To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many police officers have been authorised to can-y firearms; for how many operations firearms have been issued; and how many operations involving armed response vehicles there have been in each of the last three years for which information is available. [35188]

The information is as follows:

Annex B: Issue of police firearms Number of operations in which firearms were issued
	1994–95	1995–96	1996–97
Avon and Somerset	156	326	312
Bedfordshire	36	264	345
Cambridgeshire	73	47	54
Cheshire	93	219	288
Cleveland	107	487	1,026
City of London	8	25	308
Cumbria	44	54	72
Derbyshire	68	72	109
Devon and Cornwall	29	90	160
Dorset	46	36	36
Durham	100	111	131
Essex	267	267	331
Gloucestershire	27	33	41
Greater Manchester	110	142	214
Hampshire	195	190	245
Hertfordshire	69	47	96
Humberside	49	92	291
Kent	95	82	236
Lancashire	57	227	333
Leicestershire	78	138	155
Lincolnshire	50	25	58
Merseyside	116	280	671
Metropolitan	1,804	2,178	2,439
Norfolk	56	96	166
Northamptonshire	40	54	64
Northumbria	593	452	1,360
North Yorkshire	25	52	65
Nottinghamshire	47	57	84
South Yorkshire	172	225	155
Staffordshire	21	80	257
Suffolk	119	150	180
Surrey	60	70	133
Sussex	375	445	235
Thames Valley	65	96	215
Warwickshire	25	55	97
West Mercia	50	59	106
West Midlands	141	226	270
West Yorkshire	181	657	617
Wiltshire	26	26	26
Dyfed Powys	16	11	17
Gwent	20	47	89
North Wales	60	117	233
South Wales	55	69	59
Total	5,824	8,476	12,379

Annex D: Number of authorised firearms officers (AFOs)
	1994–95	1995–96	1996–97
Avon and Somerset	156	157	165
Bedfordshire	67	48	46
Cambridgeshire	87	92	90
Cheshire	122	84	70
Cleveland	55	65	86
City of London	146	120	88
Cumbria	105	100	108
Derbyshire	140	130	110
Devon and Cornwall	116	140	151
Dorset	76	75	74
Durham	108	103	138
Essex	209	203	228
Gloucestershire	71	85	82
Greater Manchester	181	186	209
Hampshire	110	104	106
Hertfordshire	48	43	42
Humberside	110	104	90

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department in how many operations firearms were issued to police officers in England and Wales in each of the last 10 years for which information is available; in how many operations shots were fired by police officers in each year; how many police officers were qualified to carry firearms; and if he will make a statement. [35189]

This information is as follows:

Year	Number of authorised firearms officers	Number of operations	Number of operations in which shots fired by the police
1987	7,349	2,185	7
1988	7,194	2,227	2
1989	7,311	2,583	4
1990	7,411	2,874	3
1991	7,717	3,722	5
1992	6,850	4,479	12
1993	6,769	5,625	6
1 April 1994 to 31 March 1995	6,837	5,824	5
1 April 1995 to 31 March 1996	6,554	8,476	5
1 April 1996 to 31 March 1997	6,738	12,379	5

Reasons for the increases in number of policy firearms operations will vary between forces, and they are best placed to answer specific inquiries. Although the number of authorised firearms officers has dropped over the years, police forces are now much better equipped to deal with armed crime, thanks to armed response vehicles and updated practices. Police firearms have only been fired in five operations in each of the last three years. This very low number confirms that police firearms officers generally carry out their duties with professionalism and restraint.