I don’t think I have a problem with more armed police but not sure I like the look of the Met’s new balaclavaed para-military. Why the balaclavas?

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-36961338

Willy waving.
Dangerous willy waving at that.

Probably to protect their identity if involved in counter terrorist operations and presumably the safety of their family etc.

Why would they use officers involved in covert/undercover operations in a press stunt?

Why do the other armed officers not wear balaclavas then?

It’s bloody cold out there and we don’t want them sneezing at an inopportune moment.

I knew there would be a good reason.

It is so the police can’t photograph them at demonstrations.

Even I didn’t think we’d be seeing paramilitary deployments in London this quickly after she took over. 😕

Why would they use officers involved in covert/undercover operations in a press stunt?

That’s what they want you to ask….

Makes you think…..

The ‘C-Men’ really, is that what’s they’re calling them? Did no one check that?

Absolutely hate it. That’s wannabe SAS that. Someone in the Polis must be tugging themselves furiously at robocop, the Keanu SWAT bus film and coverage of US police operations.

It’s a horrid sight.

Great mixture, the metropolitan police service who act like they are above the law and a new paramilitary style uniform to attract some more hardcore thugs to join them. What could possibly go wrong?

I don’t know if they’re the same ones as we had in our riot kit, but the balaclavas we had for that were Nomex, same as the long johns and long sleeve tops worn under the overalls, for not singeing ones beard during petrol bombing. Thats why riot police have them (whether that’s always why they wear them I couldn’t say, but that’s why they issue them). Not sure if that’s the same kit those firearms ones have, but could be?

Phew, for a second I thought they were sending them in without big ****-off sniper rifles! But they’ve got that covered too

Or perhaps just anti terror police in a very likely target ( London) and will never come in contact with normal people going about normal business. No danger here, what do you think they will do? Take over London?

history is full of leaders who gladly use the fear of violence and terror to gradually shift consent away from civil society and into their own hands. This stunt is an expression of a government looking to capitalise on self-propagated fears of terror to remind us who’s in charge. I don’t think people plotting to blow themselves up in public places give two shits about a few balaclavas and I don’t think this silly parade is being carried out for their benefit.

“Scary or comforting?”

Well I guess if they are dragging you out of your car, scary. If they are arriving to a shopping centre or where you’re hiding from someone on a killing spree….comforting.

Complete waste of money & resources.

Fin. Won’t happen. And I don’t fear them or those in charge. Again, they will never come in contact with normal people doing normal stuff. Reminding us who is in charge? How many were there? How many millions of Londoners? It is a response to the world we live in and the situations that arise – Germany and France. If the government did nothing and something happened, they’d be blamed as well. Not everyone running the show is out to crush ‘ the little people ‘ .
Should do a British version of the look though, it is very American.

Two recent abduction attemps suggests the enemy is within so you can understand the need for anamosity in certain circumstances.

as above a huge waste of cash and resources, they cant be on duty every day on every street looking for nutters with a grudge, and what about us northern plebs surely we need protection from southerners who might emigrate upwards.

Thought Northerners were harder than shandy drinking Southerners?

history is full of leaders who gladly use the fear of violence and terror to gradually shift consent away from civil society and into their own hands. This stunt is an expression of a government looking to capitalise on self-propagated fears of terror to remind us who’s in charge. I don’t think people plotting to blow themselves up in public places give two shits about a few balaclavas and I don’t think this silly parade is being carried out for their benefit.

I assume we’ve just been keeping Smeato in reserve for this sort of thing?

Do remember there are many high profile polititions with more time on thier hands recently, and the need for a new career.
Does one of those masked police officers speak of WiffWaff and the other speak of Brexit rather passionately?

