The police should be equipped to react to contemporary social problems  The old-fashioned notions of friendly neighborhood unarmed policing reflect the aspirations of a different age. As armed violence has increased sharply in parts of the developed world, the police need to redefine their role so that it is a more appropriate response to contemporary problems. In the UK, for example, gun crime almost doubled in the decade to 2008, [1] while the rise in London gun crime has tripled, the police need to be able to respond to this. [2] There is also danger in being a state with unarmed police when others states have armed police forces. The unarmed nation may be seen as a “soft touch” compared to other regional nations. This can encourage an importation of criminality.  [1] Whitehead, Tom, 'Gun crime doubles in a decade', The Telegraph 27 October 2009,   [2] Bamber, David, ‘Gun crime trebles as weapons and drugs flood British cities’, The Telegraph, 24 February 2002,  , accessed 20 September 2011