quote:

When unarmed British police encounter armed suspects, do they usually withdraw and request armed backup? Do unarmed police routinely respond to calls of armed suspects? Do they respond to in-progress breaking and enterings, robberies, etc.? Are they proactive in doing traffic stops and suspicious persons stops? Suicide threat calls, etc.

I'm not tac, but I had 15 years in the Met before arriving in the States.

The answer to all your points is: yes, unarmed officers respond to all the above type of calls, in fact every call that US officers respond to, UK officers do likewise. Naturally, when firearms are known to be involved, or suspected, then armed units are dispatched immediately. Today, armed units routinely respond to all bank/security truck/cash in transit alarms, along with normal unarmed units. Normal unarmed patrol officers perform proactive stops on vehicles and people, respond to calls of suspects on premises, suicidal persons, in fact every type of call there is. All with nothing more than an expandable baton, a taser (if qualified), CN/CS spray, and cuffs.

@Mr chongosuerte - I'm sorry, Sir, I can't offer much by way of information as I'm not a police officer, or even a former police officer. However, Mr Pyker here was a police officer in the Metropolitan Police Force - the main force responsible for the Greater London area but NOT the City of London, which has its own dedicated force, for a number of years, and has the experience and the capacity to answer your questions.

Over to him......

Please read the last two posts in reverse order - I got called away on urgent coffee-making duty and missed the slot..................