§ Sir John WheelerTo ask the Secretary of State for I he Home Department in how many operations firearms were issued to police officers in England and Wales for the years 1983 to the present; in how many of those operations shots were fired by police officers; how many police officers are currently qualified to carry firearms; and what were the equivalent figures for each of the previous seven years.
§ Mr. Peter LloydInformation relating to the police use of firearms in operations against criminals or others known or believed to be armed is given in the following table.
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Year Number of authorised firearms officers Number of operations Number of occasions when shots fired 1983 13,044 3,180 3 1984 11,873 2,667 6 1985 10,244 2,488 7 1986 8,395 2,453 1
Year Number of authorised firearms officers Number of operations Number of occasions when shots fired 1987 7,349 2,185 7 1988 7,194 2,227 2 1989 7,311 2,583 4 Despite a small increase in 1989, the trend over the period shows a significant reduction in the number of authorised firearms officers. The decrease reflects the emphasis placed by chief officers on having highly trained firearms officers in numbers no greater than is operationally necessary.