store and a cop flung open the door, grabbed me out of the car and was dragging me around by the scruff of my neck. My parents came running out and he treated them as hostile and ordered them to back off. The whole situation was ridiculous and unfit for civilised society.

I’m in the UK and almost the only time I’ve ever seen armed police is at airports or occasionally at railway stations if there has been some kind of ‘incident’, mostly related to terrorism. We did have a (still unsolved) murder quite close to where I live about 18 years ago, yes such incidents are mostly quite rare here, specially outside large cities like London or Manchester etc. In the local murder I refer to there were several dozen ‘men in black’, armed and meaning business, brought in overnight and by the next morning, to conduct searches for the perpetrator and indeed the gun used in the murder was found a few days later down a drain, presumably having been discarded by the murderer during his escape (yes, we do know it was a male, but little more than that). Generally speaking most British people regard police as a friendly presence and their instinct is I think to be friendly in return too.

While tasers have been introduced to UK cops not all cops carry them as standard. The normal cop relies on pepper spray and their baton. UK cops spend 29 weeks of classroom and on the job training before going solo. All police forces have armed response units. These cops are trained with lethal and non lethal weapons. To be selected to be trained as an armed response officer you first need to have served as a 'normal' cop for a number of years. Every time an officer fire his weapon in the UK it is referred to an independent panel.

One of the only times I've been around police was at a party where someone came in with a machete and started attacking, 6 (ish) police officers came without guns, I'm sure some had tasers but never used them. Mostly it was just talking to the guy and getting him to drop the weapon and give up. No one was killed, worst injury was someone lost their ear. I imagine that kind of situation would be very different in America.

Like most motorcyclists, I have had speeding-related interactions with the police before the advent of the speed camera, and the biggest difference I found between getting a pull from a UK traffic plod and US police was the aggression level. I always take my lid off when I get pulled, and stand beside my bike and I expected the same in the US. I've only had one interaction with an American highway cop and he was way more aggressive in how he pulled me. The biggest difference was he stayed in his car using a PA to order me keep my hands in view (I was taking my lid off). Needless to say, I did as I was told and I could see in the handlebar mirrors as he came towards me that his hand was on his firearm (I was shitting myself BTW). Got to say his attitude changed with I opened my mouth and he heard my accent and I handed him the bike hire documents, insurance, my passport, and UK license. In the end, he was a nice enough guy and even let me have a peek in his car before telling me to enjoy my Route 66 adventure and that doing a ton (100mph) was not acceptable. (I was trying to catch up with the tour group having taken a wrong turn onto the I-40 rather than the road to Santa Fe..)

In Scotland we have had one school shooting. This happened in a primary school. Dunblane caused a rapid change in the law on hand gun possession. You cannot own a handgun legally so the gun statistics will only include shotguns or rifles. Sport pistol competition participants have a whole load of rules that they must follow. Even air guns I think you call them BB guns are subject to licensing.

I had to take a firearms course as I was one of four, station officers in our station and was responsible for the issuing of arms to licensed officers as and when required. When handed back in, I had to check the action of the firearms and ensure that the same officer returned the same firearms, clean and oil return it to its allotted space. Never had to return a firearms that had been fired in 25 years.

Assault has a loose definition, can just be swearing or spitting at an officer.

As someone who has visited the UK on an infrequent basis, I have found the UK police and Border Agents incredibly friendly. The only exception was a grumpy Border Agent at Stansted when my flight arrived at 5am but I forgive him for that. I once got turned around in London, and asked a police officer how to get to the nearest Tube station. I figured once I was there I’d be able to use the Tube maps to re-orientate myself. He didn’t just show me where to go, he walked me there, right up to the platform, while keeping a very friendly and lively conversation. I have no idea if he was trying to sus me out, or if that is the general way they work, but it left a really great impression. With regards to the smaller front-line police force, I was told that 99% of London is monitored by CCTV, so there’s a lot more focus on using technology for policing, and then dispatching people to hotspots. It sounds like a plausible reason for a decrease in the number of active police officers. I doubt a U.S. cop would have been OK with me approaching, asking for help, and then walking me to my train. In fact, I’ve been told to NOT ever approach a U.S. cop, even when in trouble. 😳

As the video said the first police service in England started in 1829 by Robert Peel. It is in memory of him that police constables were often (in the past) known as 'Bobbies' and also as 'Peelers'.

