Women give heavy guns the bullet !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Daanyeer]

Source: The Scotsman
May 6, 2007 Author: Richard Elias


FEMALE police officers have complained their guns are too big and heavy for safe use and are campaigning to be issued with specially-designed lightweight weapons, Scotland on Sunday can reveal.

One woman police inspector has claimed that female officers could accidentally shoot themselves or colleagues because the standard-issue handguns and rifles are too difficult to hold.

There are about 200 women police authorised to carry firearms in the UK and the issue is considered so serious that discussions are under way with weapons manufacturers to create a female-friendly weapon.

At present, many forces issue Glock 17 handguns and Heckler & Koch MP5 carbines to firearms officers regardless of their gender.

Although there have not been any recorded accidents in the UK arising from the guns carried on a day-to-day basis by female officers, there are very real worries that an incident is only around the corner.

Concerns have been raised by the British Association of Women in Policing (BWAP). Inspector Liz Owsley said: "There is a problem with the guns because we females have small hands. When you look at the guns being used today, the grips are not comfortable for women to hold. They could end up shooting themselves or one of their colleagues because they are not holding the weapon properly."

Owsley, BWAP's national co-ordinator, said the issue was also holding back their members' careers.

"It is one of the barriers preventing women from excelling in this area and from joining firearms departments. There are a number of different weapons in use and several with different sized grips, which some forces have been using for years. It is one of many barriers, which shouldn't be there any more."

BWAP says other options are available, such as issuing women with the Sig-Sauer P250, which at 725g is slightly heavier than the Glock 17, but is smaller and more comfortable to hold. Female officers want to be issued with the Heckler & Koch G36 rifle, which weighs a kilogram less than the MP5.

A police source told Scotland on Sunday: "This is not a case of political correctness gone mad. These are very real and very honest worries from some of the female officers.

"They are given the same type of weapon as a guy who may be six-foot two-inches tall and 16 stone, yet they could be tiny in comparison.

"You would not expect them to wear the same standard- issue uniform yet here they are handling deadly weapons; something that you would not want to have in the hands of anyone apart from the most-professionally trained and expert individuals."

The source added: "The women here are as good, if not better trained than the men, yet they have these concerns and they need to be addressed, because if something does happen then - God forbid - it will not be for the want of trying to highlight the problem."

Already forces throughout Britain have agreed to alter standard-issue items, such as protective vests for women after complaints they were uncomfortable and hampered their movement.

South of the Border, Cleveland Constabulary already has decided to act on the issue. They have chosen to replace the handguns and rifles which they issue to their female officers with weapons that are easier to grip. Another two forces are understood to be in discussions with gun-makers about creating new female-friendly weapons.

But not everyone in the police service agrees. On one internet chat-room set up for officers in the UK, an officer wrote of the controversy:

"How much would that cost to find a whole new set of firearms that meet all the criteria? You would end up with a situation of smaller, different firearms for some officers. And who wants different weapons? They should be standard across the board."

But another officer, who asked not be named, said there are international precedents for the move: "This problem arose a few years ago in America, and despite initial scepticism, it was eventually addressed.

"It saw a lengthy consultation period between the forces in the US and the gun manufacturers, but eventually they came up with a gun which was not only more suitable for the female officers, they felt much happier with it and it gave them more confidence when they were out on the streets.

"Here, it is much the same issue. The female officers are not asking for special treatment, it is simply a case of them wanting to prevent a very preventable tragedy."

It is estimated around a dozen female police officers in Scotland are authorised to carry firearms. A spokesman for Association of Chief Police Officers Scotland (Acpos) said each case was treated on its individual merits.

He said: "If, during an officer's training, she feels the weapon is inappropriate due to its specifications, she would discuss that with her firearms training officer and receive the correct weapon for her. It is not a case in Scotland of one size fits all."

[Ina Baxar]

Thanks , it all comes down to $$ like that guy said.