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Most British police officers (except in Northern Ireland) are not routinely armed. [1] Instead, they rely on specially trained Authorised Firearms Officers (AFO) to attend incidents where firearms are necessary. Specialist Firearms Officers are usually trained to a higher standard than AFOs, because they are likely to be required to enter besieged premises. The vast majority of firearms used by British police are semi-automatic. Police use of force regarding firearms was governed by the Association of Chief Police Officers (ACPO, dissolved 2015).
Firearms used by police officers vary between police forces in the UK. The Chief Constable and Police Authority of each force decides the number of firearms officers and type of police firearms available. In 2010, 5.56 mm calibre carbines were widely introduced in case of an attack similar to the 2008 Mumbai attacks. [2] [3]
Firearms issued to Authorised Firearms Officers include:
In addition to the issued weapons above, AK-47 variants have been seen in use with Metropolitan Police officers roleplaying as gunmen during CTSFO training exercises. [79] [80]
Unlike territorial police forces in England, Scotland and Wales, as well as the Garda Síochána in the neighbouring Republic of Ireland, all Police Service of Northern Ireland officers are trained to use firearms and are routinely armed while on duty, [91] as were those of the preceding Royal Ulster Constabulary; many officers also carry firearms while off duty. [92] Historically, RUC officers were issued with the Ruger Speed-Six revolver from 1979 onwards and had access to the Sterling submachine gun and the Ruger AC-556 select-fire rifle until these were replaced by the Heckler & Koch MP5 submachine gun and the Heckler & Koch G3 and Heckler & Koch HK33 [93] rifles between 1992 and 1995, with the PSNI inheriting the Speed-Six revolvers and the Heckler & Koch weapons upon its formation in 2001; the Speed-Six revolvers were subsequently superseded by the Glock 17 pistol from 2002 onwards, [94] [95] while Heckler & Koch G36 variants were acquired to supplement earlier Heckler & Koch weapons. [26] [96] L104 riot guns are available for crowd control purposes. [97]
Most British Transport Police officers are unarmed. British Transport Police ARV officers carry:
Like the PSNI, Belfast Harbour Police officers are issued the Glock 17 pistol.
Like the PSNI, officers of the Belfast International Airport Constabulary are issued the Glock 17 pistol whilst on duty. Officers are also authorised to carry Heckler & Koch MP5s, similar to those used by the PSNI prior to the adoption of the Heckler & Koch G36.
All Civil Nuclear Constabulary (CNC) officers are trained as Authorised Firearms Officers and are routinely armed while carrying out their duties. CNC officers carry:
CNC officers also operate the armament on board the ships of Pacific Nuclear Transport Limited, [107] which specialise in transporting spent nuclear fuel and reprocessed uranium on behalf of the British Nuclear Fuels organisation. [108] Such ships have an on-board escort of armed police. [109] [110] The Civil Nuclear Constabulary use a range of heavier weapons up to automatic cannon of 30mm calibre deployed on the ships.
All Ministry of Defence Police officers are required to pass a firearms module during training (with marine units receiving additional firearms training that is specific to their role [111] ) and are routinely armed unless they are posted to Crime Command. [112] [113]
In the past, police have been issued:
The Police Service of Northern Ireland, is the police service responsible for law enforcement and the prevention of crime within Northern Ireland.
The SIG Sauer P220 is a semi-automatic pistol designed in 1975 by the SIG Arms AG division of Schweizerische Industrie Gesellschaft, and produced by J. P. Sauer & Sohn, in Eckernförde. It is currently manufactured by both SIG Sauer companies: SIG Sauer GMBH, of Eckernförde, Germany; and SIG Sauer, Inc., of New Hampshire, United States.
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.
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.
An armed response vehicle (ARV) is a type of police car operated by police forces in the United Kingdom. ARVs are crewed normally by 3 authorised firearms officers (AFOs) to respond to incidents believed to involve firearms or other high-risk situations.
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.
Spezialeinsatzkommando are police tactical units of each of the 16 German State Police forces. Along with the Mobiles Einsatzkommando (MEK), Personenschutzkommando (bodyguards), and the Verhandlungsgruppe, they are part of the police Spezialeinheiten of each state.
