Firearms

Firearms officer

Leicestershire Constabulary Firearms Section, which is made-up of 60 specially trained officers, provides a 24-hour firearms response across Leicester, Leicestershire and Rutland.

Together with responding to firearms incidents and incidents of violence of such severity where the availability of taser may be considered, the section is also responsible for VIP protection, armed security checks and making safe and forensically recovering weapons.

The operational response by the section to a spontaneous firearms incident will include a tactical firearms team and may also include armed policing enquiries, vehicle stops and street arrests.

In addition to the standard issue firearms, officers now also have the less-lethal option of the Baton Gun and the Taser stun gun.

The Weapons Training section has 8 instructors and is responsible for the recruitment, selection, training and monitoring of all firearms officers. It also ensures that the relevant training is given to those who command operations involving firearms and that familiarisation training is given to the relevant staff.

The section ensures that all staff who may have to deal with a firearms-related incident have had the relevant training and support to enable them to carry out their responsibilities as safely and effectively as possible.

Officers from the section have been at the forefront of raising awareness of the dangers of carrying replica weapons promoting the 'Split Second' education pack to schools throughout the Force area.