Biggest reason for less police officers in the UK in the last 10 years is because of our current government and their policy of austerity (budget cuts across all public services)

When I was a child it was said 'if you want to know the time, ask a policeman'. Probably because very few, if any, children had a watch then. There were always police about walking the beat.

I've only seen armed police 3 times. Once outside parliament. Once in Manchester fairly soon after the arena bombing. Once while passing by a football match between two teams who were local rivals (called a derby match).

As a British resident, your reactions to our norms are priceless! 😂😂

One thing it didn't mention, the pay might be lower, but they don't need health insurance over here, and we get one hell of a lot more "vacation" days as standard, at least 20 to start with,for raw recruits.

Fascinating to watch your reactions to the UK police not generally having guns! The stats about deaths speak for themselves ... more guns more people shot and killed. It isn't rocket science! I don't understand why people want to live in a society where lots of people have guns. Wouldn't make me feel more secure. I for one am very grateful I live in UK and not in "gun culture" US. I don't have an issue with licensed guns where appropriate, but that's different.

I remember growing up in the seventies our local "bobby" was Sgt Murphy.. when you became an adult you could call him "Murph".. He knew everyone round here even though as kids we didn't believe that.. He would keep us in line by a swift whack off his rolled up raincoat. You will never know the heart sinking moment when after Sgt Murphy told you he knew your dad and would be waiting for you later. .that as you walked up the front path you could actually see Murph sat on the couch ...

I'm a retired British nurse and we got assaulted all the time, I stopped filing out forms about it. Spitting was classed as assault, I didn't have time to file a report every time I got spat on. So you can double those assaults on officers. Those folks don't get paid enough for what they go through

There is another video that goes into more detail about training for police in UK & US. I think overall training in the UK, especially for those who are licenced to carry guns, is much more extensive.

Back in the day in the uk you got a clip around the ear off a copper you also got it from your mum and dad for getting in trouble from the police

We have two Armed Response Vehicles in my town in England. The 'official' one has a different colour Car and the 'unmarked' one is a black SUV. The only reason I know about the second one is that they were at the Chip Shop getting tea. All our Airports have open carry Police and they carry Heckler & Koch MP5s. There are more guns held by criminals. But it is an automatic 6 years inside for having a firearm or imitation one in UK.

I'm 66 and live in the uk . I have only seen officers carry fire arms once and that was at Birmingham Station during the pandemic. First time I'd actually seen a firearm for real. Looked like a toy to me expected it to be metal and wood lol

My dad was a UK police officer for most of his working life. He was trained as a firearms officer, and didn't carry a firearm for most of the time, but drove around for his day to day duties in a vehicle with a weapons chest in the boot (trunk). At the start of his shift, he would be told whether he was a designated firearms response team, in which case the weapons chest was carrying, or secondary response in which case his first job when there was a call for armed officers was to head to the nearest armoury and get tooled up. He retired a lot of years back, and the systems now have changed. Depending on the threat situation (normally terrorist threats) a large %age of the on duty will be overtly carrying a firearm, with others covertly carrying, or having immediate access to firearms. This is mostly in the large cities. Rural and smaller towns will have very few armed police.

