It is our belief that the vast majority of officers wish that situation to prevail. Equally the public have always supported an unarmed police service. To seriously consider arming all officers raises a number of questions. Firstly with the exception of the RUC applicants to join the police service are not required to possess firearms skills. To achieve such a status they will have to undergo extensive and expensive physical and psychological training.
Many applicants fail at the outset, others fail at later stages.
The competencies required to become an AFO are very strict and few police officers meet the overall criteria. If all current police officers were required to possess firearms as a matter of routine, then the criteria would undoubtedly have to be changed. This would inevitably lead to a lessening of standards, with all the potential problems that would cause. What of those officers who failed the course. It is in part too simplistic to try and move automatically to a fully armed police service, although the question will remain one for constant re-assessment.