Armed Policing

There should be clearer guidance from the MPS, College of Policing and/or the NPCC on the separation of roles between the Senior Investigating Officer (SIO) and the Tactical and Strategic …

When intelligence is being provided, the use of any language that is capable of misinterpretation is to be avoided. Training to address this point should be provided to all officers …

Only those officers who have received the requisite training and accreditation should be posted to a Covert Monitoring Post (CMP).

There should be clear and unequivocal written guidance for the CMP from the TFC as to the key information and intelligence that is being sought.

The training referred to in paragraph 15.11 must emphasise the importance of covert monitoring officers (CMOs) making accurate notes of: (a) what they have heard; and (b) what they have …

CMPs should not be established without the appointment of a properly trained CMP manager, whose responsibility it should be to appoint a team of CMOs, once satisfied from proper assessment …

When a CMP is being used to gather evidence or intelligence, the MPS (and other forces) should consider developing an SOP to ensure that the information is adequately recorded to …

APP-AP should be amended to cover the following: a. Sustained public protection should never be the object of an operation unless and until there is a clearly recorded note of …

Police medic training should emphasise that, in cases of catastrophic external torso haemorrhage, the immediate action is to apply direct pressure and then progress directly to using haemostatic gauze. Chest …

Training should be made mandatory for command officers in the use of the Computer Logging of Intelligence Operations (CLIO) system and the Serious Organised Crime Tasking and Briefing (SOCTAB) system …

Advice should be given by the College of Policing about the benefits of uniformity in instructions and commands. Ultimate discretion as to what is said must be left to the …

Training should emphasise that multidimensional risk assessments must be carried out throughout police operations, including the planning and briefing of operations. Those risk assessments should assess the future threat and …

There needs to be proper and objective consideration by the NPCC as to whether, and if so when, it is appropriate for a firearms officer to return to active deployment …

There should be an amendment to the Criminal Procedure Rules which govern the process in applications for a firearms presence in court – a requirement for witness statements, sworn evidence …

There should be training of those who are authorised by reason of rank to present such applications at court, and no-one should act as a substitute for a properly authorised …

Consideration should be given by the MPS, Home Office and the NPCC to finding a more suitable solution for smashing windows during the course of an armed operation, so that …

In order to provide for efficacy and transparency, the NPCC and College of Policing should be tasked with providing a document management system for FA (and equivalent) forms. The system …

There should be an amendment to FA (and equivalent) forms to: a. encourage a multidimensional risk assessment (to comply with Article 2) to minimise, to the greatest extent possible, recourse …

Appropriate training and refresher courses on the usage and completion of FA (and equivalent) forms should be made compulsory for firearms commanders and Tactical Advisors.

The NPCC should commission a national review of the frequency with which this strategic option is used and its efficacy. The NPCC should consider whether contain and call out is …

MPS Armed Policing Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) to be amended so that: a. Notes and/or audio recordings should be made of all meetings in relation to general strategy where it …

The NPCC and/or College of Policing should ensure that these amendments are reflected in the guidance and training given to forces nationally.

The College of Policing's Authorised Professional Practice – Armed Policing (APP-AP) should clarify that, during the course of an operation, any relevant intelligence should be briefed out to the firearms …

A national policing body should manage a national register of recommendations relating to armed policing, and the response to such recommendations, arising from Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) reports, …

Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire & Rescue Services (“HMICFRS”) should conduct a thematic inspection or inspections concerning: (i) the selection and training of officers authorised to use weapons …

The Secretary of State for the Home Department should ensure that the new Code of Practice on Police use of Firearms and Less Lethal Weapons contains an express prohibition on …

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 …

Greater Manchester Police (“GMP”) should design and promulgate a written policy that specifically relates to the collection, analysis and dissemination of intelligence for the purposes of planned armed deployments within …

All documents and training relating to Mobile Armed Support to Surveillance (MASTS) should: clearly differentiate between MASTS as an operational method of supporting surveillance (and delivering a standard range of …

The National Police Chiefs’ Council (“NPCC”) should, in the formulation of policy, take into account that, when establishing the facts, discharging investigative obligations and ensuring openness and transparency following the …

The National Police Chiefs' Council (NPCC) should consider whether to recommend equipping unmarked vehicles used in Mobile Armed Support to Surveillance (MASTS) interventions with apparatus designed to identify to subjects …

The National Police Chiefs' Council (NPCC) and the College of Policing should jointly decide, in the light of independent expert advice, whether there should be a maximum period of time …

Thus, I recommend that, as soon as is reasonably practicable, the MPS undertake a full, thorough review of all aspects of Operation Tayport.

At an early date there should be liaison between the IPCC, the MPS and ACPO (and, more significantly, lawyers acting for each) with a view to establishing a protocol for …

It is that in the event of a shooting by an MPS officer that results in death or serious injury, the Commissioner should thereupon appoint a senior officer to conduct …