A small number of countries possess police forces (national or sub-national) which do not carry firearms on regular patrol or reserve firearms for specialist police officers.
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Iceland
Icelandic policemen generally do not carry firearms, instead they carry telescopic batons and pepper spray.
Republic of Ireland
All routinely uniformed officers are unarmed. The strength of the Garda Síochána is approximately 15,000 officers, of which approx. 4,000 are licensed to carry firearms. Uniformed Gardaí wear stab-proof body armour and carry expandable ASP batons, handcuffs and pepper spray all introduced by the new Garda Inspectorate.
Armed support units include the Regional Support Units (RSU) and the national Emergency Response Unit (ERU), which is comparable to American SWAT or British SCO19 and operates a variety of lethal and non-lethal devices. All Gardaí (Police Officers) who train as detectives carry a sidearm, and many plainclothes/undercover officers are also trained and deployed with the use of concealed handguns.
The policy of unarmed police has been in place since 1922, when the Garda's armed successor, the Royal Irish Constabulary, was replaced upon the Irish Free State's secession from the United Kingdom.
Republic of Korea
Regular officers of the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency are restricted from carrying firearms or sidearms, such being reserved for specialist armed police.
New Zealand
New Zealand police officers do not normally carry firearms, although access to firearms is available when circumstances dictate. Specialised units of the New Zealand Police such as the Armed Offenders Squad, a SWAT type unit and the Special Tactics Group are also operational for different scenarios that might arise.
Norway
Norwegian police were generally not armed until November 25, 2014. Since then, officers with weapon training have been generally armed with loaded firearms, following the increased threat from IS. The temporary measure has been extended four times, the latest at July 29, 2015.
United Kingdom
The majority of British police are never routinely armed, relying on an extendable baton and in some cases Tasers, with specialist armed units called in when necessary. The exceptions are the Ministry of Defence Police, the Civil Nuclear Constabulary and the Police Service of Northern Ireland.