The Special Operations Group is the police tactical unit of the Public Security Police (PSP), the national police force of Portugal. GOE was created in 1982 and has around 200 operatives. Although a police unit, the GOE is employed worldwide, similar to the French GIGN or to the German GSG 9.
Police uniforms and equipment in the United Kingdom vary enormously per force or service, and different uniforms and equipment is used for different situations. Both what is worn and what is carried have varied considerably from the inception of the earliest recognisable mainstream police services in the early 19th century. As various laws in the mid-19th century standardised policing in the United Kingdom, so too were uniforms and equipment. From a variety of home grown uniforms, bicycles, swords and pistols the British police force evolved in look and equipment through the long coats and top hat, to the recognisable modern uniform of a white shirt, black tie, reflective jackets, body armour, and the battenburg-marked vehicles, to the present-day Airwave Solutions radios, electric vehicles and tasers.
The Aviation Security Operational Command Unit (SO18), after April 2015 known as Aviation Policing Command (APC) or Specialist Operations – Aviation Policing (SOAP), is a Specialist Operations unit of London's Metropolitan Police Service. The unit is responsible for providing policing and security for both Heathrow and London City airports. London's other airports – Gatwick, Stansted and Luton – are policed by Sussex, Essex and Bedfordshire Police respectively, as they are not located in the Metropolitan Police District.
The P30 is a polymer framed semi-automatic handgun by Heckler & Koch, available in 9×19mm Parabellum and .40 S&W.
The SIG Sauer P250 is a semi-automatic pistol made by Sigarms. Introduced in 2007, the hammer-fired P250 can be chambered in .22 Long Rifle, .380 ACP, 9×19mm Parabellum (9mm), .357 SIG, .40 S&W, and .45 ACP. The P250 chambered in 9mm was introduced to the North American market on November 7, 2007, followed by the .45 ACP compact model in February 2008 at the SHOT Show. The last of the models was introduced in late 2009.
The Slovenian National Police Force is the national government agency that handles the responsibility of law enforcement of the Republic of Slovenia. It is composed of the eight police directorates in Celje, Koper, Kranj, Ljubljana, Maribor, Murska Sobota, Nova Gorica, and Novo Mesto. Law enforcement in Slovenia is governed by the Slovenian Ministry of Internal Affairs. The police force maintains a number of international partnerships with foreign police forces, including training with the U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation, and involvement in Albania and Kosovo with the Multinational Advisory Police Element. The Slovenian police force was admitted to Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe on March 24, 1992.
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.
The SIG Sauer SIG516 is an assault rifle manufactured by SIG Sauer, chambered in 5.56×45mm NATO.
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.
The Heckler & Koch VP9 is a polymer-framed semi-automatic striker-fired handgun. The VP designation in the name refers to Volkspistole, which translates to "people's pistol", while SFP stands for "striker-fired pistol". The 9 stands for the caliber designation of 9 mm. The VP9 is the third striker-fired pistol that HK has produced. A variant of the VP9, the VP40, is chambered for .40 S&W; the VP40 is known as SFP40 in Europe and Canada.
The SIG Sauer P320 is a modular semi-automatic pistol made by SIG Sauer, Inc., SIG Sauer's American branch. It is a further development of the SIG Sauer P250, utilizing a striker-fired mechanism in lieu of a double action only hammer system. The P320 can be chambered in 9×19mm Parabellum, .357 SIG, .40 S&W, .45 ACP, and 10mm Auto and can be easily converted from one caliber to another; a change from .357 SIG to .40 S&W requires only a barrel change; a change from 9mm to .357 SIG or .40 S&W is accomplished using a caliber exchange kit.
The SIG MCX is a family of firearms designed and manufactured by SIG Sauer, produced in both selective fire and semi-automatic only models, and features a short-stroke gas piston system, which is inherited from the earlier SIG MPX submachine gun. The MCX is available in rifle, carbine, short-barreled rifle, and pistol configurations.
The officers secondary weapon is a Glock, possibly 17, which is carried in a holster.
At a firing range in Northampton, 14 policemen and women, each carrying a Glock 17 self-loading pistol, are on their first week of training.
In terms of the handgun, Police Scotland uses the Glock 17 pistol.
Training in the MP7 weapon system and in marine-specific firearms tactics training is also required.
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