Policing UK 2013 - Police Federation

THE ROLE OF POLICE
Fire power and
less lethal options
Eran N. Bauer explains
where firearms and use of
force fit in to British policing
Eran N. Bauer is Director
of Civil Defence Supply
This could well be a sterile technical
paper on equipment, tactics and
effectiveness. I personally believe
we should concentrate more on the way
the law internationally, but in particular
English law, dictates what we can and
cannot do with regard to use of force.
The UK police is a totally accountable
service, policing by consent. Every officer
has to justify their perception of a threat
and react within set parameters dictated
by rules of engagement and limitations
of reaction.
What sets us aside from other nations
is that our police are fundamentally unarmed
and have to find creative methods
to survive in today’s violent society. This
is one reason why research into and the
adoption of less lethal options such as use
of physical means, the baton, chemical
incapacitants, TASER and 37mm
kinetics have an important place within
our response to threat.
For years, policing disturbances in
Northern Ireland became the proving
ground of many new procedures,
especially as firearms were often used
against the Royal Ulster Constabulary
(RUC) and Army. It took about 30
years for these methods to become
commonplace on the streets of mainland
Britain. Today, the public take little or
no notice of armoured Land Rovers
being deployed, armed police operations,
ranks of police in full personal protective
equipment (PPE), shields, helmets and
batons drawn, even at football matches.
Television coverage on prison riots
such as Strangeways and Risley ran
parallel to publicising the inner-city riots
that followed. Toxteth in Liverpool, St
Paul’s in Bristol, Brixton in London and
Hansworth in Birmingham were the last
major incidents where traditional British
bobbies were seen in their duty uniforms
attempting to quell a serious challenge.
A massive review followed, with reequipment
and re-training including
the creation of the Gold, Silver and
Bronze command structure. Today, most
post-operational debriefs report that
public perception is that public safety
fully justified how and why forces of law
and order were deployed, even though
shops and houses were destroyed and
communities hurt.
Changing threats
Disorder and threats to law and order
are ever changing. What were serious
but isolated incidents, such as random
IRA bombings and the Miners’ Strike,
changed into the global threats of
terrorist atrocities (9-11, 7-7), religious
extremism, regional disorder, increasing
use of firearms and knives in gang
warfare and street disorder. In addition,
rises in drug and alcohol abuse fuelled
by social change such as the recession
encourage criminality and protest.
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