Quote:
Originally Posted by Pursuivant
The police are actually An Garda Siochana - Peace Keepers - Irish police from County Antrim. They don't carry firearms except in unusual circumstances. Since this is a Security and Protection detail, however, they might be armed.
Basic loadout is here.
The load-bearing vest is probably knife resistant since cops in the British Isles are more likely to encounter knives than guns.
The tall cop on the left hand side might be carrying a British style police whistle on the carabiner on his belt.
Unknown contents of the large pouch are probably first aid kit, latex gloves, paperwork of various sorts (e.g., blank parking tickets), pen or pencil, inspection mirror (for looking under cars/around corners, can be attached to a collapsible baton, ditto for the smart phone), evidence bags, and perhaps spare mags for any weapons they might be carrying.
Maybe hand sanitizer, KN95 mask, and personal items.
Possibly steel-toed shoes. Trousers might be slash resistant.
|
One ... small ... correction. They won't be
gardai from Antrim ... Antrim is in Ulster, so they're British PSNI officers. My note above about the British police not being routinely armed may not apply in Ulster. It certainly didn't use to, but the peace process may have changed that.
Still, all other things being equal, British police are most likely to be carrying a baton and pepper spray as their only armament. Tasers are rare except in high crime areas and firearms even more so. In US terms, think of it as close to "SWAT or nothing" when it comes to firearms.