Guidelines for police on issue & use of firearms
01 January 1991
Guidelines for police on issue & use of firearms
bacdoc March=1992
[These guidelines were adopted in February 1987, replacing the
ones of March 1983]
Principles governing issue
1. Firearms are to be issued only where there is reason to
believe that a police officer may have to face a person who is
armed or otherwise so dangerous that he could not safely be
restrained without the use of firearms; they may also be
issued for protection purposes or for the destruction of
dangerous animals.
Principles governing use
2. Firearms are to be fired by police officers only as a
last resort when conventional methods have been tried and
failed, or must, from the nature of the circumstances
obtaining, be unlikely to succeed if tried. They may be fired,
for example, when it is apparent that a police officer cannot
achieve the lawful purpose of preventing loss, or further
loss, of life by any other means.
Authority to issue
3. Authority to issue firearms should be given by an
officer of ACPO rank, save where a delay in getting in touch
with such an officer could result in loss of life or serious
injury, in which case a Chief Superintendent or Superintendent
may authorise issue. In such circumstances an officer of ACPO
rank should be informed as soon as possible. Special
arrangements may apply where firearms are issued regularly for
protection purposes, but these should be authorised by an
officer of ACPO rank in the first instance.
Conditions of issue and use
4. The ACPO Manual of Guidance on the Police Use of
Firearms is the single authoritative source of guidance on
tactical and operational matters relating to the use of
firearms by the police.
5. Firearms should be issued only to officers who have been
trained and authorised in a particular class of weapon.
Officers authorised to use firearms must attend regular
refresher courses and those failing to do so or to reach the
qualifying standard will lose their authorisation and must not
thereafter be issued with firearms. Authorised firearms
officers must hold an authorisation card showing the type(s)
of weapon that may be issued to them. The authorisation card
must be produced before a weapon is Issued and must always be
carried when the officer is armed. The card holder's signature
in the issue register should be verified against the signature
on the officer's warrant card. The card should be issued
without alteration and should have an expiry date.
6. Records of issue and operational use must be maintained.
All occasions on which shots are fired by police officers
other than to destroy animals must be thoroughly investigated
by a senior officer and a full written report prepared.
Briefing
7. In any armed operation briefing by senior officers is of
paramount Importance and must include both authorised firearms
officers and non-firearms personnel involved in the operation.
Senior officers must stress the objective of the operation
including specifically the individual responsibility of
authorised firearms officers. Particular attention must be
paid to the possible presence of innocent parties.
Use of minimum force
8. Nothing In these guidelines affects the principle, to
which Section 3 of the Criminal Law Act 1967 gives effect,
that only such force as is reasonable in the circumstances may
be used. The degree of force justified will vary according to
the circumstances of each case. Responsibility for firing a
weapon rests with the individual officer and a decision to do
so may have to be justified in legal proceedings.
Warning
9. If it is reasonable to do so an oral warning is to be
given before opening fire.
10. Urgent steps are to be taken Lo ensure that early
medical attention is provided for any casualties.
Summary
11. A brief summary of the most important points for an
individual officer is attached. It is suggested that this
summary be placed o