This fascinating study examines the use of arms within British society, principally for the protection of life and property, from Medieval and Tudor times to the present day. The author, an acknowledged expert on firearms and the arming of police officers, concentrates upon the evolution of the process of arming public servants within Great Britain and assesses the weapons they were equipped with to uphold the law and maintain the peace. He draws attention to the fact that initially citizens had a duty to bear arms to help enforce the law, and he reveals how this was balanced with prohibitions on the carrying of certain weapons by certain types of people in certain places, restrictions intended to prevent crime and preserve property rights. With the establishment of forces employed by government to keep the peace - the most important of these being the police forces that developed in the 19th century - the process of arming upholders of law and order became more standardised and law enforcers themselves developed into a distinctive part of the civilian population. Those Entrusted With Arms, produced in association with the Royal Armouries, is a unique study of armed public servants and charts this complicated and neglected aspect of British history in an accessible and readable way. With chapters on early 'police' forces, security guards, customs officers, those charged with carrying the Royal Mail, the modern police force, prison officers and gamekeepers, this detailed book offers an insight into how British society has developed its own distinctive relationship with law enforcement and the rights of citizens to bear arms.