HC Deb 28 July 1980 vol 989 cc509-10W
Miss Richardson

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether it is Government policy that each individual police force should establish specialist firearms units to deal with major operational incidents in which firearms may be used; and if he will list these forces which either have or plan to have such units.

Mr. Brittan

The operational organisation of each police force is a matter for each chief officer of police. All police forces have a proportion of officers specially trained in the use of firearms.

The trend is towards the setting up of specialist units, which can be called out to deal with major incidents, consisting of officers who have had additional training both in the use of weapons and in tactics, but detailed information is not available centrally.

Miss Richardson

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department, on a police force area basis, on how many occasions in 1979 firearms were issued to police officers (a) to deal with crime, (b) for protection of persons, (c) for protection of property; on how many occasions weapons were drawn from holsters; on how many occasions shots were fired: and in these cases, what the circumstances were.

Mr. Brittan

In 1979 firearms were issued to police officers in England and Wales on 8,374 occasions for particular incidents involving criminals or other persons known or believed to be armed. It would not be in the interests of security to give details of the number of occasions on which firearms were issued for protection purposes.

No information is available centrally on the number of occasions weapons were drawn from holsters. Shots were fired on three occasions in 1979. In two of these incidents, in the West Midlands and the Metropolitan Police area, police officers had reason to believe that they were about to come under fire; no injuries were sustained. A third incident in Essex resulted in the death of a young man who had fired a number of shots at police officers during a protracted siege.

In addition, firearms were used on a number of occasions to destroy injured or dangerous animals.