Recommendation - Greater Manchester Police, December 2020
On 3 March 2012, officers from Greater Manchester Police (GMP) were taking part in an ongoing investigation. It was concerned with the activities of several individuals who were suspected of conspiring to commit armed robberies. Around 7.20pm in a car park, armed officers moved to arrest the three occupants of a stolen car. A firearms officer from the GMP Tactical Firearms Unit (TFU) discharged a single shot from his firearm. The occupant sitting in the driver’s seat of the stolen car sustained fatal injuries to his chest. This independent investigation looked into the circumstances of the fatal shooting.
IOPC reference
Recommendations
The IOPC recommends that the National Police Chiefs' Council lead for Armed Policing takes steps to ensure that should the Tactical Firearms Commander (TFC) or Operational Firearms Commander (OFC) identify that an officer’s exposure to information or intelligence that is not current or relevant to the specific deployment and may adversely influence that officer’s assessment of threat and risk, they should take steps to address the particular issue and/or consider whether the officer should take any further part in the operation.
This follows a case where an officer’s misunderstanding of intelligence and awareness of intelligence from other sources than that provided in the briefing for a specific firearms incident, impacted on their decision to use force.
Do you accept the recommendation?
Yes
Accepted action:
The authorised professional practice for armed policing (APP-AP) has been reviewed and subject to consultation. A revision has been made to the content as a consequence of the PI report and this IOPC learning recommendation. The revised APP-AP is being prepared for publication and the associated learning has been included in a national commander refresher programme.
All staff involved in situations where Authorised Firearms Officers (AFOs) are deployed must be given as full a briefing as possible. The Tactical Firearms Commander (TFC) is responsible for ensuring that the briefing is accurate and includes the most current information and intelligence, which supports the threat and risk assessment and prioritised working strategy. The information and intelligence provided must be specific, and relevant, to the operation being briefed. All briefings should be appropriately recorded (see 5. keeping a record)
Where an operation has been subject to previous briefings and/or armed deployments, the TFC must ensure that the briefing material has been fully reviewed and updated and that irrelevant or out of date information is no longer included. Officers that have received previous briefings should be informed where any information is no longer relevant or current in order that it does not inappropriately influence their understanding of the circumstances.
Should the TFC or Operational Firearms Commander (OFC) identify that an officer’s exposure to information or intelligence that is not current or relevant to the specific deployment may adversely influence that officer’s assessment of threat and risk, they should take steps to address the particular issue or consider whether the officer should take any further part in the operation. Any action taken, and the reason for taking it, should be recorded.