§ Mr. CartwrightTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) whether he requires the Commissioner of Police of the Metropolis to inform him of the numbers and types of firearms held by his force;
(2) whether he will publish statistics concerning the numbers and types of firearms held by the Metropolitan police;
395W(3) what advice his Department has issued to chief constables on the collection and dissemination of statistics on the numbers and types of firearms held by their forces;
(4) what representations he has received concerning the collection and publication of statistics on the numbers and types of firearms held by police forces;
(5) whether he will review his Department's policy on collecting statistics on the number and type of firearms held by police forces.
§ Mr. Douglas HoggIt is for each chief officer of police to decide what weapons are required to enable him to discharge his operational responsibilities. He is guided in this by advice issued by the Association of Chief Police Officers. The Home Office is represented on the committee which produces this advice.
The Home Office is responsible for ensuring, through HM inspectorate of constabulary, that police forces are efficient and HM inspectorate checks, during its annual inspections, that police forces have adequate equipment available to them. Police authorities are responsible for providing that equipment and for keeping themselves informed on matters connected with the policing of their area. As police authority for the Metropolitan police, my right hon. Friend has access to information relating to the types and numbers of weapons held by that force.
It is a matter for the judgment of chief officers of police and police authorities as to how much information should be publicly disclosed in relation to police firearms. I gave details of the broad categories of firearms held by the Metropolitan police in answer to a question from the hon. Member for Newham, North-West (Mr. Banks) on 27 November. We do not believe it to be in the public interest to disclose details of the number of firearms held in each of those categories.
The Department has not issued advice to chief constables on the collection and dissemination of statistics on the numbers and types of firearms held by their forces. The only representations received concerning the collection and publication of such statistics have been from the press.
The above policy is in line with the devolved character of policing in this country under the 1964 Police Act. We constantly watch the working of these relationships to ensure that they are efficient, but so far see no practical advantage in proposing changes to them in this respect.