It’s a difficult balance to achieve armed policing in today’s climate. If you take the international threat out of the equation, then the amount of armed officers is generally proportionate to the internal threat from firearms in the uk. But adding in the scale of international terrorist threats and capability shown at Paris and similar then that’s a much bigger step up in the game. The reality is that such incidents are being carried out with very powerful weapons fired by persons who are well trained and accurate. The jump up to counter that and have some form of response to an incident is big when coming from the internal uk threats so to speak. The police need a capability to deal with such threats as frankly they will be the first to be called and first to attend. Let’s be honest you don’t dial 999 and ask for the army.

It’s not scaremongering it’s just the reality of it.

No need for the police to go all paramilitary. Why bother with body armour, ballistic helmets, assault rifle? If my family are in a shopping center with a couple of terrorists on a shooting spree I’m quite confident the old British way of the wooden truncheon, the firm voice and staring down the suspects will soon get things under control.

fisha – Member

The police need a capability to deal with such threats as frankly they will be the first to be called and first to attend.

Yup. But having that capability, and having it out on patrol, is not the same thing. And don’t say it’s a deterrant, you can’t deter suicide attacks with the threat of death.

It reminds me of when Blair decided to deploy tanks at heathrow, to deter, um… A suggested threat of surface to air missiles being fired at airliners. Which tanks would have no capability to do anything about. Any questions “what will these actually achieve in the event of this suspected attack” was met with be pure, be vigilant, behave, be afraid.

they do seem a little bit too tooled up – the army seem to get by with smaller weaponary than that and are sniper type rifles really appropriate for someone patrolling at ground level in amongst crowds?

It’s a ticking-off exercise combined with the scare-the-public-and-let-them-do-what-they-want tactic.

It’s bloody cold out there and we don’t want them sneezing at an inopportune moment.

they should all have moustaches then, like in the old days when you weren’t allowed to shave them off.

Well yes, I agree. Overt patrol in balaclavas ain’t really the best face of policing. But for the sake of international media I think a balaclava is fine to protect identity. If it were my face id wear it cause I wouldn’t trust the media to be able to blur out the faces. I’d rather not be visible in the first place. I don’t think they would patrol like that anyhow unless there was a need for it.

As for deterrent, again I agree if someone is hell bent on martyrdom then it may not deter them. However there is still the need to be effective against such weapons should it happen. Wooden batons ain’t gonna cut it, mores the pity.

I’m perfectly happy for the Police to have every necessary resource (including balaclavas) to protect the public. Inviting the world’s press to have a look at some paramilitaries in a speedboat has nothing to do with adequately resourcing Police to tackle major emergencies, it is simply showing off.
My main concern is that this says nothing about plans for dealing with terrorist emergencies, it’s just a handful of scary looking geezers with guns. I hope we’re not being sold a dummy by a government more concerned with being seen to be doing something than actually doing something.

It’s a statement of intent.

A show of force & readiness – no more, no less.

Some of you need to get out more!

Some of you need to get out more!

There’s too many bad men out there, we need more police with guns to keep the bad men off the streets. Then I’ll go out.

To be honest I’m more worried by the tone of the “Reader’s Comments” than the balaclavas.

thegreatape – Member
I assume we’ve just been keeping Smeato in reserve for this sort of thing?

He’s kept in the hill at Coulporf, only to be deployed when a banjo-ing is absolutely necessary

My main concern is that this says nothing about plans for dealing with terrorist emergencies, i

And give the bad folk all the strategies and intelligence of the plans held ?????

At a big event in Paris last month, with a very heavy police presence, I came running round a corner and bumped into two huge, very heavily armed police officers. I, needless to say nearly sh!t myself and nearly dropped the extremely expensive piece of equipment I was carrying. They found it very funny, and continued to play “boo” with me for the rest of the night.

Personally, I’m glad they are there to put themselves in “harms way” but very sad that this is now the world we live in, all because a few men wanted to stop the price of “gas” going up a few cents.

fisha – Member

And give the bad folk all the strategies and intelligence of the plans held ?????

Whereas of course having our armed response units out on patrol, visible and easily tracked, gives nothing away.

How soon before I can buy a used motorbike off them?