page_title: Firearms unit
section_title: Tactics
hierarchical_section_title: Firearms unit / Organization, history, training and tactics / Tactics
caption_attribution_description: English: A police officer guards the entrance to Downing Street, London, home of the UK Prime Minister. Taken by Adrian Pingstone in June 2005 and released to the public domain.
context_page_description: A firearms unit is an armed unit within each territorial police force in the United Kingdom. For the most part, the police forces of the United Kingdom are unarmed; however, all have firearms units to provide the police force with the capability to deal with terrorists and armed criminals. A police officer cannot apply to join the firearms unit without first finishing their two-year probationary period, with a further two years in a core policing role for some forces. Firearms unit is the most common name outside of the capital, while that of London's Metropolitan Police Service is called the Specialist Firearms Command, Trojan or SC&O19. Within the media it is sometimes compared to the SWAT units of the United States.
  Typically, criminals do not carry firearms in the UK and the number of firearms available to criminals is generally low compared to other Western nations partly due to it being harder to smuggle them into the UK as an island nation and partly due to the United Kingdom's gun laws requiring licensing and background checks to legally acquire and possess most types of firearms.
context_section_description: Upon an emergency call being received about an incident involving firearms, an Armed Response Vehicle crewed by AFOs would be dispatched. The AFOs first on scene would attempt to contain an armed subject if they are inside a building, whereas if they were in the open where an immediate threat is posed a quicker solution would be sought. If a subject is inside a building which is barricaded, AFOs would most likely assault the building as long as it does not require specialist entry or the motive of the subject is terrorist affiliated. If the building required specialist entry or a terrorist gain, Specialist Firearms Officers would attempt to assault the building. Pending authorisation from the Home Office to deploy SFOs, ARV officers would organise an inner and outer cordon. The inner being made up of armed officers, and the outer of unarmed to prevent members of the public gaining entry and prevent traffic entering the affected area. Efforts would be made to evacuate people in the immediate vicinity so that they are not at risk of stray gunfire, or confine them to their homes for their own safety. A control room would be established where emergency services can liaise and plan the operation, along with a mobile canteen nearby. The police would employ the Gold Silver Bronze command structure, with a Gold Commander being a senior officer overseeing events from a nearby police station, the Silver Commander who would oversee events from the on-scene control room, and the Bronze Commander who would be as close to the incident as possible.
  In the preliminary stages of a siege or hostage situation, an observation point is allocated and assigned a marksman. A deliberate action plan would be devised, briefing each member of the assault team on the entry points, and details of the assault. Negotiations are made allowing the hostage takers to issue demands, which are usually done to acquire time and avoid harm to the hostages. The negotiations would be attended by a psychological profiler to assess the hostage takers state of mind, such as whether they have been forced into the situation through avoiding arrest or have a wider objective.
  If negotiations deteriorate to a point where hostages are placed at risk of immediate death or injury, an assault by SFOs may be authorised. In a minority of cases, the police may hand over responsibility to the British Army Special Forces.
  The structure of police assault teams vary, but the most commonly deployed are:
  "Shield officer" - carrying a ballistic shield to cover the team from being fired upon.
  "Baton officer" - carrying a baton (as well as a firearm) to engage any unarmed offenders.
  Method of entry Specialist - responsible for opening barricaded doors, usually armed with a Remington shotgun.
  "Cover officer" - responsible for protecting the other members of the team as they carry out their functions.
  "Prisoner reception officer" - responsible for handling prisoners.
  A team leader and a police dog may enter.
  Such an assault may be preceded by "ferret" CS gas canisters fired into the property, to concuss and soften resistance.
  Following an assault firearms officers have made the premises safe, by clearing it out of offenders and making both police and offenders weapons safe. Scenes of Crime Officers will forensically seal both police and other weapons for examination to discover if either have been discharged, and to be used as evidence in court.
caption: A Metropolitan police officer attached to the DPG guards an entrance to Downing Street, London, home of the Prime Minister.
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