Police officers shot
Walking to the train station having finished my lecture this afternoon I took the route I usually do, down past the College and through the small area of bars and takeaways. Something out of the ordinary was happening today though, the Police had cut off access to the other side of the bars leading down to the Photographic museum and Queen Victoria’s statue. As I rounded the corner to the Titus Salt bar I found there to be an ambulance and Police car speeding away up the road towards Bradford Royal Infirmary.
I had wondered at the sight of a Police helicopter circling the area as I had left the Richmond building after my lecture and the presence of Police dogs certainly suggested that whoever they were after had not as yet been apprehended.
It was only when I got home about thirty minutes ago that I discovered the source of the police presence. Somebody had shot two police officers, both of whom were female. This needless to say is startling and a frightening example of the lack of safety of not only the general public but also the public servants who do the thankless job of helping protect all of us from the scum who embroil themselves in gang warfare and end up shooting and killing innocent by-standers. Sadly the report has just come through on Radio 4 that one of the Police officers responding to the call has died in Hospital.
Be aware that Morely street where the incident apparently occurred is a stones throw (litteraly) away from the main Police station in Bradford City Centre, and in the opposite direction the City's University and College campus.
I do not have the solution to the current crisis which is building in our society, shootings and killings are becoming more and more frequent. It is far too easy to blame the entire problem on violent films, video games and rap music, although this factor is not to be discounted, but we must also look at how these people obtain the weapons which are ripping families and communities apart.
After speaking a very good friend of mine who is currently studying at the University of Leeds a very large proportion of active firearms used in such instances are re-activated weapons - This essentially means that a weapon which has been de-activated has been made capable of again firing live ammunition and killing people. We do have strict gun laws in this country, but it seems that they are not helping the illegal trade of fire arms in the criminal sections of society. I appeal to all parties in the Commons to help find a solution to the growing crisis and help protect not only your citizens but also the people who do the protecting.
I'd have to agree. We cannot have all of our officers armed and without a strong reason for not firing at an unarmed officer, in the eye of the criminal, we will see gun ownership rise higher. (Comment this)
I think what we require is a real deterant using a none capital punishment penal system. Our judicery have to be able to give the sentences they feel appropriate. This inevitably means taking Government out of the Judicial court system and giving the judges the power to impose sentences which fit the crimes. The current system is far too restrictive and does not echo the sentiment of justice which all political parties call for.
I also believe that Prisons should be places where you can get obtain help in eduction and therapy if it is needed, but also a place where punishment means punishment. Prisoners should not have access to Television, radio, snooker tables or any other luxuries. They are there to serve a sentence for a crime not to spend the day watching television. A better use of their time would be to teach them a trade and then have them use that trade to work within society on certain days to repay society for feeding them and giving them a free health service. We must not only punish those who have does society wrong but we must also give them the opportunity to turn their lives around. (Comment this)