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  3. Every summer about a dozen journalists gather at the site of a former army camp on the edge of Epping Forest which lies just to

Every summer about a dozen journalists gather at the site of a former army camp on the edge of Epping Forest which lies just to

admin2009-04-23  64
问题     Every summer about a dozen journalists gather at the site of a former army camp on the edge of Epping Forest which lies just to the north of London. The wooden huts and single-storey brick buildings still ring with the sound of gunfire but these days the fingers on the triggers belong to police rather than army officers.
    Lippetts Hill is the main training centre for the men and women of SO192, the Metropolitan Police Firearms Unit. Journalists are invited to spend the day watching the training these officers receive and talking to them about the problems of being at the sharpest end of British policing. These are the people who regularly have to tackle the increasing number of criminals who are prepared to carry guns. The debate over whether more police in Britain should be armed has been going on for years. The current policy is to have a small number of specialists available in each of the 43 forces in England and Wales. They have to be up to standard by receiving intensive and regular training. But the wisdom of that policy has been questioned as the amount of violence encountered by the police has grown. It is usually the ordinary beat officer(巡警) who is on the wrong end of this rather than the firearms experts who arrive rather later. To see the direction in which British policing is heading, consider the experience of the Northumbria police who have responsibility for law and order in 5,000 sq. km. of North-east England. The population is 1.5 million, living in rural areas and in the large area of Newcastle, Gateshead and Sunderland. The 3,600 police officers in the force deal with all the typical problems left behind by the Britain of the 1990s.
      The Chief Constable, John Stevens, has just published his review of the past years. During 1994, for example, 61 officers (54 men and seven women) were forced into early retirement after being assaulted on duty. Before being allowed to leave the police for medical reasons, they lost between them 12,000 days on sick leave: the equivalent of 50 constables off the street for a full year. Stevens makes this observation: "The personal cost of policing has never been so high. One third of the officers leaving sustained the very worst degrees of disablement and will suffer for the rest of their lives for their efforts in the fight against crime."
    This picture of a policeman’s lot could be repeated in many other parts of Britain, yet the police themselves still oppose more widespread arming of their officers. The most recent survey, conducted last year, showed that only 46% were in favor.
    The general public, however, was more optimistic: 67% favored wider issuing of guns. But they, of course, would not have to carry them and maybe even use them. Recalling my own experience on the practice range, I certainly would not want the responsibility.
    It is clear to everyone that the police need more protection against the gun and the knife. They already carry longer batons(一种警棍) to replace the archaic wooden truncheon(一种警棍). They have access to slash-resistant vests and gloves.
    The likely next step is agreement from the Government to test the pepper spray, an organic substance derived from peppers which disables an attacker if sprayed in his face. If used properly, the discomfort, although extreme, is only temporary. Provided the spray is washed away with water, recovery should be complete within a couple of hours. Unpleasant, certainly, but better than being shot.
    Many people in Britain would not mind seeing their police with longer batons or even pepper sprays; they would just like to see them at all. I have lost count of the times we have been filming bobbies(policemen) on the beat(在巡逻) when local residents have come up to us and told us it is the first time in weeks they have seen police in the area.
    Actually the biggest threat to the traditional image and role does not come from guns and armed crime but the increase in the tasks we expect the police to carry out. New laws and policing priorities are taking up so much time that many forces simply cannot afford to let their officers walk up and down the streets.
    Politicians are now asking members of the public to patrol the streets. In some well-heeled areas, local people pay private security firms.
    Many officers believe it is all these extra duties, rather than the fear of being shot, which have really changed their role. In future, if you want to know the time, there might not be much point asking a policeman. He either will not be there to ask or will not have the time to answer.
选项 A、Y
B、N
C、NG
答案B
解析 按照文章第二段的相关内容：Lippetts Hill is the main training centre for the men and women of SO192，the Metropolitan Police Firearms Unit．我们可以做出判断：Lippetts Hill现在是警察训练中心，所以这一论述与文章的内容不符。
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