Forces plan single firearms unit

**Standard Dave** · 06-12-07, 12:57 PM

Two of the North East's police forces are collaborating in a bid to streamline their firearms capabilities.

Durham and Cleveland Police each have 100 authorised firearms officers (AFOs), a level they consider excessive for the number of incidents dealt with.

The forces now hope to create a joint firearms unit, with a single 100-strong team of AFOs serving both areas.

The proposal, backed by both police authorities, is to be submitted to the Home Office for funding.

According to Durham Police, the more effective and efficient use of AFOs would cut red tape, create major savings in training and reduce the numbers of officers removed from front-line duties.

It would also result in major savings for both forces that would be ploughed back into frontline policing, said a force spokesman.

The Durham and Cleveland forces already share a firearms training centre at Urlay Nook near Stockton.

More efficient use of the facilities would free up time at the centre, which could be sold to other police forces, generating an annual income of £500,000.

Durham Police's Assistant Chief Constable Michael Banks, who is leading the project, said: "The creation of a joint unit would be a unique event - the first and only collaborative unit of its type in the country.

"The vision we have is of a fully autonomous firearms unit that would include not only the dedicated armed response vehicle teams but also dedicated firearms support units that are self-sufficient and provide a cross section of specialist services."

If approved, work to create the single firearms unit could begin later this summer, and would take about two years to complete.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/6744263.stm

It begs the question that if they want to merge units to get better use of resourses why where the management so resistant to the force mergers could it be anything to do with having less chiefs

**Lo523** · 06-12-07, 07:34 PM

It begs the question that if they want to merge units to get better use of resourses why where the management so resistant to the force mergers could it be anything to do with having less chiefs

Spot on! However I don't think anyone wanted to merge with my Force, because we were in the relegation zone!

**Trojan 42** · 06-13-07, 03:29 AM

100 AFO's???? I laugh at such numbers.

And anyway they'll all be sent to London for the Olympics, so they'd better train some more.

**Standard Dave** · 06-13-07, 10:19 AM

Originally Posted by Trojan 42

100 AFO's???? I laugh at such numbers.

And anyway they'll all be sent to London for the Olympics, so they'd better train some more.

Well if we all had 30,000 officers to chose from

The MET do things bigger than anyone else but then thats the reason I think we should have gone for regional forces of around 10,000 when the talk of mergers came out.