§ Sir WILLIAM BYLESasked how far are the Metropolitan Police armed with revolvers or other firearms; are they always carried when constables are on duty 203 or only on special occasions or special hours; has there been any recent regulation extending the practice of carrying these weapons; and is it the custom of provincial police to carry firearms?
§ Mr. McKENNAA new type of revolver has recently been sanctioned for the Metropolitan Police, but there has been no change in the practice which has existed for many years; and no change is contemplated. Firearms are not, as a rule, carried by police unless they are engaged on special and dangerous duty, and though the rules allow police employed at night on lonely beats to carry firearms on application being made by them, this permission is seldom asked for. It is not, I believe, the custom for provincial police to carry firearms on their ordinary duties.