The entrance requirements in the video are wrong, There are minimum educational requirements….. 5 GCSE passes in core subjects (including: English Language and Maths). Applicants may also want to consider taking GCSE P.E. and Modern Foreign Languages, and should try to focus on passing Science too. 3 A-Levels (it is recommend taking subjects such a A-Level: Law, Sociology, Physical Education, and a Modern Foreign Language) or a BTEC in Uniformed Public Services. though once you’ve successfully completed your training, you’ll end up with a degree in Professional Policing Practice. First 2 years are considered ‘probation’ as follows: First 4 weeks residential basic training at your force headquarters Then 16 weeks training at a National Police Training centre Then 12 weeks with a tutor - supervised in the field doing regular police duties. The remainder of the 2 years working as part of a team (sometimes alone) while you complete your skills evidence file. Then when you finally qualify you can then train up in different areas,Transport,Fire arms units etc,all of which are extensive and in depth and can take months/years more of continuous training…… the 2.3 million assaults per year is very misleading as this includes verbal assaults,so if someones swearing at the police this counts as an “assault “ in the stats.

Another big difference is there is a central register in the U.K. So if you get kicked out of say Kent Police you can't go get a job next police service over. You are also barred from becoming a prison officer and some other roles. There is a problem in the US where bad cops just resign before being disciplined and go get a job in the sherriffs office or airport security or whatever.

In the UK (excluding Scotland) we also have community support officers who are similar to police and are there to help local communities. They don’t have the same rights as police officers but help to keep the peace and help communities and local businesses. They are very approachable, and most of the interactions I have had with police officers has been to ask for directions to my destination.

When comparing wages Americans should always consider is that when an American looks at their net pay, they have to buy a who,e lot of insurance or a big part of their pay is used to buy insurance. When we see our pay, we already know everything is paid, ie.. Universal healthcare, unemployment benefits, paid vacations, pension plans…so on. So it’s not apple to apple comparison. But great content as usual 😊

A couple of problems with this Tyler. I can't speak for the US but in England & Wales, you have to look at what constitutes a 'violent crime' etc....here and how that has affected the numbers since terminology was changed? Also the video you're watching has done extremely poor research, if any? when it comes to British Police training, Hendon Police college isn't even mentioned. Basic training is far longer and more stringent here. And remember, overall the US is a more expensive place to live.

Living in Scotland I've only seen armed police a couple of times. Either at the airport or at a train station when a big international event is happening (Commonwealth games, Political event, Edinburgh fringe) and this is to mainly make people feel safer. It always a surprise and everyone is like okay okay the guns are here... there must be a big event on today.

The Custodian (massive hat according to you) hat is used for foot patrols, normally, male officers would wear the Peaked Cap and female would wear the Bowler Hat. "The Bow Street Runners." I've honestly never heard of. The first officers used formals and custodian hats, that's why we still use Custodian hats for the history (the females still wear bowler hats), formals are used for inspections etc. The name of "Bobbies" usually mean foot patrols. Adding onto the fact that we don't use firearms and scream and swear to control someone, and, most of our country aren't in the business of gangs and crime because as most people say, once your in a gang, you can't get out of it (or it is VERY hard to get out of a gang without being stabbed or killed or targeted by the gang). We use numbers and sometimes you have 5 police officers all wrestling one big man. The issue with you guys is that EVERYONE has a gun and so police NEED a gun otherwise they're dead. "That is such a strange concept to me", the fact that we don't carry guns is because guns are **illegal** and you should probably visit London (You'll see police with rifles everywhere because it is where the royal family, Buckingham Palace, government etc so really important). And when you call 999 (or 911 in your lands) and mention guns, you'll probably have 1-3 ARVs (Armed (guns) Response (responding to 999s) Vehicle (car)) and if you mention stabbing, you have the police come and ambulance come. Mostly, Armed Police respond to all weapons but when there isn't so much violence, some of the normal officers who have tasers, will use the tasers instead. Most officers DO NOT CARRY GUNS OR TASERS, all they have is a Baton, PAVA Spray (similar to pepper spray) and handcuffs. The guns that are illegal are imported, are brang from Europe on small boats and are rarely used (it is just to show off to other gangs). The legal ones are used mostly by farmers and are never in city centres, they're shotguns for protecting their animals. America only eat donuts, we don't! please pin this and give this some love!!

