I just finished watching Aftermath. I hope Banks has to someday investigate his bosse' murder. Since everyone in the squad was talking about the patrol officers who were lovers, then he had to know about, so he's culpable for what happened when the two officers encountered the serial killer. He should have separated those two police officers immediately. He's a hypocrite. Perfectly happy to let a woman get away with 5 murders by pretending to be insane but wouldn't for a moment accept the argument that a young police officer might be out of her mind with shock and grief when she saw her partner murdered before her eyes and hit the killer over the head repeatedly. He didn't want her prosecuted because he objected to the then unarmed murderer being killed, but because he saw it as a chance to make points for his own advancement. He sold out an officer under him for political gain.

If British police carried fire arms this story would have played out very differently. American cops would have gone in guns drawn and shot the lunatic with the machete still in his hand. Self defense, case closed. No police officer would have died.

You are right, the police in the UK don’t carry fire arms which is one of the reasons we have the tightest controls on firearms world wide. Our police were given the right to carry arms on two occasions but overwhelming rejected the right to do so.
However we do have armed response police squads who are all highly trained specialized marksmen.
After serving in the British army for seven years I can also vouch for the fact that there were very strict rules on fire arms. In the British army you are issued with a personal weapon, in my case it was an SA80 assault rifle. Apart from active service or on special duties, though I had the weapon, I had no ammunition. In fact if I was found to have a single round of ammo without due cause it would have meant a court marshal.
The reason for this is simple; 15 to 20 young men living cheek to jowl in barracks; each armed with assault rifles with full magazines is a ticking time bomb. The army may not be overly bright but they are not that stupid.
Obviously I can’t comment on the American forces but I suspect they too have similar restrictions as not to enforce these restrictions breaks the firearms first safety rule—Keep ammunition separate from the gun.
Even when carrying arms we were all issued with Rules of Engagement, step outside them and you have no protection.

I am not in anyway promoting a discussion on arms control; it’s a very contentious subject. I am simply giving a few facts on the issue as they apply in the UK.

Regards Cari.

I don't see the point of carrying unloaded guns, make more sense to not have the weapon at all. American police are required to be carrying loaded side arms when on duty. US military I understand has similar rules to UK. Apparently on bases only the military police are actually caring loaded weapons.

I watched Luther which had those special squads of heavily armed police. In The Fall, which is set in Belfast, the Irish police were armed.

I was pointing to the fact that the ordinary police you will meet on the streets of Britain will not be carrying firearms. I am sure those forum members that have visited the UK will confirm this.
Of course strategic centres such as air ports etc will have armed police because of the threat to the pubic posed by terrorist acts. Also army, air force and navel bases will also have armed guards for the same reasons and I can assure you that all their weapons are fully loaded.

As regards to Ireland only Northern Ireland is part of the UK, while Southern Ireland is a republic. As I understand the Gardia, the republic police force does not carry arms but the Northern Ireland police do. In spite of the peace treaty parts of NI are still pretty volatile.
However I don’t think that that’s a subject for discussion here.

Regards Cari.

Back to the discussion of the show only please.

DCI Banks, very interesting show. Lots of strange betrayals going on. Each episode brings new things to think about with the major characters and the 'switch' of who is on the bottom of the pile. Worth watching, but again, not a happy show. Much more somber and leaves you a bit depressed at the end of the episode.

I won't be watching this one. I don't like shows that leave me depressed. The news can do that

Its gonna be like that is it? I may not watch any more.

I finished Happy Valley. That was very bloody and it was sad to see the strong woman collapse, but she rallied in the end. I got the distinct impression that the kidnapped young woman's father had a reason not to call the police other than the kidnappers telling him not to. Maybe that's covered in the next season/series when it comes out.