Respect is key.. not lethal force

THE increasing deployment of armed officers in Scotland has become a necessary evil as gun crime remains a fact of life on our streets.

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Today we reveal that there has been a five-fold increase in armed officer incidents over the last 10 years.

The rise has inevitably led to questions over why this has happened and whether there is enough scrutiny over the use of guns by officers?

The roots of this change trace back to the formation of Police Scotland in 2013, when specialist Armed Response Vehicle officers were authorised to respond to routine incidents.