Training timeline: 18 weeks in college (Monday to Friday) finishing with passing out parade. 1 week break. 10 week on Local Policing Area (LPA) with a tutor (with taskings to complete). t's a 3 year work-based programme that leads to a degree in Professional Policing Practice.

With the assaults on police officers statistics in the UK you have to take into account the definition of assault most of those assaults will be minor things like pushing or spitting

Assault includes 'swearing' at a police officer in those statistics, not just physically attacking them.

I retired from the Metropolian police 4 years ago, after 18 years of service, I have never used or held a gun, this was dealt with specialised armed units, when they show up we, the normal police officer. back off and leave them to do what they are trained to do . My main means of protection was my stab vest, taser (only trained officers have them) my baton and pepper spray. We are trained to de-escalate problems even under severe intimidation or threat of violence is being shown by the criminal. Asaults on UK police are not usually serious, remember we are more hands on, but the slightest injury to a police officer, even if it is caused by a scuffle every scratch or scrape is recorded. The police helmet was designed to make the officer stand out in a busy city area, many members of the public wear uniforms, you can spot a police officers helmet in the busiest of scenarios. I don't think I could have served 18 years in the force if I had to wear a gun, I served to protect the public, and to take criminals to justice, not shoot or injure them. Yes there are many things I would like to see changed in the UK police system, but guns are not one of them.

If only Americans could learn from British Policing.... Great video, Tyler. Thanks

Hi Tyler, I absolutely love all your videos, I admire your reactions and the way you comprehend The British culture and history, your laugh and sense of humour makes the videos special, you have caught the attention of my young teenage daughter whilst I started subscribing to your channel, she thinks you are amazing, keep up the good work, from a proud Welsh woman

I was stationed in the U.k. With the U.S. Air Force in the 1980s. My landlord was British police officer, and he said they always took care when dealing with American GIs because we had a tendency, especially when drunk, or go all “john Wayne” because we knew the British PD didn’t carry guns…

the funny hats on Bobby's are traditional. but have a function , they are based on an old military helmet made for hot climates , so it will deflect a blow. but will also keep the head cool. It also made the police seem taller so more intimidating and authoritarian.

I love the face, "Do police not carry guns?" This animation really doesn't give a very realistic impression of UK police, or indeed, the US police forces. You need to see what they and their equipment, cars, etc look like in reality, not cheapo cartoon versions. There are IRL videos on KZfaq, often from TV shows, such as Interceptors, Motorway Cops, Traffic Cops, Hour of Duty and so on. The latter is my favourite because it features my home town. Almost no-one calls coppers 'bobbies' anymore, and of course, what everyone else says about the definition of assault in UK law. I'm assaulted at least five times a day at work - and I work in a school.

In Britain Swearing at someone can be classified as an assault

It was interesting moving from the UK to the US - I had to essentially normalize a behavior I'd always thought weird. As a result, now that I've returned to the UK, my reaction to those occasions where I have seen armed police in the UK is vastly different to the average Brit. As an example, a recent incident in my street involving knife crime resulted in pretty much the entirety of my area's armed units being deployed to my street to resolve the conflict. This shocked a lot of the people on the street, while I was unworried, but aware of the risk to myself, I retreated to cover behind a brick building in case shooting did start and a stray round came my direction. I had to prompt others in the street to get to cover, as they really had no understanding of the risk of being in the open, since even with a well trained unit armed with firearms, things can go horribly wrong, very quickly.

Right, so ima just go over some stuff… the ‘big hats’ are only really used for Foot Patrols, only Armed Response Units carry guns, We have different services such as East Sussex and West Midlands.

Just to update this video a little, now to join the police in the UK, you need to have a university undergraduate degree before joining, or you must get one as part of your training (this training being full time police work and a full time university course for 3 years).

The hat being that shape, also acts as a crash helmet!

The Bow Street Runners operated out of an office on Bow Street in London, hence the name. The first police officers were called Bobbies or Peelers after Sir Robert Peel. The names have persisted to this day, though in some places they're called Rozzers or Scum by criminals.

