The latest figures on police use of firearms in England and Wales from 1 April 2009 to 31 March 2010 show that:
The number of police operations in which firearms were authorised was 18,556—a decrease of 1,395 (7%) on the previous year.
The number of authorised firearms officers (AFO’s) was 6,979—an increase of 111 (1.6%) officers overall on the previous year.
The number of operations involving armed response vehicles was 14,089—a decrease of 2,475 (15%) on the previous year.
The police discharged a conventional firearm in six incidents (up from five incidents in 2008-09).
Full details are set out in the tables below:
Year | |||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
2001/02 | 2002/03 | 2003/04 | 2004/05 | 2005/06 | 2006/07 | 2007/08 | 2008/09 | 2009/10 | |
AVON & SOMERSET | 195 | 262 | 311 | 333 | 247 | 285 | 328 | 339 | 267 |
BEDFORDSHIRE | 237 | 301 | 442 | 475 | 575 | 663 | 1,217 | 1,229 | 869 |
CAMBRIDGESHIRE | 114 | 57 | 104 | 241 | 201 | 207 | 316 | 460 | 490 |
CHESHIRE | 419 | 451 | 397 | 358 | 367 | 340 | 317 | 269 | 314 |
CLEVELAND | 37 | 170 | 453 | 530 | 657 | 293 | 577 | 667 | 430 |
CITY OF LONDON | 40 | 131 | 364 | 404 | 323 | 239 | 365 | 63 | 38 |
CUMBRIA | 71 | 77 | 72 | 152 | 112 | 92 | 92 | 86 | 80 |
DERBYSHIRE | 275 | 401 | 369 | 287 | 305 | 223 | 211 | 310 | 198 |
DEVON & CORNWALL | 101 | 96 | 112 | 71 | 84 | 80 | 143 | 170 | 185 |
DORSET | 184 | 193 | 231 | 223 | 263 | 354 | 258 | 369 | 351 |
DURHAM | 89 | 83 | 156 | 144 | 291 | 340 | 206 | 181 | 140 |
ESSEX | 323 | 312 | 275 | 296 | 432 | 245 | 529 | 529 | 444 |
GLOUCESTERSHIRE | 165 | 185 | 127 | 176 | 229 | 280 | 162 | 132 | 175 |
GTR MANCHESTER | 580 | 518 | 507 | 461 | 478 | 481 | 497 | 524 | 415 |
HAMPSHIRE | 198 | 162 | 208 | 237 | 289 | 352 | 382 | 362 | 292 |
HERTFORDSHIRE | 112 | 172 | 195 | 185 | 187 | 280 | 303 | 343 | 205 |
HUMBERSIDE | 297 | 187 | 183 | 206 | 362 | 235 | 209 | 123 | 133 |
KENT | 115 | 137 | 207 | 163 | 219 | 170 | 202 | 280 | 275 |
LANCASHIRE | 232 | 238 | 318 | 241 | 240 | 410 | 388 | 281 | 245 |
LEICESTERSHIRE | 300 | 268 | 295 | 260 | 363 | 334 | 318 | 347 | 280 |
LINCOLNSHIRE | 477 | 392 | 386 | 294 | 220 | 157 | 158 | 133 | 73 |
MERSEYSIDE | 1,020 | 628 | 751 | 733 | 669 | 727 | 829 | 556 | 701 |
METROPOLITAN | 2,447 | 3,199 | 3,563 | 2,964 | 4,711 | 3,878 | 4,948 | 5,044 | 5,534 |
NORFOLK | 175 | 200 | 178 | 195 | 175 | 153 | 174 | 274 | 192 |
NORTHAMPTONSHIRE | 43 | 138 | 148 | 158 | 137 | 156 | 159 | 120 | 109 |
NORTHUMBRIA | 1,440 | 1,275 | 1,140 | 977 | 611 | 332 | 229 | 154 | 156 |
NORTH YORKSHIRE | 92 | 100 | 147 | 185 | 183 | 282 | 329 | 289 | 272 |
NOTTINGHAMSHIRE | 384 | 452 | 459 | 408 | 394 | 289 | 270 | 245 | 194 |
SOUTH YORKSHIRE | 258 | 463 | 484 | 546 | 749 | 737 | 628 | 538 | 533 |
STAFFORDSHIRE | 232 | 281 | 255 | 216 | 171 | 250 | 244 | 209 | 183 |
SUFFOLK | 163 | 270 | 251 | 153 | 202 | 256 | 193 | 237 | 225 |
SURREY | 245 | 247 | 203 | 151 | 222 | 222 | 375 | 479 | 188 |
SUSSEX | 248 | 204 | 280 | 187 | 190 | 201 | 331 | 331 | 227 |
