I've almost finished watching all of the IL series and -- I suppose it's because I'm American -- but I am amazed that L & H don't carry guns! Does anyone know why they don't? Is it because real DIs aren't armed? I have no idea. It does add to the suspense!

Correctly spotted, DebbieSue. The British police don't carry a gun unless under special circumstances. An armed squad is called in if there's a need for it.

The arms problem have so far not been as great "over here as over there" but unfortunately that tide is turning...

Nenne

Thank you for your reply. I cannot imagine being a police officer or a detective and not being armed!

I hope that it continues to be safer there for law enforcement officers than it is here. I live in a small town and feel quite safe - although I'm sure there is a lot more danger in my sleepy little town than I am aware of.

I used to live in Richmond, CA. The standard joke was, "What is the city bird of Richmond?" Answer: "A .38 slug"

We lived in the Richmond hills, which are on the border between the patrol of the Richmond Police Dept. and the Contra Costa Sheriff's Dept. So there's a lot of pot-growing, the Hell's Angel's clubhouse is up there, it's a good place to keep guard dogs and guns and we did.

There was a "crank" house -- a man dealing and manufacturing methamphetamine -- two doors down from ours. We were very active in setting up and running a Neighborhood Watch group and this man had threatened us on several occasions.

One day I returned from work to find my cat, Marmalade, thrown up against our front door with his head bashed in. He was dead. I called the detective who handled the case and got another officer, not familiar with this case.

I explained briefly what was going on, that I feared "Tim", the meth dealer, was escalating the violence, and asked for advice. The officer didn't take my claim too seriously at first. He said, "Well, I'll look him up for you on our computer."

I heard keystrokes. Then "beep-beep-beep-beep-beep". The officer said, "Oh my God! Ma'am, are all your doors and windows locked?"
"Yes"
"Do you have firearms on the premises?"
(Well, my partner had an arsenal, but I wasn't sure about the legality of that so I said, "I think we have a hunting gun.")

"Do you know that you have a right to use deadly force to repel this man if he attempts to enter your house? You can assume that he is coming armed with intent to kill. Also, if you see him near your premises with a gas can you have the right to use deadly force against him as you may assume he is going to commit arson with the intent to kill. Do you understand what I'm telling you?"

He then asked me if I knew how to fire the gun. I replied, truthfully, "No."

"OK", he said, "I'm signing you up for a firearms course this weekend. "It's called 'Close-Range Defensive Shotgunning'; can you be at the Chabot Rifle Range by 8 AM on Saturday?"

And so, dear friends, it was that I showed up for a gun class where I was the only female, and mirabile dictu--was so terrified that I shot extremely well, to the point where the men were offering me their guns to shoot.

Now, I should clarify that this was *not* skeet shooting -- I doubt very much indeed that I could shoot a small airborne target -- but defensive "duck, run, fire and cover" shooting. It was a blast! So to speak. Except the part in the classroom where the instructor showed us all pictures from the Dade County (Florida) Morgue to illustrate what close-range shotgun blasts look like on entry and exit wounds.

(And I must admit, that was somewhat of a goof in "If Wishes Were Horses". No shot fired that close would look that small -- unless it were a single slug of double-aught buckshot, in which case the firing pattern would have had a wider spread and hit Lynley as well. (I'm trying not to put a spoiler in here.))

So what does all of this have to do with the "no guns?" topic? Well, it's partially a commentary on the difference in gun violence between America and Europe, and how we Americans find it very hard to believe that someone could live without a gun in the home, let alone have an unarmed police force.

Perhaps this begs the question, "Is it guns that kill people, or people who kill people?" And perhaps this is best answered in "In Divine Proportion"...