AG-4 Response Accepted

North West Armed Policing SOP Amendment

Recommendation

The North West Armed Policing Standard Operating Procedure on Weapons and Ammunition should be amended so that it only permits the use of new specialist munitions that have been approved in accordance with the Code of Practice for Armed Policing and Less Lethal Weapons.

Published Evidence Summary
The following publicly available evidence relates to this recommendation:
Government reports this recommendation as delivered. Implementation status based on Government Response to the Anthony Grainger Public Inquiry (May 2020)..
Sources
Government response (2020-05-21): Accepted Source: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/response-to-the-anthony-grainger-public-inquiry/government-response-to-the-anthony-grainger-public-inquiry-accessible-version Text: 20. The use of CS dispersal canisters by GMP during Operation Shire was a focus of concern for the Inquiry. The CS dispersal canisters had not been through the approval process that includes the identification of an operational requirement by NPCC, testing by the Defence Science and Technology Labor Progress update (2020-05-21): Completed Implementation status based on Government Response to the Anthony Grainger Public Inquiry (May 2020). Source: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/response-to-the-anthony-grainger-public-inquiry/government-response-to-the-anthony-grainger-public-inquiry-accessible-version
How was this evidence gathered?
Evidence searched by baseline-data-v1 on 26 May 2026
Checked data held on this site (government responses, progress updates, independent evidence)
External sources searched: www.gov.uk
This recommendation applies across many organisations. The evidence above reflects central policy activity; adoption in individual organisations may vary.
Jurisdiction
England and Wales
Response
Accepted
Accepted Greater Manchester Police
21 May 2020

20. The use of CS dispersal canisters by GMP during Operation Shire was a focus of concern for the Inquiry. The CS dispersal canisters had not been through the approval process that includes the identification of an operational requirement by NPCC, testing by the Defence Science and Technology Laboratory (Dstl) and approval by the Home Secretary for use by police forces in the UK. 21. Greater Manchester Police has informed the Government that in anticipation of a recommendation of this nature, they have revised their Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) to set out that only Less Lethal Weapons and Specialist Munitions which have been approved by Defence Science and Technology laboratories (Dstl), NPCC and Home Office should be used. 22. GMP are updating the SOP now that the new Code of Practice for Armed Policing and Less Lethal Weapons has been published.

Read Full Response
Source
Inquiry Anthony Grainger Inquiry
Report The Anthony Grainger Inquiry Report into the Death of Anthony Grainger 11 Jul 2019
View Source
Responsible Bodies
Greater Manchester Police Primary
Themes & Tags
Police Vetting Inconsistencies Emergency responder equipment training Armed Policing Weapons Standard Operating Procedures North West
Recommendation age 6.9 yrs
Last formal update 2201 days ago