THAMES VALLEY | 179 | 167 | 195 | 289 | 427 | 264 | 293 | 344 | 319 |
WARWICKSHIRE | 130 | 149 | 164 | 124 | 180 | 162 | 150 | 145 | 129 |
WEST MERCIA | 117 | 91 | 197 | 162 | 122 | 155 | 202 | 171 | 122 |
WEST MIDLANDS1 | 822 | 902 | 1,377 | 1,264 | 1,044 | 1,557 | 1,063 | 1,109 | 933 |
WEST YORKSHIRE | 757 | 604 | 575 | 853 | 1,335 | 1,272 | 1,130 | 1,367 | 1,512 |
WILTSHIRE | 45 | 58 | 63 | 88 | 139 | 226 | 128 | 158 | 152 |
DYFED POWYS | 28 | 29 | 28 | 51 | 63 | 72 | 155 | 92 | 71 |
GWENT | 20 | 37 | 40 | 81 | 94 | 133 | 334 | 152 | 151 |
NORTH WALES | 302 | 259 | 197 | 223 | 350 | 340 | 259 | 185 | 126 |
SOUTH WALES | 283 | 281 | 250 | 236 | 279 | 308 | 293 | 555 | 628 |
TOTAL | 13,991 | 14,827 | 16,657 | 15,981 | 18,891 | 18,032 | 19,894 | 19,951 | 18,556 |
Year | |||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
2001/02 | 2002/03 | 2003/04 | 2004/05 | 2005/06 | 2006/07 | 2007/08 | 2008/09 | 2009/10 | |
AVON & SOMERSET | 116 | 84 | 122 | 118 | 117 | 103 | 123 | 127 | 124 |
BEDFORDSHIRE | 48 | 53 | 58 | 56 | 59 | 57 | 53 | 50 | 54 |
CAMBRIDGESHIRE | 56 | 71 | 60 | 60 | 50 | 46 | 49 | 51 | 45 |
CHESHIRE | 81 | 89 | 75 | 76 | 73 | 80 | 72 | 88 | 95 |
CLEVELAND | 85 | 80 | 95 | 100 | 100 | 105 | 97 | 83 | 72 |
CITY OF LONDON | 73 | 72 | 86 | 89 | 86 | 45 | 49 | 50 | 51 |
CUMBRIA | 92 | 87 | 89 | 90 | 89 | 90 | 97 | 86 | 91 |
DERBYSHIRE | 80 | 69 | 70 | 74 | 75 | 69 | 61 | 61 | 71 |
DEVON & CORNWALL | 108 | 115 | 132 | 123 | 122 | 132 | 142 | 146 | 157 |
DORSET | 57 | 59 | 60 | 64 | 62 | 67 | 71 | 79 | 65 |
DURHAM | 86 | 102 | 97 | 103 | 100 | 102 | 89 | 82 | 81 |
ESSEX | 180 | 184 | 186 | 202 | 205 | 220 | 225 | 223 | 223 |
GLOUCESTERSHIRE | 71 | 80 | 82 | 93 | 92 | 94 | 95 | 97 | 108 |
GTR MANCHESTER | 219 | 202 | 205 | 187 | 245 | 217 | 250 | 296 | 237 |
HAMPSHIRE | 87 | 94 | 94 | 92 | 97 | 83 | 85 | 93 | 96 |
HERTFORDSHIRE | 46 | 47 | 50 | 53 | 52 | 49 | 53 | 50 | 46 |
HUMBERSIDE | 96 | 96 | 96 | 101 | 92 | 83 | 87 | 80 | 77 |
KENT | 113 | 93 | 90 | 94 | 94 | 98 | 87 | 110 | 103 |
LANCASHIRE | 138 | 129 | 122 | 115 | 123 | 103 | 143 | 105 | 94 |
LEICESTERSHIRE | 69 | 68 | 51 | 53 | 59 | 67 | 64 | 73 | 76 |
LINCOLNSHIRE | 91 | 87 | 78 | 86 | 87 | 75 | 77 | 69 | 60 |
MERSEYSIDE | 78 | 84 | 94 | 93 | 129 | 139 | 153 | 154 | 141 |
METROPOLITAN | 1,805 | 1,823 | 2,060 | 2,134 | 2,331 | 2,584 | 2,530 | 2,740 | 2,856 |
NORFOLK | 104 | 109 | 114 | 125 | 119 | 127 | 114 | 106 | 111 |
NORTHAMPTONSHIRE | 51 | 56 | 52 | 50 | 56 | 59 | 53 | 50 | 55 |
NORTHUMBRIA | 125 | 99 | 90 | 93 | 98 | 92 | 96 | 95 | 102 |
NORTH YORKSHIRE | 66 | 64 | 60 | 56 | 78 | 67 | 67 | 63 | 64 |
NOTTINGHAMSHIRE | 136 | 131 | 138 | 138 | 149 | 146 | 137 | 133 | 91 |
SOUTH YORKSHIRE | 92 | 100 | 98 | 122 | 116 | 118 | 106 | 99 | 102 |
STAFFORDSHIRE | 71 | 63 | 67 | 76 | 70 | 82 | 82 | 75 | 85 |
SUFFOLK | 90 | 80 | 96 | 88 | 84 | 78 | 74 | 67 | 68 |
SURREY | 62 | 48 | 53 | 49 | 51 | 45 | 54 | 54 | 60 |
SUSSEX | 120 | 141 | 134 | 130 | 129 | 129 | 123 | 123 | 114 |
