The average British bobby does not carry a gun, except in Northern Ireland and certain parts of Nottingham and London. Only about 7% of coppers are licensed to use firearms. This means that when they encounter a criminal who does have a gun (which may either be a replica gun or real), they are often in rather serious trouble, because a stab vest (body armour designed to stop knife attacks) cannot stop bullets. The copper ends up with a villain pointing a gun at them. The situation can go many ways from here: The latter has four outcomes: Examples of The Great British Copper Capture include: