§ Mr. Dobsonasked the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) if he is satisfied that the same criterion for the issue of firearms are applied in each district of the Metropolitan police;
(2) why the numbers of occasions firearms were issued to officers of "E" district of the Metropolitan police in 1982 was 2.5 times the average for Metropolitan police districts;
(3) further to the answer of 14 March, Official Report, c. 9, on how many of the 489 occasions when firearms were issued to officers of "E" district of the Metropolitan police anyone was arrested; and in how many cases they proved to be armed;
(4) further to the answer of 14 March, Official Report, c. 9, how many guns were issued on each of the 489 occasions guns were issued to officers of "E" district of the Metropolitan police.
§ Mr. Mayhew[pursuant to his reply, 21 March 1983, c. 337]. We have asked all districts of the Metropolitan police thoroughly to re-examine the information which they provided and which served as the basis for the answer I gave to the hon. Member on 14 March. This has necessarily taken some time, and the review has revealed that the instructions relating to the recording of information on the issue and use of firearms by the police have been misinterpreted in some districts, with the result that incorrect returns have been submitted.
276WAs a matter of urgency Home Office officials are considering jointly with the police what changes are needed to ensure that returns in future provide reliable figures. Steps will be taken to ensure that any revised instructions are applied nationally. Following is a revised list showing the number of occasions on which fireams were issued to police officers in each district of the Metropolitan police in 1982 in operations against persons known or believed to be armed:
District Total A 128 B 235 C 50 D 190 E 256 F 94 G 220 H 205 J 164 K 356 L 255 M 192 N 223 P 202 Q 154 R 127 S 393 T 115 V 42 W 160 X 307 Y 309 Z 133 Airport 64 This review of the figures means that the total number of occasions on which firearms were issued to officers of the Metropolitan police as a whole in 1982 in operations against persons known or believed to be armed was 6,035, and not 6,635 as was stated on 2 February in reply to a question by the hon. Member for Newham, North-West (Mr. Lewis).—[Vol. 36, c. 109].
We know of no reason to believe that the same criterion for the issue of firearms is not applied in each district of the Metropolitan police. The number of occasions on which firearms were issued in "E" district reflects the number of occasions on which their issue was considered to meet the criterion laid down in the rules which apply generally; the revised figure for "E" district shown above is no longer 2.5 but 1.34 times the average for Metropolitan police districts. The other details requested are not readily available and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.