Police bosses to review firearms role as more attend routine calls
Police bosses are to look into the policy of sending armed personnel to routine call-outs as reports reveal 5,000 firearms officers attended callouts last year.
The Scottish Government’s community safety minister Ash Denham insisted that armed police were not “routinely” sent to everyday incidents and their attendance was proportionate.
Scotland’s firearms officers attended 5,250 incidents that did not require an armed response, figures obtained by the BBC yesterday revealed.
Ms Denham revealed the Scottish Police Authority (SPA) was keeping the policy under review and would discuss the issue at their board meeting later this month.
A change in approach last May saw armed officers deployed to more call-outs of a more routine nature where speed of response and vulnerability were key issues.
Ms Denham said it was a “sensible use of police time”.
But she added; “I spoke today to the chair of the SPA and was informed that the SPA board membershadalreadyplanned to consider that first year of the revised deployment at its next board meeting later this month.”
Officers in armed response vehicles also helped find more than 3,500 missing or vulnerable people since their role was extended last May, as well as providing medical assistance at more than 600 incidents.
Ms Denham said: “These changes have allowed armed officers to utilise their core policing skills and attend incidents where speed of response or vulnerability was a key factor.
“The incidents referred to equate to around 0.3 per cent of the total number of police incidents Police Scotland officers attend each year.”
They have also dealt with more than 1,000 road traffic matters, including collisions, speeding and drink-driving offences, according to Police Scotland.
The force respond to about 1.8 million incidents each year.
Chief Superintendent Matt Richards, commander of Police Scotland’s Specialist Services Division, told BBC Scotland’s The Nine: “Our armed response officers are extremely highly trained.
“Overall, they’re providing a higher level of service – and more quickly – to the public.”
Mr Richards said the use of firearms was always a “last resort”, saying that in his experience even the presence of a Taser had “caused a huge drop in violence and, in particular, injuries to the public”.
Firearms officers are equipped with a handgun and Taser, which they carry while attending routine incidents.