§ Baroness Gould of Potternewtonasked Her Majesty's Government:
What are the latest available statistics on the police use of firearms. [HL336]
§ Lord Williams of MostynThe statistics for April 1997 to March 1998 show that the number of police operations in which firearms were issued to officers was 11,842, a fall of over 4 per cent. on the previous year. The number of occasions on which firearms were discharged by police fell to just three, from five the previous year, resulting in two fatalities.
There was a decrease of 7 per cent., to 7,510 in the number of operations in which armed response vehicles were deployed. Firearms were carried in these vehicles but were not necessarily issued to officers on each occasion.
Full details are set out in the tables below:
143WA
Number of operations involving Armed Response Vehicles (ARVs) 1994–95 1995–96 1996–97 1997–98 Total 2,423 5,523 8,060 7,510 Avon & Somerset 90 200 247 121 Bedfordshire 0 239 309 285 Cambridgeshire 27 15 23 19 Cheshire 76 180 240 166 Cleveland 89 465 1,014 *57 City of London 0 23 25 0 Cumbria 19 44 64 43 Derbyshire 58 53 97 99 Devon & Cornwall 0 21 77 58 Dorset 25 22 28 50 Durham 27 38 62 85 Essex 165 155 218 180 Gloucestershire 0 10 13 48 Greater Manchester 69 6 ** 56 Hampshire 156 159 208 170 Hertfordshire 37 20 35 25 Humberside 6 35 284 437 Kent 47 42 208 212 Lancashire 48 187 320 321 Leicestershire 50 101 126 68 Lincolnshire 45 21 39 34 Merseyside 73 239 618 559 Metropolitan N/K 1,025 790 954 Norfolk 36 80 152 117
Number of operations involving Armed Response Vehicles (ARVs) 1994–95 1995–96 1996–97 1997–98 Northamptonshire 21 3 20 29 Northumbria 310 325 715 515 North Yorkshire 0 0 13 52 Nottinghamshire 40 44 66 *256 South Yorkshire 140 171 129 252 Staffordshire 3 70 235 206 Suffolk 113 117 120 135 Surrey 25 47 52 76 Sussex 304 413 173 284 Thames Valley 6 73 164 184 Warwickshire 22 54 91 127 West Mercia 26 39 77 98 West Midlands 58 98 103 102 West Yorkshire 173 587 584 586 Wiltshire 13 1 23 21 Dyfed Powys 9 6 12 19 Gwent 9 39 58 47 North Wales 0 14 173 260 South Wales 8 42 55 97 * These forces have amended their arrangements for counting ARV deployment to incidents. ** No figures available. 144WA
Number of operations in which firearms were issued 1994–95 1995–96 1996–97 1997–98 Total 6,141 8,726 12,379 11,842 Avon & Somerset 156 326 312 139 Bedfordshire 36 264 345 323 Cambridgeshire 73 47 54 96 Cheshire 93 219 288 216 Cleveland 107 487 1,026 103 City of London 325 275 308 307 Cumbria 44 54 72 68 Derbyshire 68 72 109 147 Devon & Cornwall 29 90 160 133 Dorset 46 36 36 54 Durham 100 111 131 103 Essex 267 267 331 505 Gloucestershire 27 33 41 51 Greater Manchester 110 142 214 165 Hampshire 195 190 245 217 Hertfordshire 69 47 96 82 Humberside 49 92 291 472 Kent 95 82 236 423 Lancashire 57 227 333 338 Leicestershire 78 138 155 89 Lincolnshire 50 25 58 52 Merseyside 116 280 671 675 Metropolitan 1,804 2,178 2,439 2,578 Norfolk 56 96 166 128 Northamptonshire 40 54 64 77 Northumbria 593 452 1,360 823 North Yorkshire 25 52 65 102 Nottinghamshire 47 57 84 306 South Yorkshire 172 225 155 302 Staffordshire 21 80 257 240 Suffolk 119 150 180 193 Surrey 60 70 133 87
Number of operations in which firearms were issued 1994–95 1995–96 1996–97 1997–98 Sussex 375 445 235 330 Thames Valley 65 96 215 227 Warwickshire 25 55 97 152 West Mercia 50 59 106 132 West Midlands 141 226 270 227 West Yorkshire 181 657 617 630 Wiltshire 26 26 26 26 Dyfed Powys 16 11 17 27 Gwent 20 47 89 86 North Wales 60 117 233 310 South Wales 55 69 59 101
Number of Authorised Firearms Officers (AFOs) 1994–95 1995–96 1996–97 1997–98 Total 6,837 6,554 6,738 6,137 Avon & Somerset 156 157 165 161 Bedfordshire 67 48 46 42 Cambridgeshire 87 92 90 80 Cheshire 122 84 70 82 Cleveland 55 65 86 84 City of London 146 120 88 81 Cumbria 105 100 108 122 Derbyshire 140 130 110 100 Devon & Cornwall 116 140 151 147 Dorset 76 75 74 72 Durham 108 103 138 144 Essex 209 203 228 217 Gloucestershire 71 85 82 84 Greater Manchester 181 186 209 182 Hampshire 110 104 106 112 Hertfordshire 48 43 42 41 Humberside 110 104 90 102 Kent 147 144 150 150 Lancashire 135 138 132 125 Leicestershire 103 105 104 94 Lincolnshire 73 81 82 85 Merseyside 160 119 147 165 Metropolitan 2,013 1,915 2,035 1,523 Norfolk 117 99 98 102 Northamptonshire 83 95 92 92 Northumbria 166 160 173 126 North Yorkshire 142 134 108 95 Nottinghamshire 125 126 128 129 South Yorkshire 162 125 110 108 Staffordshire 84 80 78 86 Suffolk 65 70 82 96 Surrey 76 79 76 61 Sussex 142 149 180 146 Thames Valley 180 175 185 194 Warwickshire 56 50 41 38 West Mercia 160 153 155 159 West Midlands 87 87 88 95 West Yorkshire 156 150 131 114 Wiltshire 165 145 134 105 Dyfed Powys 58 57 70 71 Gwent 54 55 70 59 North Wales 71 70 72 90 South Wales 150 154 134 176