Perhaps the police

are frightened of the consequences of
honesty, believing the general populace do not have the
intelligence to handle lawfully defending themselves. One
PC, (I have actually heard several reports of this happening
at police-run courses for nightclub doormen), told one of my
friends, that he could not legally attack first and must wait to
be attacked and then counter-attack, with reasonable force, if
he wanted to stay within the law. Now, forgive me if I
overreact here, but that is not just bad advice, it is untrue.
The law allows pre-emptive behaviour, as long as it fits with
the circumstances: you truly believe that you are about to be
attacked. I will deal with this in more detail in a later
chapter.