Digininagain,pretty much my view. Easy to second guess & pontificate without knowing the ground truth.
Not trying to do either, simply trying to relay to our colleague over the pond as to the current state of play on how things are dealt with this side of it, hence my would you? My opinion as to what they should be doing is based on my belief that they should all be armed with more than a smile and a stick.. Problem there though is unlike the Services you may find some unsuitable to be armed... With the services Musket work is carried out in basic training, those failing the standards get chopped at the outset, something you would struggle to do with a 20 year served Plod.