I'm surprised nobody has said about the fact that using the slide release rather than racking the slide is worse for the gun. If you repeatedly used the slide release there is the possibility of rounding off the back edge of the slide stop and the front edge of the notch on the slide, meaning that it may not hold securely or could wear to the point of failure. Of course it would take a LONG time for any damage to happen, but it is unnecessary wear to put on the weapon. I do it both ways, racking the side for loading and clearing a pistol, and using the slide stop during a quick reload.
Also, the reason British police generally don't carry guns is not because they are dumb, but because they historically didn't need to. Gun murders per capita in the US are about 25 times that of the UK, so there is less need for the police to carry firearms. Having said that there are still a number of armed police in the UK. In addition to armed response, firearms are carried as a matter of course when guarding airports, foreign embassies and high value targets. They are also always carried by several specialist forces, including the Civil Nuclear Constabulary, the Northern Ireland Police, and the MOD Police.
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