§ Lord Hogg of Cumbernauldasked Her Majesty's Government:
What are the most recent statistics available for the police use of firearms. [HL2046]
§ Lord Bassam of BrightonThe statistics for April 1998 to March 1999 show that the number of police operations in which firearms were issued to officers was 10,928, a fall of over 7 per cent on the previous year. The number of firearms incidents in which firearms were discharged by police was five, compared to three the previous year. There were no fatalities.
There was an increase of 3 per cent to 7,791 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.
53WA
Number of Operations in Which Firearms were Issued 1995–96 1996–97 1997–98 1998–99 Total 8,726 12,379 11,842 10,928 Avon and Somerset 326 312 139 88 Bedfordshire 264 345 323 260 Cambridgeshire 47 54 96 43 Cheshire 219 288 216 299 Cleveland 487 1,026 103 35 City of London 275 308 307 147
Number of Operations in Which Firearms were Issued 1995–96 1996–97 1997–98 1998–99 Cumbria 54 72 68 52 Derbyshire 72 109 147 176 Devon and Cornwall 90 160 133 61 Dorset 36 36 54 69 Durham 111 131 103 114 Essex 267 331 505 590 Gloucestershire 33 41 51 52 Greater Manchester 142 214 165 160 Hampshire 190 245 217 129 Hertfordshire 47 96 82 75 Humberside 92 291 472 317 Kent 82 236 423 92 Lancashire 227 333 338 616 Leicestershire 138 155 89 109 Lincolnshire 25 58 52 57 Merseyside 280 671 675 484 Metropolitan 2,178 2,439 2,578 2,742 Norfolk 96 166 128 185 Northamptonshire 54 64 77 51 Northumbria 452 1,360 823 683 North Yorkshire 52 65 102 69 Nottinghamshire 57 84 306 266 South Yorkshire 225 155 302 135 Staffordshire 80 257 240 209 Suffolk 150 180 193 174 Surrey 70 133 87 60 Sussex 445 235 330 123 Thames Valley 96 215 227 158 Warwickshire 55 97 152 291 West Mercia 59 106 132 130 West Midlands 226 270 227 305 West Yorkshire 657 617 630 662 Wiltshire 26 26 26 24 Dyfed Powys 11 17 27 38 Gwent 47 89 86 64 North Wales 117 233 310 386 South Wales 69 59 101 148 54WA
Number of Authorised Firearms Officers (AFOs) 1995–96 1996–97 1997–98 1998–99 Total 6,554 6,738 6,585 6,308 Avon and Somerset 157 165 161 153 Bedfordshire 48 46 42 50 Cambridgeshire 92 90 80 80 Cheshire 84 70 82 70 Cleveland 65 86 84 78 City of London 120 88 81 55 Cumbria 100 108 122 98 Derbyshire 130 110 100 87 Devon and Cornwall 140 151 147 82 Dorset 75 74 72 72 Durham 103 138 144 96 Essex 203 228 217 235 Gloucestershire 85 82 84 79 Greater Manchester 186 209 182 217 Hampshire 104 106 112 110 Hertfordshire 43 42 41 43 Humberside 104 90 102 102 Kent 144 150 150 130 Lancashire 138 132 125 132 Leicestershire 105 104 94 90 Lincolnshire 81 82 85 75 Merseyside 119 147 165 121 Metropolitan 1,915 2,035 1,971 1,951 Norfolk 99 98 102 109 Northamptonshire 95 92 92 92 Northumbria 160 173 126 123
Number of Authorised Firearms Officers (AFOs) 1995–96 1996–97 1997–98 1998–99 North Yorkshire 134 108 95 83 Nottinghamshire 126 128 129 120 South Yorkshire 125 110 108 90 Staffordshire 80 78 86 92 Suffolk 70 82 96 101 Surrey 79 76 61 69 Sussex 149 180 146 156 Thames Valley 175 185 194 179 Warwickshire 50 41 38 44 West Mercia 153 155 159 139 West Midlands 87 88 95 92 West Yorkshire 150 131 114 128 Wiltshire 145 134 105 88 Dyfed Powys 57 70 71 67 Gwent 55 70 59 64 North Wales 70 72 90 97 South Wales 154 134 176 169
Number of Operations Involving Armed Response Vehicles (ARVs) 1995–96 1996–97 1997–98 1998–99 Total 5,523 8,060 7,544 7,791 Avon and Somerset 200 247 121 83 Bedfordshire 239 309 285 240 Cambridgeshire 15 23 19 27 Cheshire 180 240 166 247 Cleveland 465 1,014 571 29 City of London 23 25 34 32 Cumbria 44 64 43 38 Derbyshire 53 97 99 153 Devon and Cornwall 21 77 58 43 Dorset 22 28 50 66 Durham 38 62 85 84 Essex 155 218 180 285 Gloucestershire 10 13 48 49 Greater Manchester 6 —2 56 43 Hampshire 159 208 170 114 Hertfordshire 20 35 25 26 Humberside 35 284 437 277 Kent 42 208 212 74 Lancashire 187 320 321 596 Leicestershire 101 126 68 109 Lincolnshire 21 39 34 42 Merseyside 239 618 559 396 Metropolitan 1,025 790 954 1,573 Norfolk 80 152 117 167 Northamptonshire 3 20 29 32 Northumbria 325 715 515 503 North Yorkshire 0 13 52 30 Nottinghamshire 44 66 2561 246 South Yorkshire 171 129 252 115 Staffordshire 70 235 206 185 Suffolk 117 120 135 104 Surrey 47 52 76 46 Sussex 413 173 284 o1 Thames Valley 73 164 184 139 Warwickshire 54 91 127 220 West Mercia 39 77 98 99 West Midlands 98 103 102 129 West Yorkshire 587 584 586 630 Wiltshire 1 23 21 17 Dyfed Powys 6 12 19 30 Gwent 39 58 47 39 North Wales 14 173 260 298 South Wales 42 55 97 136 1 These forces have changed the counting method for incidents to which ARVs are deployed. 2 No figures available.