Yesterday saw reports that a motion drawn up by the Green Party's crime and justice working group would call for tasers and pepper spray to be removed from police officers.
The proposal – since withdrawn – would not have found favour with the public, with 80% of Britons saying police should be allowed to carry tasers and the same number saying they should be allowed to carry pepper spray.
While most voters for all main parties say police should be allowed to carry tasers and pepper spray, Green voters are notably less likely to say so (58%) than others (79-95%).
But what do Britons make of how the police are equipped and expected to behave? To find out, we used our new YouGov AI Interviewer tool to ask respondents: “What do you think about how the police in the UK are equipped and expected to behave when dealing with criminals?”
The AI agent then conducted interviews with each respondent, following up on their responses, in order to provide ‘the why’ behind what Britons think. Our qualitative analysis of attitudes, including quotes, can be found below, along with examples of respondent interviews in their entirety.
Officers need better protection against more violent and armed criminals
For many respondents, frontline officers are under-equipped for the violence they now face, with knife crime and criminals carrying weapons given as the reason. Their calls centre on non-lethal tools such as Tasers and pepper spray becoming standard kit.
- “I have little knowledge of the subject but believe they should be strongly equipped with weapons when dealing with dangerous criminals” – Woman, 18-24
- “Criminals in the uk are getting more violent and you see more and more people getting arrested for carrying knives and guns so the police have the right to protect themselves and the communities they work in” – Man, 45-54
- “Ona standard day , frontline police have a stab vest and a baton. If they are expected to stop anyone, men, women and teenagers in each and every circumference, then they should be better equipped” – Man, 55+
- “I THINK POLICE NEED SOME SORT OF WEAPON. TOO MANY CRIMINALS NOW HAVE THEM AND ARE NOT SLOW IN USING THEM” – Man, 55+
Keeping guns out of everyday policing
Some respondents think the current set-up strikes the right balance, with frontline officers largely unarmed and firearms left to specialist units. They argue that routine arming would escalate violence, risk fatal mistakes and push British policing towards the American model.
- “Having all officers armed increases the risk of police brutality since most incidents do not require the police to be armed. Further, a gun can risk escalation and is just necessary in British streets” – Man, 18-24
- “I think we have things around the right level. Regular policemen should be able to incapacitate criminals but firearms should only be available to specialist officers (unlike America).” – Man, 35-44
- “i am glad we don't have guns, because it is easy to make a mistake when in a stressful situation and shoot the wrong person. Once it has happened, it can't be taken back so using tasers and pepper spray don't cause lasting damage but do incapacitate them.” – Woman, 45-54
- “If you give firearms to all Police, criminals will respond accordingly and there will be more dead Police officers.” – Man, 55+
Weapons should come with training, restraint and accountability
Some respondents focus less on the kit itself than on how it is used. They want officers to be properly trained, to treat weapons as a last resort, and to be held to account through measures such as body-worn cameras.
- “Well, there needs to be training and rules of interaction among police to prevent misuse of their equipment to prevent harm, and discipline the police when unnecessary harm occurs” – Man, 18-24
- “I don’t think the police should be carrying guns, however I do think they should be able to protect their own safety in violent situations and none lethal weapons like pepper spray and tasers are a good way to do this but it should be heavily monitored and always used in conjunction with body worn cameras and improper use should result in serious consequences for any offending officers” – Woman, 35-44
- “They must be fully trained and regularly monitored and only use them if being physically threataned.” – Man, 55+
- “I believe they should be equipped with non lethal weapons and have ongoing training through out each year on how to use them safely” – Woman, 25-34
Officers’ hands are tied by rules and scrutiny
Some respondents feel officers are held back from dealing firmly with criminals by rules, the threat of complaints and investigations, or political pressure. They want officers to be able to use force without fearing for their careers.
- “Rights to apprehend using serious force - stop and search, armed with tasers etc, permission to use said force to apprehend at any cost” – Man, 18-24
- “I think the Police are poorly equipped for the level of aggression and violence that they have to deal with. I also think that they have to be very restrained in the way they have to deal with criminals, because of the fear of being prosecuted for excessive force.” – Woman, 55+
- “I think they are in very vulnerable positions - very few taser trained officers, and when they do actually use them, there’s a massive investigation against them” – Woman, 35-44
- “I think we are too soft on use of weapons when it comes to dealing with criminals. Police officers should be able to use weapons without fear of being reprimanded” – Man, 45-54
Concerns about misuse of force and trust in officers
Some respondents worry that officers already use more force than necessary and cannot be trusted with additional weapons. They point to the treatment of protesters and people in crisis, as well as concerns about discrimination.
- “Police often ignore those that are most vulnerable, and discriminate based on protected characteristics” – Woman, 18-24
- “Having witnessed the Met police liberal use of tasers & pepper spray on peaceful protesters, I am now against this. I believe police should police with consent, talking to people achieves much better results, bringing people on side. Most criminals are arrested peacefully without any requirement for a 'weapon'” – Woman, 55+
- “Considering a lot of them already use unnecessary force with what they have, they dont need anything extra!” – Woman, 55+
- “I am pleased that we do not arm most police with guns in the UK. In principal I am in favour of options such as tasers and pepper spray but wary of the potential for them to be abused by malicious officers.” – Woman, 25-34
Too few officers and too little support
Some respondents see the problem as one of numbers and resources rather than equipment. They argue there are too few officers on the streets, and too little backing from government and the courts.
- “With more support behind them. More staff and more experienced members” – Woman, 18-24
- “Serving police officers definitely need more support.The UK police forces are too small in number to cope with the level of crime.You used to see the constable walking the street..they were visible to everyone. Now given the resources to hand they can't respond at a local level unless it's a serious crime.” – Woman, 55+
- “Well equiped and trained. Just need more officers.” – Man, 45-54
- “There are hardly any police. I hardly see police on the street. They sometimes drive by in cars/vans. Police are soft on crime and from my perspective avoid dealing with criminals. I feel sorry for them because the law courts and government do not back them.” – Man, 55+
Other themes
Some respondents would go further than non-lethal weapons and arm all officers with guns. Others express sympathy for officers facing dangerous situations, argue that more should be done about the causes of crime, or say they know little about what officers currently carry. Some respondents in Northern Ireland note that officers there are already armed.
- “Uk police should be armed. Not just taser, but firearms as in the rest of Europe.” – Man, 55+
- “It must be frightening for police to confront violent, armed people” – Woman, 55+
- “I think not enough is done to prevent the things that cause the crime in the first place, namely cost of living and quality of life opportunities particularly with children and youths” – Man, 25-34
- “I don't really know how well equipped they are.” – Woman, 55+
- “I live in Northern Ireland I'm used to seeing armed police” – Man, 45-54
