Routine arming is not necessary to fight terrorism

THE police service does not need routine arming to fight terrorism, Northumbria Police Federation has said, in response to recent calls for more guns on the beat.

Following the attacks in Westminster, Manchester and London Bridge, questions have been asked about whether all officers should carry firearms.

Jim Gray, Northumbria Federation Chairman, said: “We need a calm and considered response to this.

“Yes the public need to be reassured, and there is the matter of officer safety to think about as well. But I don’t think there is a groundswell of support for the routine arming of officers.”

Mr Gray said the recent uplift in Tasers and training should be sufficient to respond to the threat, as well as ensuring that authorised firearms teams around the country are adequately staffed and equipped.

He added: “We need to ensure we have ready access to properly trained firearms officers who can support non-armed officers on the streets. The speed of response is important, so that ties in with the number of officers we actually have available.

“Northumbria has had a firearms uplift recently, and I know our chief has looked to uplift the number of Taser-trained officers. We also changed the Taser policy so now you don’t have to be double-crewed to carry Taser, which is a significant change to the way we do things.

“I think routinely arming officers isn’t necessary the answer. It is more important that unarmed officers have ready access to swift support from fully equipped and trained firearm officers.”

Nearly half of all Met officers want more firearms specialists, with 75% believing they should all be armed with Tasers, a recent survey from the force’s federation found. And West Yorkshire Police has just launched a questionnaire for all officers asking if they want to carry a sidearm.