Australian cops upgun: "(Victoria) Police set sights on faster reloading guns"

[friendly_iconoclast]

http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2010/04/30/2886635.htm?site=gippsland§ion=news

Police set sights on faster reloading guns

Posted April 30, 2010 09:23:00

The Police Superintendent in East Gippsland says new semi-automatic pistols will enable police officers to better defend themselves in a shoot-out.

The Victorian Government has awarded a $7 million contract to replace police revolvers with semi-automatic pistols.

The police union had previously claimed an officer in Melbourne was shot in the leg while reloading a revolver during a shoot-out in 2008.

Superintendent Geoff Newby says the new semi-automatic pistols will improve police safety when they arrive later this year.

"Well they'll have 15 shots before they need to reload as opposed to previously they would've had to have taken some form of reload action after six shots and of course during that time we're trained to do that at reasonable speed, under pressure that can take a little while and put you at risk, so from a safety aspect we're very pleased that we've got that option," he said....

According to The Age:
http://www.theage.com.au/victoria/victoria-police-switches-to-semiautomatic-weapons-20100429-tt44.html?autostart=1

they will be Smith & Wesson Military & Police in .40 caliber

Comments from those in LE or who are familiar with the M&P are appreciated.

[shadowrider]

1. I'm confused

I thought guns (with the exception of shotguns) were illegal in Australia. That said, they should be in no danger of a shootout since everyone, even bad guys, obey the law, right?

[Euromutt]

2. Surely that's impossible?

The police feel they need to be able "to better defend themselves in a shoot-out" in paradisiacal Australia where, we are assured, nobody ever misuses a firearm? How can this be?

Still, the M&P40 is a good choice as a service weapon. Being striker-fired, it's simple to operate, and the interchangeable backstraps (which Glock and Springfield have since copied) make it adaptable to different hand sizes. I have one as my "nightstand gun" (though it's actually in a quick-access lock-box), and use the compact version for concealed carry.

[divideandconquer]

3. Homicides in Australia are at a historic low and much lower than the USA's

http://www.factcheck.org/2009/05/gun-control-in-australia/

[Euromutt]

5. So... what, exactly?

Am I to understand that the Victoria police don't actually need the added firepower? That they don't get into shootouts?

Don't just cite statistics at me; tell me what you think I'm supposed to conclude from them.

[divideandconquer]

6. Aussies are wiser than Americans

[Euromutt]

8. How is that supposed to follow?

Since Australians are supposedly wiser than Americans, does that mean that the Victoria police are correct in their assessment that they need more firepower? But if so, it would mean that Australia is not the gun crime-free Eden we've been presented, in which case there's not really any reason to accept that Australians are, in fact, wiser than Americans.

You've set up a bit of paradox here.

[friendly_iconoclast]

10. Australia never *was* "Sunnybrook Farm (with marsupials)", as some would have us believe

Mind you, I never thought it was particularly bad either, just another country with problems of their own.
Looks like the Victoria cops don't quite share the rosy view that some DUers have of crime Down Under .

[paulsby]

4. we still have a few guys (no gals i am aware of)

who carry revolvers (they are grandfathered and were allowed to keep their guns when we switched to semi-auto), but imo ceteris paribus - more bullets are better

i can't speak specifically to that model S&W, but for most agencies, i think the glock is the best choice of those i've looked at

not necessarily the best for everybody, but considering it's extreme ease of armoring (parts replacement), reliability, resistance to bad weather and the elements, simple operation (no external safety apart from trigger safety etc.), extremely low misfeed rate, etc. etc. it's the best choice I AM AWARE OF (i am not omniscient) for general patrol work imnsho

[Travis Coates]

7. I don't get it

Australia is an island , it doesn't have Indiana next door a gun ban should work perfectly there no?

So why would the Australian police even need guns ?

[krispos42]

9. As time marches on, illegal guns in Australia should go down, not up

Therefore, one would assume that career criminals wielding such guns would also become less common, and thus the subsequent police shootouts with them increasingly rare. So then, if the circumstances that require a police shooting response become rarer, why are the police up-arming?

Hmmmm... one of the steps in my reasoning is obvously amiss.



The truth is that a semi-auto has a ton of advantages over a revolver, thus the semiauto is a more effective tool for either defense or offensive. However, only police are allowed access to those advantages.

[jazzhound]

11. If asked what type of pistol Aussie cops were issued I would have never

guessed revolvers! Wow.

[oneshooter]

12. I wonder if the old weapons will be on the market soon? n/t

[spin]

14. I picked up a really nice S&W Model 65 that had been a police weapon ...

It has one of the best trigger pulls I've ever seen on a revolver.

[spin]

13. If only the police have firearms, you live in a police state. (n/t)