Originally Posted by
TGS
I agree with him.
A shotgun has lots of limitations but is very useful as a dedicated niche tool, like an entry gun, where it offers a high potential for 1-shot stops and due to its role as an entry gun on a team serving warrants is unlikely to face it's range limitation, and can be swapped out for a rifle beforehand if there's a strong possibility the targets of the operation are armored up. If an agency were running two man patrol cars, having a rifle/shotgun pair on the car seems like the best setup for solving problems on the street.
A PCC/SMG is a niche tool that if selected properly can offer the advantages of weight and concealment compared to shotguns or carbines. This is an advantage for LEOs tasked with protection, surveillance, or specific entry roles like @Wobbly Possum mentioned, where his agency does not only a lot of small-dewlling entries but also confined space searches and unlike most other LEAs, commonly hits locations with 20, 40, or more individuals on site which need to be handled; in those uses, a PCC/SMG has an advantage at the expense of terminal ballistics, and is why his agency has a 4" MPX available to agents, why PFPA has the 4" MPX for their agents doing PSD, and why Army CID has the B&T APC9K for agents doing PSD, and why we have a small amount of MP5-K PDWs for a specific unit and are trying to procure a new PDW to supplement our Mk18s.
My agency seems to be stuck in analysis paralysis in replacing the old MP5K-PDW/supplementing the Mk18, since we know we need a PDW but at the same time there's an aversion to issuing people another SMG...while at the same time there isn't a whole lot of great options for 5.56 PDWs which have their own significant shortcomings, and we have a genuine logistical problem with choosing a 300 Blackout. It's like that meme of superman sweating while trying to press a button choosing between two bad decisions. If I were king I'd buy an SMG, but, in rela life decisions are made by committee and the committee can't decide on something.
I guess the one role patrol might have where a PCC/SMG is reasonable is if you want to offer the motors guys some sort of long gun but needed something to fit inside their storage containers on their motors. Otherwise, the PCC/SMG offers no advantage for patrol officers that justifies the compromise in terminal ballistics over a shotgun or carbine.
I think it's pretty absurd to issue guys PCCs/SMGs in 2023, instead of a carbine or even shotgun when they have zero need necessitating the compromise in ballistics.
ETA: sorry for constant updates or if anything is rambling. I'm currently in Africa and am posting while still adjusting timezones.