§ Simon HughesTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many police officers completed firearms training in each police force area in each of the last three years. [120914]
§ Ms BlearsTraining in use of firearms takes place in individual force training establishments. Each officer receives regular training dependent on their role, in order to maintain authority from their force to carry weapons.
No figures are held centrally about numbers of officers who undergo such training.
252WHowever, the following table gives the numbers of authorised firearms officers in each force, during the last three years for which figures are available, all of whom undergo training more frequently than annually.
Number of authorised firearms officers (AFOs) 1999–2000 2000–01 2001–02 Total 6,262 6,064 5,776 Avon and Somerset 150 135 116 Bedfordshire 46 45 48 Cambridgeshire 77 73 56 Cheshire 75 74 81 Cleveland 80 75 85 City of London 73 74 73 Cumbria 98 94 92 Derbyshire 77 81 80 Devon and Cornwall 119 100 108 Dorset 66 67 57 Durham 101 101 86 Essex 228 195 180 Gloucestershire 77 72 71 Greater Manchester 218 240 219 Hampshire 111 100 87 Hertfordshire 52 44 46 Humberside 97 102 96 Kent 136 136 113 Lancashire 143 132 138 Leicestershire 90 85 69 Lincolnshire 78 80 91 Merseyside 96 103 78 Metropolitan 1,977 1,940 1,805 Norfolk 110 114 104 Northamptonshire 75 77 51 Northumbria 114 109 125 North Yorkshire 59 66 66 Nottinghamshire 116 137 136 South Yorkshire 100 98 92 Staffordshire 81 67 71 Suffolk 98 90 90 Surrey 71 72 62 Sussex 131 118 120 Thames Valley 187 185 156 Warwickshire 54 45 50 West Mercia 129 130 125 West Midlands 93 83 111 West Yorkshire 110 117 116 Wiltshire 89 71 71 Dyfed Powys 65 61 77 Gwent 68 66 57 North Wales 92 67 83 South Wales 155 143 138