Firearms operations in South Yorkshire increase by 38%

THE number of firearms operations increased by 38% at South Yorkshire Police last year, according to the latest figures.

There were 500 operations in which firearms were authorised in the policing year 2013/14, com-pared with 362 the previous year – an increase of 38.

This bucked the national trend, where firearms operations fell by 4% across England and Wales, statistics released by the Home Office showed this month.

Taser was used a total of 91 times at South Yorkshire Police in 2014, statistics from the Home Office have shown.

Across the 43 police forces, there were 14,864 police firearms operations in the year ending March 2014. This represents a fall of 36% since the year ending March 2009.

Police officers discharged firearms in just two operations in the year ending March 2014. The figure has been six or fewer in each of the previous five years.

NPCC Lead on Armed Policing, Deputy Chief Constable Simon Chesterman, said: “I am confident that our highly skilled, highly trained and highly accountable firearms officers are carrying out their duties with professionalism and restraint. On a daily basis they put themselves in harm’s way to pro-tect the public.

“The threat from terrorism remains severe and this, coupled with the threats associated with serious and organised crime and violent individuals, means that we will continue to rely on armed police to step forward and protect us. I am proud of our armed policing capability and the police service works tirelessly to constantly improve our training and tactics.”

NPCC Lead on Less-Lethal Weapons, Deputy Assistant Commissioner Neil Basu, said: “Taser provides officers with the ability to deal with violence or threats of violence at a distance, and has saved many lives. Indeed it must be acknowledged that on 80% of occasions, the mere presence of the Taser or the red dot sighting system is enough to bring that situation to a swift and peaceful conclusion without the need for any force to be used.”

To see the reports in full, go to: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/police-use-of-taser-statistics-england-and-wales-1-january-to-31-december-2014 and https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/police-use-of-firearms-statistics-england-and-wales-financial-year-ending-31-march-2014-data-tables.