HC Deb 06 December 2001 vol 376 cc483-4W
Lynne Jones

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if the Police Complaints Authority review of police shootings since 1998 will take into consideration the need for appropriate procedures when the potential aggressor is known by the police to suffer from a mental disorder. [19777]

Mr. Denham

The terms of reference set by the Home Secretary for the review does not prescribe specific areas for consideration; it sets the coverage as all shootings by the police since 1998 that resulted in death or injury. However, the terms of reference do include the planning, control and conduct of these operations.

There is guidance from the Association of Chief Police Officers that firearms officers should take account of when called to deal with a situation involving a person with a mental disorder. If any of the cases under review did involve such a person then the Police Complaints Authority will consider the appropriateness of this guidance to the situation, how well it was followed and its affect on the planning, control and conduct of the operation and will make recommendations.