HC Deb 30 October 1984 vol 65 cc895-6W
Mr. Tony Banks

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department on how many occasions in 1983 and the first six months of 1984 firearms in the Metropolitan district (a) were issued and (b) were drawn from holster; how many bullets were fired; and how many persons were hit.

Mr. Giles Shaw

From the beginning of 1983 figures have been recorded on the basis of the number of "operations" against persons known or believed to be armed in which firearms were issued to police officers. In the Metropolitan police district in 1983 firearms were issued in 2,230 such operations, 14 shots were fired and one person was injured. Figures relating to the issue of firearms are collated centrally on an annual basis and are not therefore available for the first six months of 1984. However, during this period firearms were drawn from holsters in 48 operations in the Metropolitan police district, four shots were fired and three people injured.

Mr. Tony Banks

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many robberies occurred in 1982, 1983, and to the latest available date in 1984, in which firearms (a) were used and (b) were fired (i) in Metropolitan police districts and (ii) in England and Wales.

Mr. Mellor

The available information is given in the following table.

Robberies recorded by the police in which firearms were reported to have been used or fired.
England and Wales Number
England and Wales Metropolitan police district
1982
Firearms reported to have been used *2,560 1,756
Firearms reported to have been fired 69 24
1983
Firearms reported to have been used *1,957 1,276
Firearms reported to have been fired 65 27
* Published in Table 3.1 of 'Criminal Statistics England and Wales 1983', Cmnd. 9349.

Mr. Tony Banks

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many shots were fired at policemen (a) in London and (b) nationally in 1982, 1983, and to the latest available date in 1984.

Mr. Giles Shaw

The available information relates to the number of occasions in which a firearm was fired at a police officer and is given in the following table.

Notifiable offences recorded by the police in which firearms were reported to have been fired and the victim was a police officer
England and Wales Number
Metropolitan police district Elsewhere England and Wales
1982 1 19 20
1983 5 15 20