UK Set To Follow USA's Lead: Threatens To Ramp-up Paramilitary Violence
Police warn big budget cuts will lead to 'paramilitary' force
Steve White, chair of the Police Federation, says service is on its knees, and predicts end of policing by consent and move towards more violent style.
by Vikram Dodd * May 17, 2015 * The Guardian
Police will be forced to adopt a paramilitary style of enforcement if the government inflicts big budget cuts on them, the head of the police officers organisation has warned.
Steve White, chair of the Police Federation, said his 123,000 members, from police constables to inspectors, fear a move towards a more violent style of policing as they try to keep law and order with even fewer officers than now.
White told the Guardian that more cuts would be devastating: You get a style of policing where the first options are teargas, rubber bullets and water cannon, which are the last options in the UK.
White said cuts would see the bedrock principle of British law enforcement, policing by consent, ripped apart.
http://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2015/may/17/police-warn-big-budget-cuts-will-lead-to-paramilitary-force