AN UPLIFT in the number of police firearms officers in the UK and South Yorkshire would be welcomed \u2013 but they must be supported if they discharge their weapons, the Police Federation have said.<\/p>\n
According to Home Office figures, there are 98 armed officers in South Yorkshire Police, which is up 10 on last year, down 4 on 2010.<\/p>\n
In 2010, Home Office forces in England and Wales had 6,976 armed police officers. At the last count they had 6,278. That’s down 698 but up more than 600 on the 2016 figure.<\/p>\n
Zuleika Payne, Chair of South Yorkshire Police Federation said \u201cwe need to ensure support is in place for officers upon the discharge of a firearm.\u201d<\/p>\n
She said: \u201cYou listen to officers\u2019 accounts up and down the country when people have been investigated following a shooting, it is an incredibly stressful experience for officers.<\/p>\n
\u201cOne has to bear in mind people volunteer to become a firearms officer, so one can fully understand why you wouldn\u2019t volunteer for that extra responsibility and the implications of what that could potentially bring with it.\u201d<\/p>\n
Throughout August, the Police Federation of England Wales ran a survey asking officers whether they want to carry a firearm on patrol.<\/p>\n
Zuleika added: \u201cIt\u2019s an interesting era, the last time we ran this survey was 2006, the options available to officers were very different to what we have now. Taser had been introduced in only a few forces.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe are awaiting the results of the survey to gather opinions around routine arming, however Taser is favoured as a less lethal option and actually a safer option. So it will be interesting to see, with the option of Taser, what the outcome of the survey will be. The general feeling is that there isn\u2019t an appetite for all officers to be routinely armed at this moment in time.\u201d<\/p>\n