Armed Police

policeman assist a nun
Type: Vocabulary
Originally published on October 19, 2020 and last updated on February 4, 2023

Although guns are very common in the US, not only among police officers but also among the public, in Europe and other countries around the world armed police are not very common at all. In fact if you ask Europeans if they would like police officers to carry guns in their country there is a very mixed response usually in favour of police officers not carrying guns. There are arguments on both sides as to why police should or shouldn’t carry guns, but it is often not a clear-cut answer and it often contains many variables.

Instructions:
Go through the vocabulary below with your students and ask them to try and use this vocabaulry where possible when discussing the different conversation questions.

Useful Vocabulary

Try and use the following vocabulary when answering the question. Click to look up the definition in the dictionary

  • gun (noun)
  • carry (verb)
  • beneficial (adjective)
  • society (noun)
  • police (noun)
  • officer (noun)
  • public (noun)
  • in favour (idiom)

Conversation Questions

  • Should police officers carry guns?
  • Do police carry guns in your country? If yes, do all police or just a select few?
  • Can a member of the public carry a gun in your country?
  • What are the benefits of police officers carrying guns?
  • What is the downside of police officers carrying guns?
  • Overall, do you think it is more beneficial for society if police officers carry guns?
Gregory
This conversation topic was prepared by Gregory

Gregory is a qualified TEFL teacher who has been teaching English as a Foreign Language (ESL) for over a decade. He has taught in-person classes in Spain and to English learners around the world online.