THAMES VALLEY | 156 | 180 | 172 | 176 | 180 | 186 | 180 | 180 | 193 |
WARWICKSHIRE | 50 | 51 | 46 | 53 | 55 | 59 | 63 | 66 | 76 |
WEST MERCIA2 | 125 | 131 | 139 | 141 | 152 | 133 | 163 | 137 | 115 |
WEST MIDLANDS | 111 | 110 | 124 | 134 | 145 | 175 | 177 | 165 | 180 |
WEST YORKSHIRE | 116 | 132 | 140 | 130 | 150 | 148 | 147 | 135 | 156 |
WILTSHIRE | 71 | 78 | 80 | 74 | 72 | 69 | 67 | 74 | 69 |
DYFED POWYS | 77 | 62 | 58 | 79 | 68 | 72 | 67 | 63 | 64 |
GWENT | 57 | 60 | 71 | 74 | 86 | 64 | 63 | 54 | 61 |
NORTH WALES | 83 | 75 | 73 | 65 | 57 | 56 | 57 | 53 | 76 |
SOUTH WALES | 138 | 125 | 139 | 134 | 130 | 115 | 138 | 121 | 114 |
TOTAL | 5,776 | 5,763 | 6,096 | 6,243 | 6,584 | 6,728 | 6,780 | 6,868 | 6,979 |
Year | |||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
2001/02 | 2002/03 | 2003/04 | 2004/05 | 2005/06 | 2006/07 | 2007/08 | 2008/09 | 2009/10 | |
AVON & SOMERSET | 173 | 215 | 249 | 312 | 167 | 192 | 292 | 231 | 137 |
BEDFORDSHIRE | 172 | 269 | 414 | 419 | 534 | 639 | 1,171 | 1,188 | 819 |
CAMBRIDGESHIRE | 43 | 45 | 155 | 172 | 160 | 172 | 221 | 366 | 393 |
CHESHIRE3 | 523 | 337 | 356 | 773 | 807 | 793 | 642 | 221 | |
CLEVELAND | 13 | 63 | 86 | 154 | 285 | 290 | 554 | 661 | 426 |
CITY OF LONDON | 39 | 131 | 364 | 275 | 234 | 183 | 200 | 63 | 32 |
CUMBRIA | 53 | 45 | 65 | 134 | 90 | 72 | 74 | 56 | 51 |
DERBYSHIRE | 253 | 363 | 312 | 254 | 257 | 183 | 187 | 252 | 169 |
DEVON & CORNWALL | 76 | 32 | 94 | 54 | 54 | 76 | 120 | 138 | 168 |
DORSET | 182 | 180 | 215 | 195 | 246 | 322 | 238 | 347 | 349 |
DURHAM | 57 | 66 | 96 | 91 | 256 | 204 | 192 | 164 | 140 |
ESSEX | 165 | 176 | 138 | 138 | 155 | 224 | 226 | 391 | 273 |
GLOUCESTERSHIRE | 140 | 166 | 109 | 121 | 145 | 213 | 147 | 120 | 100 |
GTR MANCHESTER | 528 | 406 | 440 | 364 | 306 | 214 | 196 | 460 | 292 |
HAMPSHIRE | 116 | 108 | 128 | 167 | 178 | 270 | 271 | 247 | 194 |
HERTFORDSHIRE | 81 | 129 | 157 | 155 | 160 | 226 | 262 | 311 | 182 |
HUMBERSIDE | 273 | 170 | 158 | 184 | 335 | 232 | 183 | 94 | 111 |
KENT | 89 | 132 | 193 | 124 | 183 | 373 | 364 | 325 | 227 |
LANCASHIRE | 192 | 185 | 273 | 228 | 232 | 383 | 313 | 279 | 239 |
LEICESTERSHIRE | 292 | 232 | 269 | 232 | 328 | 313 | 268 | 332 | 263 |
LINCOLNSHIRE | 470 | 367 | 355 | 276 | 210 | 147 | 153 | 128 | 63 |
MERSEYSIDE | 974 | 547 | 687 | 677 | 611 | 644 | 734 | 445 | 631 |
METROPOLITAN | 1,667 | 2,447 | 2,423 | 2,322 | 2,572 | 2,770 | 2,303 | 3,283 | 3,563 |
NORFOLK | 157 | 186 | 169 | 163 | 149 | 133 | 165 | 252 | 176 |
NORTHAMPTONSHIRE | 25 | 90 | 99 | 89 | 101 | 119 | 127 | 117 | 88 |
NORTHUMBRIA | 1,349 | 1,204 | 1,063 | 893 | 585 | 299 | 199 | 129 | 134 |
NORTH YORKSHIRE | 60 | 67 | 110 | 144 | 208 | 268 | 318 | 287 | 267 |
NOTTINGHAMSHIRE | 333 | 397 | 404 | 336 | 342 | 256 | 246 | 197 | 175 |
SOUTH YORKSHIRE | 221 | 280 | 322 | 438 | 632 | 522 | 493 | 387 | 325 |
STAFFORDSHIRE | 208 | 241 | 212 | 183 | 154 | 222 | 231 | 192 | 155 |
SUFFOLK | 116 | 160 | 194 | 119 | 149 | 204 | 148 | 206 | 189 |
SURREY | 225 | 240 | 190 | 140 | 204 | 209 | 380 | 469 | 174 |
