If officers don't engage because they are insufficiently equipped, you effectively have less policing. Less policing causes more violence and more deaths.
Why pick out a random statistic like knife crime? It sucks, but matters much less than the following statistics:
US has 4 times more intentional homicide rate vs. UK. US has 18 times more murder rate vs. UK.
I think the evidence is quite clear that the UK with police that are less heavily armed have better crime statistics, fewer police deaths, AND fewer civilian deaths caused by police.
Why pick out a random statistic like knife crime? It sucks, but matters much less than the following statistics:
US has 4 times more intentional homicide rate vs. UK. US has 18 times more murder rate vs. UK.
I think the evidence is quite clear that the UK with police that are less heavily armed have better crime statistics, fewer police deaths, AND fewer civilian deaths caused by police.