Why get German ones? Cant we build a freaking water cannon? I really do not like the idea of panzers let loose in our cities.
Infact if you put a HP2 battery on top of a blank FRG round the result is actually better than a 'proper' rubber bullet. I know this as we did it in NI training, broke one of the Civpops arms. So it's far cheaper to use blanks and more effective, Result.
Try Brixton 1995, Broadwater Farm 1985, etc etc. Water cannons are not exactly a desirable option, but they are a lot better than tear gas in the streets; and tear gas is a lot better than shooting people out of hand.
But none of those things are really needed here. 3 water cannons can't do much to control a situation that happens in more than three small places. The 2011 riots would not have been controlled by water cannon, if anything they'd probably have gotten worse. The money to buy, maintain, train and store three vehicles and the stag to use them could probably employ and train a few more coppers that over a 16 years period would be much more effective than the one time in 16 years that a water cannon might have been useful.
The police could just simply arrest the offenders. But no, they never did. They never do. Why? For a start their usually the cause in some way. Try Brixton, Broadwater farm, try tottenham. So now we give them more weapons. Could it not happen that we just try to eradicate the social injustices. We have the means. All it takes is the will.
Of course the police are the cause. Every bout of rioting has always been triggered by police blundering and arrogance. But what is your point? No doubt in a year or two some new police blunder will aggravate a whole community and ignite new riots, as usual. What do you think should happen then? Water cannons are, as I said, a lot better than machine guns.
I see you have no will either. Happy to drift along with society into accepting harsher solutions to treat symptoms. Rather than deal with the cause. Well I have the will to say no. And thats my point. Soon it will be "machine guns are better than burning them alive". How many years down the line will it take till we are there? The steady yet slow erosion of our decency as folk bothers me greatly.
I think they would have been a great idea during the Oldham riots, Washed, Dispersed ,and the vehicle fires put out all in one go. Huge saving for the taxpayer. What about petrol instead of water? Hmmm...... no more tossers looting in the name of a criminal that's been put down.
