Armed Police

Picture of ARV in Leeds city centre and crew member. Another photo from the Leeds City Neighbourhood Policing Team (NPT) Open Day held on Saturday on Briggate in Leeds city centre. This police officer was one of several crew members who were on duty with their armed response vehicles (ARV) talking to members of the public about their vehicles and also their work. Each ARV has a crew of two Firearms Officers and they are armed with hand guns in this case Glock 17 semi-automatic pistols, they also have a safe on board the car, where they keep further firearms which are I think Heckler & Koch MP5 submachine guns. These police officer also carry the standard issue items of kit including handcuffs, radio/phone but also have a Taser and I think spare clips for the Glock. Whilst these officers are routinely on patrol and armed on the Streets of Leeds I must add that it is very rare for a member of the force to open fire apart from on the range. I had long thought that armed police were on the streets, but the vast majority of police officers are not armed except with a baton and some have CS or pepper spray. This particular officer and her colleagues spent the afternoon mostly showing young children how the sirens and blue lights worked. This PC was camera shy so I was happy to not show her face. Should any of my readers like to get a taste of police work at the sharp end I do recommend the blog of a serving police inspector.