UK to Get More Armed Officers
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The Metropolitan Police has announced that 600 extra officers are to be trained in firearms, to help counter potential terrorist attacks on London.
This would be a 25% increase in firearms officers, bringing the total number to 2,800.
Sir Bernard Hogan-Howe, Met Commissioner, said “It will be an expensive option, but is vital to keeping us safe.”
The news comes after Scotland Yard reassessed its ability to respond to armed attacks after the attacks on Paris in November.
Plans are already under way to increase the number of armed officers, which would “more than double the number of armed response vehicles on our streets, and grow a highly-trained specialist part of our capability.”
“My firearms officers are our heroes – we expect them to run towards a terrorist attack and to confront and stop that threat,” the Met Commissioner said.
Thousands of police, including armed officers, were on duty for the New Year’s celebrations in central London, however, these were “purely precautionary,” according to the Met office.
Hogan-Howe said he had no intention of changing the fundamental principle that the British police force do not carry guns on routine, with 92% of officers still remaining unarmed.
He said the decision had been made due to the UK facing imminent threat that was “likely to be a spontaneous attack that requires a fast response to deal with.
The terror threat level in the UK is now severe, meaning an attack is “highly likely”. UK counter-terrorism also revealed for the first time that armed police forces were being told to step over casualties to confront gunmen should there be an attack.
City of London Police Commissioner Adrian Leppard suggested that the Army could be called in to man armed cordons if there happened to be multiple attacks at once.
Officers are now being set up for training internally, while other local commissioners debate whether other cities should have armed response also.