SUSSEX | 189 | 171 | 250 | 163 | 162 | 165 | 311 | 248 | 177 |
THAMES VALLEY | 174 | 167 | 179 | 265 | 355 | 227 | 254 | 292 | 272 |
WARWICKSHIRE | 104 | 31 | 138 | 102 | 144 | 121 | 113 | 100 | 92 |
WEST MERCIA | 100 | 111 | 241 | 152 | 94 | 120 | 121 | 128 | 148 |
WEST MIDLANDS1 | 563 | 592 | 975 | 952 | 745 | 518 | 716 | 739 | 689 |
WEST YORKSHIRE | 609 | 565 | 543 | 656 | 1,040 | 1,048 | 1,098 | 1,361 | 1,203 |
WILTSHIRE | 43 | 39 | 28 | 54 | 124 | 190 | 359 | 499 | 120 |
DYFED POWYS | 28 | 29 | 28 | 48 | 55 | 72 | 135 | 80 | 59 |
GWENT | 16 | 16 | 23 | 74 | 85 | 109 | 257 | 138 | 147 |
NORTH WALES | 265 | 198 | 153 | 180 | 299 | 295 | 221 | 156 | 107 |
SOUTH WALES | 218 | 253 | 161 | 165 | 223 | 283 | 222 | 485 | 570 |
TOTAL | 11,574 | 11,848 | 13,218 | 13,137 | 14,355 | 14,515 | 15,425 | 16,564 | 14,089 |
Year | |||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
2001/02 | 2002/03 | 2003/04 | 2004/05 | 2005/06 | 2006/07 | 2007/08 | 2008/09 | 2009/10 | |
INCIDENTS | 11 | 10 | 4 | 5 | 9 | 3 | 7 | 5 | 6 |
% of incidents compared with number of authorised operations | 0.079 | 0.067 | 0.024 | 0.031 | 0.048 | 0.017 | 0.033 | 0.025 | 0.032 |
Source: Association of Chief Police Officers (Does not include discharges for animal destruction or during police training) |
Notes for tables:
1. Revised figure for 2007/08 from West Midlands Police
2. Revised figure for 2008/09 from West Mercia Constabulary
3. Cheshire did not record ARV operations for 2009/10
Source: Home Office Public Order Unit, based on information aggregated from figures provided by individual police forces as part of the Home Office annual data requirement. This was followed by a further quality assurance process involving the Home Office asking individual forces to verify and sign off their figures.
The information provided is a regular annual update of figures previously published and available on the Home Office website here:
http://tna.europarchive.org/20100419081706/http:/www.police.homeoffice.gov.uk/operational-policing/firearms/index.html.
Home Office guidance to forces for providing these figures is contained within the booklet “Annual Data Requirement, Police Personnel and Performance Data, Notes for Guidance”. For the purpose of this statistical return AFOs are deemed to be deployed when
“they are required to conduct a specific task during which their possession of a firearm (with appropriate authorisation) is a required element”(Chapter 3, paragraph 3.1 ACPO “Manual of Guidance on Police Use of Firearms”).
In addition to the total number of operations, a further sub-category is required regarding those operations where the initial or sole response is by armed response vehicle (ARV).
Each incident will be classed as only one operation regardless of the number of personnel/deployments or tactics employed to deal with the incident.
Deployments also include those incidents where AFOs “self-authorise”.
The number of officers authorised to use firearms as at 31 March 2010.