The warning by David Kennedy, the general secretary of the Scottish Police Federation, that there was a risk of anyone wielding a knife in Scotland being shot by police should tell us how dangerous the times we live in are.

Kennedy isn’t advocating that all police officers carry guns, but wants a New Zealand style system in Scotland where all officers are firearms trained and all police cars carry guns stored securely, so that officers have rapid capability to access them in life-threatening situations.

I took part in a discussion on BBC Radio Scotland on this on Tuesday and I’m of the view that in an increasingly dangerous world the old ways of doing things can no longer keep us sufficiently safe.

So it’s time to allow our cops access to guns to keep us and them safe from the bad, the mad, and the dangerous.

‘Police officers don’t have Batman’s powers’

There’s a pitiful naivety among many folk on this very serious issue and it’s a guileless position in an increasingly threatening world.

Folk who’ve never faced imminent danger or deadly threat expect cops to face crazed individuals with knives, chainsaws, or guns, when most are armed only........

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