Many US police forces cover a tiny area. My husband comes from Whitefish Bay Wisconsin. He tells me it’s a square mile, and having been there many times, it’s about right. It has its own police force. Some schools have their own police force. There are literally thousands of often micro police forces. England has 42. Scotland now has a single service, Police Scotland. NI has the Police Service of Northern Ireland. Wales has two: North Wales Police and South Wales Police. The reason for this is there is a mountain range in between where nobody lives. This means the UK has 42+2+1+1 forces, 46 in total. If you want to see some nasty police, go to France. Gendarmes are in fact soldiers not police, but people use the term incorrectly. Then there are the CRS, who are complete thugs. I remember as a student in France walking across the Pont Neuf in Paris and six big blokes in uniform grabbed a man walking next to me by his arms and legs and bundled him into a van. As a teenage girl on my own, I was terrified.

Nice to see you pop up this morning.

If the populous don't carry guns, more so that they don't carry concealable handguns, the police just don't need to carry guns either, makes everything safer for everybody. This is the effect of heavy gun regulation in the UK. There are a lot of illegal guns still but the number is quiet small and you are going to jail if the police catch up with a gun, guns can only be used in very limited situtations which are stipulated in the gun license that you are required to have, to have a gun. The illegal guns in the UK come either from Eastern/Central Europe or from the US. Most US guns are just straight up illegal over here in the UK. Another factor to consider is when people do get guns, the ammo is also extremely difficult to get a hold of in the UK. Personally, I am for even tighter gun control laws here in the UK, the less guns there are on the streets, the safer we are. As for Tasers, they are used but most police officers won't have those either.

You're forgetting, the US has added benefits attached to the job, but the UK has the same benefits for everyone, for free. No co-pay. Also, guns in Europe are mostly not considered weapons. They're tools used for hunting. I think I remember seeing statistics about 75% of households in Iceland having guns in the household. Swat use is almost unheard of, and average police officers carry a baton. There have been 2 gun related deaths, last I checked, on record... Ever

The average rookie officer down here in Mississippi start between $48,000-$52,000. I just swore in as a correction officer and though my salary is a bit lower. the benefits and opportunity to advance or attend the academy (paid for by the department) are all great incentives.

The figure for assaults will include someone swearing or spitting at a police officer, even a bit rowdy. It doesn't actually mean that number were all physical assaults, even though it is still unreasonable to do that to someone just doing their job.

"Bobby's" after Robert Peel, also "Peelers" after the same guy. "Coppers" (hence the word cops) . because you could recognise them by their highly polished Copper buttons on their uniforms. "fuzz" because their helmets (the tall hats as you call them) are covered in felt. By the way, those are helmets to protect their heads. "Pigs" from various reasons, but partly because of the political novel "Animal Farm" also songs by the Beatles. They have lots of other nicknames depending on which part of the UK you live in. Like "Rozzers" - no idea why. By the way there was never a single UK Police Force, it has always been done on an area / County basis, paid for in your local taxes. So yes it is a public Service.

In the US there were 45,222 total gun deaths in 2020. In the UK, where there is gun control, there were 35 gun deaths in 2020. The pop. of the US is about 4 x that of the UK, so with UK style gun control gun deaths would be 140 rather than 45,222.

Sir Robert Peel, British Prime minister in 1829 set up the first police force, London Metropolitan Police Force, ....and they were nicknamed "Peelers" and " Bobbies" after him. They carried long wooden coshes called truncheons and a whistle to summon help that didn't change until the late 1970s when truncheons were replaced with telescopic batons. 😊My Dad joined the police force after WW2 .... never held a gun after he left the army. Carried a truncheon and a whistle, had a helmet for foot patrol ( "patrolling his beat") and a peaked cap for van/ car patrol, and a waterproof cape for patrolling on his bicycle in the 50-60s. He regularly was called in to break up fights outside pubs, disperse gangs of teens.... usually on his own! No weapon but the truncheon.

