A historical examination of police firearms

Abstract

This study provides a historical examination of firearms in policing to understand how weapons have evolved within the American field. A search was conducted of historical newspaper databases and a small number of books and journal articles for information on the different firearms used in policing since their inception. The evidence demonstrates that US police officers have been using revolvers since the Civil War, but there were no agency standards until the late 19th century. The notion of ‘risk’ has been a consistent justification for arming police officers, including their possession of semiautomatic pistols, shotguns, and rifles.