Petition · past parliament
Curb the visible deployment of armed police
Rejected
20 signatures
What the petition asks
We call on the Home Office to change its guidance to local and specialist police forces, in order to ensure that unarmed neighbourhood policing remains the public face of UK policing, and to curb the visible deployment of armed police.
Armed police are being routinely and visibly deployed at major events, city centres and transport hubs. Visible deployment risks 'normalising' the presence of armed police on our streets, and encourages a perception that increased arming of police is both necessary and inevitable. In doing so, it can undermine the status and primacy of the “community bobby” or other unarmed police. Our policing depends on retaining community engagement, and unarmed police underpin our tradition of ‘policing by consent’.
Why it was rejected
It was not clear what the petition asked the UK Government or Parliament to do.
Petitions need to call on the Government or Parliament to take a specific action.
You could start a new petition explaining clearly how you would like the Government to change its guidance on the deployment of armed police.
You could start a new petition explaining clearly how you would like the Government to change its guidance on the deployment of armed police.
Timeline
| 23 Oct 2017 | Petition opened for signatures |
| 9 Nov 2017 | Rejected by the Petitions Committee |
Key facts
Signatures
20
Status
Rejected
Rejected
9 Nov 2017
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Source: the official petition page. Last checked 15 Jul 2026.