For someone who is sort of stradling both sides of the debate, I
can see why the seat warmers prefer to impose controls over the use
of offensive weapons. Like it or not, the fact is the probability
of firearm abuse is there. The recruitment process and the
enlistment of hundreds of PNS chaps isnt exactly foolproof.
Secondly, public opinion in Singapore has traditionally been very
anti-violence, and they dont give a damn about circumstance. So
long that blood is shed, there will be noises made, and our
Singapore Police Service wannabe is highly
sensitive towards public opinion, or else it will lose its award
mah. 
This debate rages in just about any developed society anyway. Like
over in the US, whereby even if firearms are rampant in society,
intense questioning do occur whenever it is used by officers.
Still, having experienced ground patrol, and as I mentioned
earlier, facing a chopper welding and mentally unstable fellow just
5 metres away from me in a very enclosed space, the over-riding
concerns over the avoidance of using violence as far as the
situation allows is honestly getting a tad too close to being a
fatalistic positionality to take. I didnt even realise how close I
was to severe injury or death on at least 2 occasions in that 30
mins, until the whole situation was long over.
