Police use of firearms in the United Kingdom
[4] Male members of Northern Ireland's police force, the Royal Ulster Constabulary (RUC), were armed from the beginning due to the threat from the Irish Republican Army (IRA).
It remained an armed police force, partly due to the continued threat from dissident Irish republicanism.
[7][8] Police officers at PSNI have access to a wide range of weapons, which include firearms, CS spray, water cannon, attenuating energy projectiles and tasers.
[vague] This is, however, not due to changes at PSNI but on account of the increasing adoption of its policing methods and practices in the rest of the UK.[which?
It was decided that the Ministry of Defence would issue Sten guns, Lee–Enfield No4 Mk IIs, revolvers and ammunition to police divisions around the country.
The issue of routine arming in Great Britain was raised after the 1952 Derek Bentley case, in which a constable was shot dead and a sergeant severely wounded, and again after the 1966 Massacre of Braybrook Street, in which three London officers were killed.
After the deaths of a number of members of the public in the 1980s fired upon by police,[citation needed] control was considerably tightened, many officers had their firearm authorisation revoked, and training for the remainder was greatly improved.
In October 2000, Nottinghamshire Police introduced regular armed patrols to the St Ann's and Meadows estates in Nottingham, in response to fourteen drug-related shootings in the two areas in the previous year.
[17] Although the measure was not intended to be permanent, patrols were stepped up in late 2001 after further shootings,[18] after which the firearms crime declined dramatically.
[24] In 2013, Police Scotland was formed with the inaugural Chief Constable granting a standing authority for ARV officers to overtly wear handguns, instead of being secured or concealed, and to deploy their weapons without requiring approval and also to be tasked for routine incidents (non-firearms incidents).
[25][26] A survey conducted by the Scottish Police Authority showed that 53% of the public supported sending ARV officers to routine calls and incidents while wearing a visible sidearm.
[34] When working at airports, nuclear sites, on Protection Duties and deployed in Armed Response Vehicles in certain areas, 'Standing Authority' is granted to carry personal sidearms.
[35] All members of the Police Service of Northern Ireland have authority to carry a personal issue handgun as a matter of routine, both on duty and off.
[11] United Kingdom law allows the use of "reasonable force" to make an arrest or prevent a crime[37][38] or to defend oneself.
[41] ACPO policy states that "use" of a firearm includes both pointing it at a person and discharging it (whether accidentally or negligently, or intentionally).
[45] Many police shootings in the UK were carried out by the Royal Ulster Constabulary (RUC) during the Troubles in Northern Ireland (1960s–1990s).
During the conflict, RUC officers killed 56 people in shooting incidents, including at least 30 civilians and at least 20 members of paramilitary groups.
Sir Ian Blair appeared on television 24 July 2005 to accept responsibility for the error on the part of the Metropolitan Police in shooting Jean Charles de Menezes, mistakenly identified as a suicide bomber three days prior, and to acknowledge and defend the policy, saying that "There is no point in shooting at someone's chest because that is where the bomb is likely to be.
