Police Response
Hungerford was policed by two Sergeants and twelve Constables, and on the morning of 19 August 1987 the duty cover for the section consisted of one Sergeant, two Patrol Constables and one Station Duty Officer.
A number of factors hampered the police response:
- The telephone exchange could not handle the number of 999 calls made by witnesses.
- The Thames Valley firearms squad were training 40 miles away.
- The police helicopter was in for repair, though was eventually deployed.
- Only two phone lines were in operation at the local police station which was undergoing renovation.
Read more about this topic: Hungerford Massacre
Famous quotes containing the words police and/or response:
“Consider the islands bearing the names of all the saints, bristling with forts like chestnut-burs, or Echinidæ, yet the police will not let a couple of Irishmen have a private sparring- match on one of them, as it is a government monopoly; all the great seaports are in a boxing attitude, and you must sail prudently between two tiers of stony knuckles before you come to feel the warmth of their breasts.”
—Henry David Thoreau (1817–1862)
“What I’m saying is that a lot of behavior that you are talking about is a direct response of people not having a future, or feeling that they don’t have a future.”
—William Julius Wilson (b. 1935)