The news in Britiain has been dominated by the shooting to death of a female police officer and the wounded of another. This happened last Friday and the hunt for the killers has been the lead or one of the main items in broadcast news. Her death was particularly tragic as it occured on her daughter’s fourth birthday. The case has provided another occasion for the right wing to exercise their mouths on their favorite subjects. Not the least of these are the renewed call for the death penalty for the murder of police on duty. A number of people were arrested over the weekend and were claimed to be “Somali aylum seekers” which of course raises another topic for them to concentrate on.
The highest profile person to call for the death penalty has been Lord Stevens, former Chief Constable of the Metropolitan Police in London. More details below the fold on the background, the case and why it is almost certain that the proposal will fail.
The death of a police officer on duty in Britain (this excludes Northern Ireland) is unusual which is why the national press coverage of one case is so large. As you probably know, the British police do not routinely carry firearms. Their use is restricted to specially trained officers. In most cases the only time they are seen carry guns is during incidents or on essentially PR duties like patrolling airports. Despite this case, few police support arming all officers.
The very restrictive firearms laws in the UK mean virtually any gun using bullets (ie not “bebe guns” or shotguns used for sporting or vermin control) is illegal. Any held legally, for example the few rifles used in hunting, have to be stored in what amount to safes. Illegal weapons are of course available to criminals and are used in robberies, although in most cases not fired. The most obvious reason for this is that many illegal guns are re-activated guns which have previously been rendered useless by removing firing pins and blocking the barrell. The process of re-activating can make them liable to blow up in the hand if fired. Many are kept as almost fashion accesorites by those involved in “gangsta” sub-cultures. Of course most homicides occur within households or involve partners so the percentage of murders using firearms is very low, well under 10%, compared to the US where the figure is around 70%
Firearms are similarly by no means the largest method used in the homicides of police officers. In England, Scotland and Wales the numbers are 12 killed by vehicles, 11 shot, 10 stabbed and three died after being beaten. The total of 36 according to the Police Roll of Honour is for the period since 1985. less than two a year. Many of the stabbings involved mentally ill and police, like the woman killed in Bradford, routinely wear protective vests to stop knives. Unfortunately these provide no protection against bullets.
You may be wondering why a travel agency would be the target of an armed robbery. Bradford is in the north of England and has a large minority population, mostly families from Pakistan. These agencies both sell tickets and are involved in a money transfer system based on Islamic principles. This system of agents is very similar to the original banking provided by the bankers in Lombardy since before the Renaissance. It is very possible therefore that large sums of cash could be held.
The possibility of Stevens’ call for the death penalty for police murder is extremely unlikely, despite Blair’s willingness to enact 90 days detention without charge for terror suspects, claiming he was doing so on police recommendations. The death penalty for murder was abolished in England and Wales 1965. It remained possible for treason and piracy until 1998 but was never used. In 1999 the then Home Secretary signed the 6th Protocol to the European Convention on Human Rights. The Convention has been incorportated into UK law so that appeals can now go to the UK Supreme Court when it is established, with the House of Lords acting in that capacity in the meantime. The protocol ammended Chapter 1, Article 2 to add Section 2:
No one shall be condemned to the death penalty, or executed.
The UK could derogate from this section of the Convention, in the same way it has in respect of other parts. Those, however, are permitted under the Convention as they are for national security reasons as an excuse. It is doubtful if that could be argued in the case of the death penalty. Any attempt would also bring huge censure from the other members of the EU and Council of Europe. Abolition of any death penalty is a fundamental part of the Acquis Communitaire that all prospective members are required to comply with. Derogation may be held to nullify the UK’s accession to the Treaty of Rome and signature of the later treaties. No conceivable British governemtn would risk the censure that would result from attempting to re-introduce the death penalty (not that it would not stop some UK politians).