By being armed with a reliable, modern and more powerful pistol, Russia's police can be encouraged not to escalate confrontations or, worse yet, use the inaccurate and indiscriminate weapons they otherwise had to carry as fall-backs.
Adoption in Russia
But due to financial problems and the fact the Makarov pistol is so plentiful in Russia, the Makarov remains as primary police service pistol in Russia. Mass production started in 2011. Officers of the Western Military District received weapons in 2012.
The MP443 Grach pistol is the current issue Russian military sidearm. Featuring a high capacity magazine, easy-to-use sights and modern ergonomics, it is a formidable backup weapon for any Russian sodlier.
Police in Ukraine are estimated to have 289,000 small arms at their disposal.
Police in Australia routinely wear firearms which are personally issued to them. All fatal police shootings are subject to a mandatory coronial inquest. A 2013 review by the Australian Institute of Criminology found that 42% of victims of fatal police shootings had a mental illness.
Law enforcement, military, paramilitary, and security personnel are allowed to use firearms. Police are to use issued pistols only to stop serious or dangerous crimes.
Major universities have rifle clubs, and Japanese police are armed, but gun ownership rights have been a distant issue for decades. Even police rarely resort to firing their pistols.
Police officers in Germany generally carry a pistol, but the rest of their gear also depends on the state they're operating in. "A service weapon is part of the equipment of police officers, which is carried while on duty," Mechthild Hauff, the press spokesperson for the German Police University told DW.
As of 2013 Russian citizens over 18 years of age can obtain a firearms license after attending gun-safety classes and passing a federal test and background check. Firearms may be acquired for self-defense, hunting, not or sports activities, as well as for collection purposes.
Police forces
National police officers are always allowed to carry their handguns without territorial or time restrictions, but are required to carry them concealed when they are off duty. Submachine guns can only be carried while on duty.
After the death of Joseph Stalin in 1953, the USSR saw a small wave of liberalisations for civilian gun ownership. Soviet civilians were allowed to purchase smoothbore hunting shotguns again, even without mandatory submission of hunting licenses.
The AK-12 is a Russian assault rifle chambered in 5.45×39mm designed and manufactured by the Kalashnikov Concern (formerly Izhmash), making it the fifth generation of Kalashnikov rifles. AK-12, AK-12K: 30-round detachable box magazine. 45-round detachable box magazine from the RPK-74.
Meet the lipstick pistol, used by KGB operatives during the Cold War. The 4.5 mm, single shot weapon was small enough to be slipped past even the most suspicious border guards. It fires by pressing the barrel into the victim. The lipstick pistol delivered the ultimate “kiss of death.”
In Russia today, KGB functions are performed by the Foreign Intelligence Service (SVR), the Federal Counterintelligence Service which later became the Federal Security Service of the Russian Federation (FSB) in 1995, and the Federal Protective Service (FSO). The GRU continues to operate as well.
OMON (Russian: ОМОН – Отряд Мобильный Особого Назначения, romanized: Otryad Mobil'nyy Osobogo Naznacheniya, lit.
Russia's female Spetsnaz
While most female Spetsnaz members are placed into co-ed units, some have been used in female detachments for foreign intelligence gathering and as “beacons” to lead in assaulting troops during a foreign raid or invasion.
According to the most recent international surveys, roughly 9 percent of Russians own a firearm. Of the estimated 13 million guns in civilian hands, only around 60 percent are legally registered.
Other than the police and the military, no one in Japan may purchase a handgun or a rifle. Hunters and target shooters may possess shotguns and airguns under strictly circumscribed conditions. The police check gun licensees' ammunition inventory to make sure there are no shells or pellets unaccounted for.
Most British police officers (except in Northern Ireland) are not routinely armed. Instead, they rely on specially trained Authorised Firearms Officers (AFO) to attend incidents where firearms are necessary.
38 cal revolvers including Model 10 and Model 19. In mid 2000s, Smith & Wesson Model 60 chambered in . 38 Special caliber became new sidearm for police officers. Additionally, police officers also utilize less-lethal weapons such as police batons and 5kV Tasers.
Unlike American police, German police have always carried semi-automatic pistols. Until the mid-1970s, German police have tended to use small caliber (7.65mm Browning) pistols such as the Walther PP. Today, modern 9mm Parabellum pistols are used. The MP5 is almost universal as a German police submachine gun.