A lot of our police are starting to carry tasers now.
Our gun laws are very restrictive. We have no concept of armed defence in the UK. Firearms and shotguns are purely for sporting or pest control purpose.
I've got both the 2+1 and the 8+1 versions (M2 and supernova), plus other shotties for clays and birds, as well as several firearms including a 303 and 223.
There are guidelines to follow over here, but if you have good reason to want to own the gun the police will usually have to grant you a licence. Even those with old or non-relevant convictions can apply and may get a licence.
We can't carry our guns just anywhere and we can't leave them out in our houses; they must either be in use, being cleaned or locked up securely. Even my wife can't have access to my guns and I can't have access to hers.
My relatives in south africa have an easier time, but they routinely carry over there because of the very high incidents of violent crime. Life is cheap and bad guys often have nothing to lose.
Handgun crime over here has dramatically increased since the handgun ban, so the banning of all handguns, even 22lr (not air pistols) hasn't made any difference to the criminals.
I wish we had access to all of the extras you have in the us. We have to pay silly money for all the us stuff if we can get it. Oh well, at least the weather over here is like Florida.