Ottawa Canada – RCMP officers who guard Parliament Hill are being equipped with submachine guns to give them more stopping power should a gunman attack the heart of Canada’s government.
Security, which has already been significantly beefed up after a high-profile breach last December, will get another boost in the coming months when Mounties patrolling the Hill get the Heckler & Koch MP5 submachine-gun.
While officers will still rely on their semi-automatic 9-mm pistols as their main weapon, they’ll also have access to the small but effective machine guns, which will be carried as a “secondary weapon” in their cruisers
Wouldn’t it make more sense to carry both? If the purpose of the MP5 is to quickly take out an “active shooter”, running back to the car and unlocking the gun then finding the shooter again does not seem like a good plan. My guess is they won’t be carrying the MP5 because Canada is so sensitive to guns. All their police carry handguns, so the general public is used to that… but adding a rifle into the mix full time would likely cause a huge stir.
The RCMP have noticeably stepped up security on Parliament Hill since a daylight protest last December by Greenpeace activists, who used climbing gear and a ladder to reach the rooftops of the Centre and West Blocks, where they unfurled banners taking aim at Ottawa’s climate change stance.
That definitely sounds like a problem that an MP5 will fix. hahah
There is no word in the article regarding what version of the MP5 they will be using.
Full Story – TheStar
Hat Tip: SayUncle
Comments
6 responses to “HK MP5 Submachine Guns For Some Canadian Mounties”
I live in Canada. I think this is hilarious. Canadians have guns. Guns are just extremely expensive and there are massive restrictions placed on capacity and length. (apparently a colt carbine is a pistol. don’t ask.) People who have never touched a gun here are scared of them. People who have, are ambivalent.
It is ridiculous to store them in the car. Also, both have the same stopping power theoretically. Maybe the MP5 is scarier looking. I would have thought a rifle would be more effective for range. Or a riot shotgun for riots. A gun in a car is only good for one thing. Stealing.
I wonder why Canadians have such a different attitude when it comes to guns?
Well I seem to recall lots of reports of local PD or RCMP losing their taser battery pack or firearm or even the issued notebook computer and it was a massive deal for every instance. If LEO’s cannot do their Due Diligence of properly securing potentially damaging items, or securing a high profile venue from Green Peace then how can we trust them with Mp5’s?
Lee also brings up the point of stopping power and distance. A 9mm is a 9mm no matter what muzzle it exits. An MP5 is a great tactical/CQB weapon but for securing a large perimeter and stopping a target at range with a 9mm is difficult. Effective security means stopping threats outside your perimeter, not after penetrating it. Also as Lee also mentioned, it would be highly irresponsible to store SMG’s in patrol cars for the obvious reason of theft.
I also find it strange that as Canadians we’re not relying on Colt Canada’s products in the 5.56 variant with jacket hollow point or frangible rounds to prevent overpenetration. CF never get foreign made products.
God forbid someone would lose a proprietary battery pack.
My guess is the only reason they are using the MP5’s are because they already had them sitting around collecting dust, as pointed out in the article.
If they were going for a pistol-caliber rifle to support their sidewarms, but I really have to wonder why they did not bother going with something that used the same magazines as their current issued pistols. Granted, I have no idea what those pistols are, but there seems no shortage of rifles/SBRs/etc. that can take handgun magazines these days.
Good point about the magazine compatibility Linoge.