Authorised firearms officer

An authorised firearms officer in London, England on 29 April 2011 on duty for the Royal Wedding

A Ministry of Defence Police officer on duty in London with an MP7 Personal Defense Weapon.

Authorised firearms officers standing guard at the entrance to Downing Street, London, home of the UK Prime Minister. This officer is attached to the Diplomatic Protection Group.

North Wales Police authorised firearms officers with Heckler & Koch G36C rifle during UK general election in June 2017

An authorised firearms officer (AFO) is a British police officer who is authorised, and has been trained, to carry and use firearms. The designation is significant because in the United Kingdom most police officers do not routinely carry firearms, although they can be equipped with tasers. The only forces where officers are routinely armed are the Police Service of Northern Ireland, the Ministry of Defense Police, the Civil Nuclear Constabulary, Belfast Harbour Police and the Belfast International Airport Constabulary.

In 2019/20 fiscal year, there were 19,372 police operations throughout England and Wales in which the deployment of firearms was authorised and 6,518 firearms officers, 4.9% of the 132,467 active FTE officers.^[1] Following the November 2015 Paris attacks it was decided to significantly increase the numbers of armed officers, particularly in London.^[2]

AFOs can be up-skilled with additional qualifications, such as Armed Response Vehicle Officer (ARVO), Specialist Firearms Officer (SFO), Counter Terrorist Specialist Firearms Officer (CTSFO) – alongside other specialities, including rifles.

Training[]

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All police forces in the United Kingdom have an AFO selection process,^[3] varying slightly between each force. As with many police specialities, all authorised firearms officers have volunteered for the role. Candidates are required to gain approval from their superiors before embarking on a series of interviews, psychological and physical fitness tests, medical examinations and assessment days, before permission to commence firearms training is given. There is no guarantee of success; candidates can be returned to their previous role at any point in training if they do not meet the required standard.

Once authorised, AFOs must pass regular refresher training and retests in order to maintain their authorisation. Failure to meet the required standards can result in the officer having their firearms authorisation revoked. Health or fitness problems can also result in temporary or permanent suspension from firearms duties.^{[citation needed]}

Use of authorised firearms officers[]

AFOs are used by some specialist units of police forces throughout the United Kingdom, who by nature of their role have a requirement to deploy armed police officers. Such units include the Diplomatic Protection Group of the Metropolitan Police Service, armed response vehicles in various police forces throughout the UK, in airport policing, and officers of the Ministry of Defence Police^[4] and the Civil Nuclear Constabulary.

It is also known that the National Crime Agency makes use of AFOs, notably having an Armed Operations Unit. These officers rarely engage in anti-terror operations, but primarily focus actions on violent, organised crime – including the trafficking of firearms.

Legal status of the use of firearms[]

The use of firearms by the police is covered by statute (such as the Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1984 and Human Rights Act 1998), policy (such as the Home Office Code of Practice on Police use of Firearms and Less Lethal Weapons and the ACPO Manual of Guidance on Police Use of Firearms) and common law.

AFOs may only carry firearms when authorised by an "appropriate authorising officer".^[5] The appropriate authorising officer must be of the rank of inspector or higher.^[6] When working at airports, nuclear sites, on protection duties and deployed in armed response vehicles in certain areas, 'standing authority' is granted to carry personal sidearms.^[7] All members of the Police Service of Northern Ireland have authority to carry a personal issue handgun as a matter of routine, both on duty and off.^[8]

United Kingdom law allows the use of "reasonable force" in order to make an arrest or prevent a crime^[9][10] or to defend oneself.^[11] However, if the force used is fatal, then the European Convention of Human Rights only allows "the use of force which is no more than absolutely necessary".^[12] Firearms officers may therefore only discharge their weapons "to stop an imminent threat to life".^[13]

ACPO policy states that "use" of a firearm includes both pointing it at a person and discharging it (whether accidentally, negligently or on purpose).^[14] As with all use of force in England and Wales, the onus is on the individual officer to justify their actions in court.^[15]

Firearms currently used by AFOs[]

Different police forces in the United Kingdom use different firearms. For forces in England and Wales, guidance is provided from ACPO and the Home Office.^[16] Decisions on which weapons will be employed by an individual police force largely rest with the chief constable.

Metropolitan Police[]

Within the London's Metropolitan Police, there are a number of Operational Command Units (OCUs) that employ AFOs.

• The Belmarsh Firearms Team protects trials at Woolwich Crown Court
• The Territorial Support Group has a small pool of AFOs for assisting other armed officers in the event of a major terror attack.^[17]
• The Specialist Crime Directorate arms certain surveillance officers.
• Most detectives in the Flying Squad are armed.
• Special Branch deploys armed officers in its surveillance units, and in A Squad, which protects the Prime Minister and other dignitaries.
• Royalty and Diplomatic Protection, which protects members of the Royal Family and high level government officials, and guards royal property.
• Special Escort Group, which escorts and protects high-risk convoys and VIPs such as the Prime Minister and the Queen. SEG officers are armed with Glock 17 pistols and Tasers.
• Parliamentary and Diplomatic Protection, which guards embassies and government buildings. It also provides the armed guards at Parliament to supplement the Palace of Westminster Division, which is unarmed.
• Aviation Security, which protects Heathrow and London City airports.
• Specialist Firearms Command (SCO19), which provides armed support to the rest of the service, crewing Armed Response Vehicles responding to spontaneous and pre-planned firearms operations.

Numbers of AFOs by police force[]

The numbers of firearms officers ranges from 31 in Warwickshire to 2,394 in the Metropolitan Police, although outside London there are only three forces with more than 200 firearms officers, those being Greater Manchester, Thames Valley and West Midlands.^[18]

See also[]

• Firearms policy in the United Kingdom
• Garda Armed Support Units, Irish version of AFOs

References[]

External links[]

• Police Scotland, firearms policing