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SUMMARY AND RECOMMENDATION
This thematic inspection of the police use of firearms in Scotland is based on the recommendations made by the Association of Chief Police Officers in Scotland ( ACPOS) in its 2006 Protective Services Capability and Capacity Review ( PSCCR) - Police Use of Firearms Workstream report. The thematic inspection follows directly from the ACPOS request for HMICS to assess the progress made (see recommendation 7 below).
The police use of firearms is heavily guided by legislation, guidance and policy documents, the key examples of which are included at Appendix A of this inspection report. The processes and guidelines contained within them have been informed by previous firearms incidents and the enquiries following them, and indeed should be the starting point for any subsequent enquiry into such an incident.
These key documents also contain clear guidance on how a force should conduct a Strategic Threat and Risk Assessment ( ST&RA), the findings of which should then inform each force's approach to providing firearms services locally.
The cost of providing such services is considerable but, in common with other areas of policing, co-operation between forces can help to bring about efficiencies. To this end, two groups have been formed in Scotland: the West Strategic Alliance Coordination Unit ( SACU), which brings together Strathclyde, Northern and Dumfries and Galloway police forces; and, the East SACU which comprises Central, Fife, Grampian, Lothian and Borders and Tayside police forces.
Summary of recommendations from the 2006 ACPOS Protective Services Capability and Capacity Review - Police Use of Firearms Workstream report and our findings from this thematic inspection
All ACPOS recommendations were endorsed by the ACPOS Council meeting in November 2006.
Rec. No. | ACPOS Recommendation | HMICS Conclusion |
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1 | That the proposed Protective Services Framework be considered which incorporates the use of collaborative arrangements and Lead Forces. | While there are clear collaborative arrangements within each SACU, progress continues to be slow. Despite the recommendation being approved, it has not been fully implemented or complied with and therefore we do not regard it as discharged. |
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2 | That the baseline requirement identified be considered and approved. | Although this recommendation was approved, those forces without a robust ST&RA are not in a position to contribute fully to the development of an agreed baseline. Therefore we do not regard this recommendation as discharged. |
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3 | That the specialist support identified be considered and approved. | Although this recommendation was approved, persistent delays and inaction mean that it has not yet been implemented or complied with. We therefore do not consider it to be discharged. |
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4 | Subject to approval of the above recommendations, that generic service level agreements be developed to enable the delivery of collaborative arrangements and Lead Force service provision. | Although this recommendation was approved, we find that it has not been fully implemented or complied with and therefore we do not regard it as discharged. |
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5 | That costed options be developed in support of collaborative arrangements and Lead Force service delivery. | Although this recommendation was approved, it has not been fully implemented or complied with and therefore we do not regard it as discharged. |
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6 | That ACPOS approve the recommendation that the ACPO Manual of Guidance on Police Use of Firearms; the ACPOS Statement of Intent on Police Use of Firearms and Less Lethal Weapons and the National (Police) Firearms Training Curriculum continue to set the national standard in relation to the Police Use of Firearms in Scotland. | We fully support ACPOS' recommendation but have found its implementation to be partial and slow. We are particularly concerned that the development of ST&RAs, which should underpin forces' approach to the use of firearms, has been inadequate in several forces. |
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7 | That HMIC be invited to conduct a thematic inspection in two years to assess the progress made. | HMICS regards this recommendation as discharged. |
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8 | That HMIC include the baseline service requirement within its inspection protocols as a measure of efficiency and effectiveness. | We believe that this recommendation has been superseded by the need for individual forces to respond to the findings of their own ST&RAs. |
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In our opinion the recommendations of the ACPOS report were sound. Therefore we believe that where these have not been implemented there remains merit in pursuing them with vigour.
HMICS found training to be well-structured, with a nationally consistent approach that reflects the Association of Chief Police Officers ( ACPO) Manual of Guidance ( MoG) and is supported by the National Police Firearms Training Curriculum ( NPFTC). Compliance with the NPFTC is co-ordinated by the National Policing Improvement Agency ( NPIA).
While forces in Scotland have adopted the ethos of the NPFTC, the majority have yet to embrace the scrutiny and improvement process associated with its licensing arrangements. We believe that applying for a provisional licence of curriculum compliance and working towards a full licence will require forces to address many of the areas where progress has to date been slow. By collating the data required to comply, forces will have more complete information to inform their decisions on what baseline and specialist services are required.
Consequently we have made only one additional recommendation in this report:
HMICS recommends that all forces work to achieve NPIA NPFTC licensing within six months from the date of publication of this report. This will require forces to produce robust and comprehensive ST&RAs, and will bring them under continuing scrutiny in the short term.
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