INVERNESS, June 19 (RIA Novosti), Mark Hirst – A decision to allow armed officers to routinely patrol streets in Scotland was taken without any political scrutiny, a Member of the Scottish Parliament has told RIA Novosti.
John Finnie MSP, whose constituency covers the Highlands and Islands, told RIA Novosti, “Whilst there's nothing to suggest the revised arrangement which see armed officers attend routine non-firearms incidents has been matched by a change in authorisation to shoot, the stark reality is that with more police weapons on our streets an increased use cannot be ruled out.”
Police officers in the UK are amongst the few law enforcement agencies in the world that do not routinely allow officers to carry firearms.
Currently 275 Scottish police officers are trained to use firearms, but until recently they required the authorisation of a senior officer to unlock and carry a firearm openly in public.
The merging last year of Scotland’s eight distinct police forces into one national force operating across the country appears to have prompted the change of policy.
Figures obtained by RIA Novosti show that in Scotland since 2009 armed officers opened fire on 17 occasions.
15 incidents involved the destruction of an animal, normally out of control livestock. One incident involved the discharge of a police firearm at an undisclosed “inanimate object”.
But the figures, which cover the whole of the country, reveal armed officers fired only once at an individual human.
Police marksmen suspected 21-year-old Christopher Hamlyn was carrying a firearm. He was shot and seriously wounded at Carfin railway station in north Lanarkshire in May 2009. It later emerged Hamlyn was unarmed.
"The low number of incidents where police have discharged a firearm is reassuring,” Finnie told RIA Novosti, "but I intend to establish how this escalation took place without any political scrutiny."
Finnie’s concern is shared by retired Strathclyde Police Superintendent Iain Mckie. Although a supporter of the new national police force McKie said he had “little faith” in the Police Authority and Scottish Government to provide effective oversight of the new firearms policy adopted by the force.
“Like the Crown Office the police uses its need for operational independence to prevent what it sees as ‘interference’ in operational matters,” McKie told RIA Novosti.
“The police have a very specific culture which is proactive in terms of 'protecting' life and property,” McKie said. “Our politicians however exist to offer a counter balance which represents the prevailing wish of the community not to have armed officers routinely patrolling with weapons but have an effective fast response strategy in place.”
McKie said that unless the police are held to account then new policies, such as arming the police, will “slip under the radar justified by the threat of terrorism or whatever”.
Elaine Ferguson, Chief Superintendent at Police Scotland told RIA Novosti, "The operational discharge of conventional firearms in Scotland is a rare but none the less a significant occurrence."
“The deployment of a limited number of dedicated Police officers under a standing authority to possess a handgun and a less lethal weapon is intended to maximise the safety of all parties involved and support our focus, keeping people safe,” Ferguson added.
The only other countries in the world that do not routinely arm their officers is New Zealand and the Republic of Ireland.
