“We don’t train ordinary patrol officers to use a handgun. Instead, we make armed officers really specialist. We train them in close protection, to be snipers and even hostage rescuers. We make it really difficult to pass the firearms test, so smaller forces have problems getting officers of the right quality to do the training. It means we have highly trained officers, spread very thinly, and the likelihood is they will probably be in the wrong place at the wrong time when needed.” – Tony Long in London terror attack proves why ordinary police need firearms training and must carry guns, says ex-Met gun cop [via thesun.co.uk]