getting the balance right the use of firearms in british policing

No one could forget the shocking events of the London bombings on 7 and 21 July 2005, followed so closely by the tragic death of Jean-Charles de Menezes at the hands of Metropolitan Police officers the same month. But what must have been particularly disturbing for the police service and firearms officers, in particular, was the subsequent public debate on the police use of lethal force. To give a typical example, the BBC reported on 22 July 2005: will police now shoot to kill? There can be no doubt that the police use of force, especially when it is lethal, attracts a sea of newspaper headlines, blogs and commentaries. But public perceptions may, in fact, be fundamentally flawed. I have often been asked the question why the police did not shoot in the leg if they just want to stop someone. What responsibilities do the police service and Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC) have to deal with these misunderstandings? The facts are well known within the police service, although not so well known outside it. British police forces' record for avoiding use of lethal force compares favourably with other jurisdictions. Forty-eight people have been shot dead by police in England and Wales since 1985, an average of two people per year or under one person in 25 million a year. This contrasts with the ten officer-involved fatal shootings in the city of Portland, Oregon, population 562,690, in 2002/2003, or thirty police shootings in Cape Town, South Africa, population 4.7 million, in the year 2006/07. The prime purpose of firearms operations in the UK is to protect the public by reducing or removing the threat posed, avoiding the use of lethal force unless absolutely necessary. Language: en