An armed response vehicle (ARV) or armed support unit (ASU) is a type of police car operated by police forces in the United Kingdom, Crown Dependencies, British Overseas Territories, and Republic of Ireland. Typically crewed by 3 authorised firearms officers (AFOs), they respond to incidents believed to involve firearms or other high-risk situations. [1] ARVs are specially adapted and modified to accommodate specialist equipment.
Armed response vehicles were introduced to British police forces to provide them with a firearms response capability, as police in the United Kingdom (except Northern Ireland) do not routinely carry firearms on patrol, with the exception of a minority of armed officers.
ARVs were deployed officially for the first time in London in 1991. [2] An "unpublicised" ARV was deployed in the Brixton area after the riots and was operational in the 1980s, code name Lima Delta 53. This had the standard Smith & Wesson revolvers and was on patrol at all times. Following their success, forces outside of the capital later formed similar units during the early to mid-1990s. The concept of an ARV was influenced by West Yorkshire Police's instant response cars, as used from 1976.[ citation needed ]
Early ARVs contained a secure safe between the seats containing a .38 Smith & Wesson Model 10 for each member, with two 9mm Heckler & Koch MP5 semi-automatic carbines secured in the boot. After ARVs became established and the practice was accepted for widespread use, the Model 10 revolvers were replaced by the semi-automatic Glock 17 handgun chambered in 9×19mm. In 2010, the Heckler & Koch G36C 5.56mm carbine was introduced in case of a Mumbai style terrorist attack. [3] [4]
Revolvers and pistols could be removed from the secure safe by ARV members if, in a member's opinion, an immediate threat to life was posed. Authorisation for this from the control room was required, including contacting an officer of Association of Chief Police Officers (ACPO) rank. If a high-ranking officer was not available, a Chief Inspector could give authorisation in an emergency. Following an increase in the size of the Firearms Unit, Commissioner Sir Paul Condon issued regulations, effective 23 May 1994, that gave ARV crews standing authority to wear their handguns overtly and to deploy their weapons. Several police forces followed suit. The Greater Manchester police became one of those whose ARVs openly carried firearms beginning 6 September 1994. [5]
In 2013, the inaugural Chief Constable of Police Scotland granted a standing authority for ARV crews to overtly wear handguns and to deploy their weapons when he introduced ARV patrols nationally. [6] [7]
ARVs are visually identified by fellow officers from a yellow dot sticker and an asterisk on the roof for helicopters to identify them. [2]
British Transport Police is a national special police force that polices the railway network of England, Wales and Scotland. The force polices more than 10,000 miles of track and more than 3,000 stations and depots.
The Specialist Firearms Command (MO19) is the firearms unit of the Metropolitan Police Service. Formed in 2005, the Command is responsible for providing a firearms-response capability, assisting the rest of the service, which is not routinely armed.
The Peel Regional Police (PRP) provides policing services for Peel Region in Ontario, Canada. It is the second largest municipal police service in the Greater Toronto Area in Ontario, and the third largest municipal force behind the Toronto Police Service, with 2,200 uniformed members and close to 875 support staff. The Peel Regional Police serve approximately 1.48 million citizens of Mississauga and Brampton, located immediately west and northwest of Toronto, and provides law enforcement services at Toronto Pearson International Airport which annually sees 50 million travelers. Although it is part of the Region of Peel, policing for the Town of Caledon which is north of Brampton, is the responsibility of the Ontario Provincial Police (OPP).
An authorised firearms officer (AFO) is a British police officer who is authorised and trained to carry and use firearms. The designation is significant because most police officers in the United Kingdom do not routinely carry firearms. The only forces where officers are routinely armed are the Police Service of Northern Ireland, the Ministry of Defence Police, the Civil Nuclear Constabulary, Belfast Harbour Police and the Belfast International Airport Constabulary.
A firearms unit is an armed unit within each territorial police force in the United Kingdom. For the most part, the police forces of the United Kingdom are unarmed; however, all have firearms units to provide the police force with the capability to deal with armed criminals. A police officer cannot apply to join the firearms unit without first finishing their two-year probationary period, with a further two years in a core policing role for some forces. Firearms unit is the most common name outside of the capital, while that of London's Metropolitan Police Service is called the Specialist Firearms Command, Trojan, or SCO19. Within the media, it is sometimes compared to the SWAT units of the United States.
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A handgun is a firearm designed to be usable with only one hand. It is distinguished from a long barreled gun which typically is intended to be held by both hands and braced against the shoulder. Handguns have shorter effective ranges compared to long guns, and are much harder to shoot accurately. While most early handguns are single-shot pistols, the two most common types of handguns used in modern times are revolvers and semi-automatic pistols.
In the United Kingdom police firearm policy varies by constituent countries. In Northern Ireland, all police officers carry firearms whereas in the rest of the United Kingdom, firearms are carried only by specially-trained firearms officers.
Police in the United Kingdom use a wide range of operational vehicles, including compact cars, powerful estates and armoured police carriers. The main uses are patrol, response, tactical pursuit, and public order policing. Other vehicles used by British police include motorcycles, aircraft, and boats.
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The use of firearms by police forces varies widely across the world, in part due to differences in gun use policy, civilian firearm laws, and recording of police activity. Police forces may require that officers use warning shots before aiming on-target, officers may need to make verbal warnings before using their firearms, and officers may be prohibited from carrying weapons while performing tasks such as highway patrol where gun use is not expected.
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