Govt takes three years to produce 325 words on police firearms

Today the Home Office slipped out its long-awaited Firearms Review designed to examine whether firearms officers had enough protections to carry out their jobs.

Ordered by then PM David Cameron in December 2015, it has taken more than three years to publish a news story on the Home Office website, which includes the 325 words specifically about the firearms review.

The rest of the document is taken up with confirmation that the police watchdog’s post-incident guidance for firearms is now law, even though it was initially published last October, and a link to revised Crown Prosecution Service guidance on prosecutions of police officers.

Ché Donald, Vice Chair of the Police Federation of England and Wales (PFEW) said: “This was meant to be a meaningful review to allay the very real fears of serving firearms officers around being adequately protected and not treated as suspects just for doing their job.

“It was announced when the Government was anxious to recruit an extra 1500 firearms officers after the Paris terror attack and heightened fears in the UK. These fears were then realised with a spate of devastating home-grown attacks in London and Manchester.

“Three years down the line there is still a shortfall of more than 600 firearms officers – and a review that appears to have been written on the back of a cigarette packet.”

Read the full article here: (Police Federation)