Letter: Arming police

David Capitanchik (Perspective, 25 May) sets out the opportunities and threats presented by the idea of making firearms available to transport police. He correctly asks why the transport police, who may have to deal with terrorist threats at airports, do not have the option of deploying firearms as other forces do.

Fair enough. Hopefully he meant that the guidelines, protocols and restrictions to ensure the proper use of any firearms available to transport police officers should be the same stringent controls that ensure the highest standards of use are maintained throughout the rest of Scotland's police forces.

It is worrying, then, that his example of how such weapons might be used would be to intimidate peaceful environmental protesters - exactly the sort of thing the rest of the police are rightly prohibited from doing. Is this really his vision for the future of policing in Scotland?

John Watson

Amnesty International

St Andrew's Square

Edinburgh