Police should be granted significant powers to deal with immediate threats to public, says teen

THIS week Jeremy Corbyn revealed that in the wake of a terrorist attack on British soil, he would not “be happy” with a shoot to kill policy.

Corbyn has faced criticism from within his own party with Prime Minister David Cameron urging him to review his remarks.

In the wake of the recent devastating Paris terrorist attacks it is no wonder issues concerning British security are in the forefront of political discussions. As the threat of a terrorist attack on Britain is a real danger in the current global climate, police should be granted significant powers to deal with immediate threats to the British public, when citizens are in real danger of attack or in a hostage situation, shoot to kill practices should be exercised.

However, when an immediate threat is not concerned, shoot to kill should not be undertaken without substantial evidence that a person is about to undertake a terrorist act.

Jean Charles Silva Menezes was killed by British police officers on the London Underground in 2005 when he was wrongly identified as a fugitive in the London 7/7 bombings.

Menezes was shot seven times by the police; he had not been carrying any explosives or was connected in any way to the London bombings. Such a case should act as an example of the dangers of granting police the significant power to shoot to kill and that intelligence must be analysed substantially with the threat of the situation being correctly judged.