Veering off thread a little,
Still trying to figure out why British police are not trusted to carry fire arms. Despite what the mainsteam media write, in the USA thousands of crimes are prevented each year by citizens with concealed carry permits. Too bad one of them wasn't nearby to save this young soldier's life.
Firstly, some British police are trusted to carry firearms (as shown the other day) but it is generally they who don't wish to be routinely armed. Surveys by the Police Federation regularly show a reluctance by rank and file police officers to carry firearms for a number of reasons.
Secondly, (without wishing to sound like I'm making light of it) the state of Massachusettes has both police who are routinely armed and a CCP scheme, how has that worked out recently with regards preventing terrorism?
Not every crime can be stopped by guns being near by, especially not if the criminals (as in the Woolwich case) seem like they want to be helped on their way to all those virgins 'suicide by police' style.