from Statista.com
— this post authored by Niall McCarthy
The vast majority of countries across the globe arm their police officers.
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However, there are some notable exceptions. According to a list compiled by CNN, 19 out of 197 nations worldwide do not routinely arm their police officers. Such a strategy tends to work well in some countries where the belief endures that arming the police with guns leads to more violence than it prevents.
The following infographic provides an overview of countries where police officers patrol unarmed, though exceptions do occur in certain circumstances. In Ireland for example, the police force is primarily unarmed, though detectives and special support units do carry firearms. In another example, one third of Iceland’s citizens are armed but police officers generally are not. Indeed, when a man was shot by the police in 2013, it was the first time in the country’s history that somebody was killed by police gunfire.
You will find more statistics at Statista.