The wage and benefits are a little better in the USA, but you need to survive to enjoy them

Here in the uk there is universal healthcare free at point of delivery.

Tasers aren’t always carried, I believe there always kept in the cars. But only certain officers with extra training are allowed to carry them.

“Do police not carry guns… in… Britain?!” 😂 my heart stopped

The building trade is considered more a dangerous job than the police service

this is just a guess tyler but i think the hats are for wearing on the head.

It is well known in the uk that the Bow Street Runners were the forefathers of the British police. The Police were also called Peelers after Robert Peel.

The helmets are a throwback, are worn only on foot patrol, and are similar to military helmets of the time they were introduced. Look up British Victorian era soldiers, they often have black helmet with a badge on the front and some form of spike or plume holder on top. 1880s, 1890s. Almost all police wear round visored caps similar to army or navy officers. Some police I saw this morning 'visiting' a flat nearby wore no hats, and a varied collection of black t-shirts, uniform trousers, with black accessories, but a belt with old-fashioned metal handcuffs and small radios.

You should look at the difference in police training in the US compared to the rest of the world.............. shocking!

The main thing about our UK police is they get 28 weeks training before they are a go out on the street with 3 years on the job training and can get a University Degree if they wish for free. As far as i know USA cops get only 6 weeks, i could be wrong. Also some UK police carry tazers but have the go though training to use them. Normal cops do not carry guns. An authorised firearms officer (AFO) is a British police officer who is authorised and trained to carry and use firearms and are only called upon if needed.

Only just stumbled upon you yday...Love your honest reactions. .Going to do a binge watch 💕👏👏👏

A video outlining the differences between all the "law agencies" such as Sheriffs, Justice of the peace, metropolitan police, flying squad, state troopers, etc would be something worth creating!

British cops rarely shoot anyone as hardly anyone owns a gun in the UK. Only soldiers, farmers, and armed police units have them. Some criminals get their hands on a gun, but not too many. Anti-terrorist police are seen patrolling with guns in UK airports sometimes. I once commented to a regular policeman at a petrol station about him carrying a gun. He said it was becoming more common because of rising terrorist threats. Most UK police are friendly to the public.

Some names called for the police over the years - 'Bobby's' or Peelers after Sir Robert Peel, 'The Bill' or 'The old Bill' has various options like after a WW1 cartoon character called 'Old Bill' who had a very bushy moustache, common in the early 1900's and a lot of police had a similar moustaches, or from the Bill of Parliament they had to carry, or from the then King William the 4th.

in the UK we have a firearms command (SCO19) and a counter terrorism specialist firearms officer (CTSFO)

There is a BBC show called Rookie Cops (not the Korean drama) about new police officers in Wales. That gives an idea of what UK cops do.

The British Police Uniform varies from where you are in the UK. But either have an cap or that helmet in the beginning of the video. Edited: It's true. That we don't exactly have enough police officers for England but the British Army has it's own regiment called Royal Military Police. The Royal Military Police or RMP for short could also do Officer's job if necessary but also help with vaccines and general assistance.

Did you note the 'more guns than people in the u.s' part, bud? ;-) ~ Good review as always. Cultural curiosity is to be applauded. Kudos.

It’s funny how Americans talk about the Wild West like it was an expansive period of time but it was reality short

Yes I think the bow street runners are pretty well known.

The British were first in just about everything.

In major cities in the UK you will see armed patrols on a regular basis. But they don't just wear sidearms. They carry rifles and wear full tactical gear. Usually in busy locations.

My uncle told me about a German police officer he met on holiday in Spain. This police officer, who in Germany was routinely armed, was once in a situation where he felt threatened so drew his firearm. The situation was resolved but a complaint was made about him pointing a firearm at someone. There was a major investigation regarding the incident and if he was justified in his actions. He was cleared of any inappropriate behaviour. I can't ever imagine that sort of thing would happen anywhere in the USA (shoot first, ask questions later attitude).

As a Brit I can say that nobody is permitted to walk around with a gun unless you are the armed forces which isn’t ur casual police