Complains made against officers in the firearms unit from 2018

Freedom of information request reference no: 01.FOI.24.036792

I note you seek access to the following information:

1. The total public complaints lodged against officers in your force’s firearms unit(s), broken down by unit name and calendar year dating back to 2018.
2. The total internal complaints (known as ‘conduct matters’) flagged against officers in your force’s firearms unit(s), broken down by unit name and calendar year dating back to 2018.
3. The current number of officers serving in your force’s firearms unit(s), and, if possible, historic staffing figures dating back to 2018.
4. The net total number of investigations launched into officers in your force’s firearms unit(s) as a result of public complaints, as well as a result of internal ‘conduct matters’ each year dating back to 2018.
5. The outcomes of those investigations – and in particular the number of officers dismissed as a result of those investigations – broken down by year dating back to 2018.

Decision

I have today decided to disclose the located information to you in full.

Please find below information pursuant to your request above.

In response to question 1, 2, 4 and 5 of your request above, I have provided the following information.

Please find below a spreadsheet in which the requested information has been
provided.

IMPORTANT:
• Please ensure that the note section within the spreadsheet is read in conjunction with the data in this report to ensure that it is interpreted correctly.

In response to question 3 of your request,

The current number of officers serving in your force’s firearms unit(s), and, if possible, historic staffing figures dating back to 2018.

I am pleased to inform you that the information requested is held by the MPS and is already in the public domain. I have provided this information to you below.
The data below shows MPS Deployable Authorised Firearms Officers between the ranks of Constable & Chief Inspector - data calculated on 31st December of each calendar year.

This data does not include officers who are non-deployable as Firearms officers for any reason including classification issues, sickness, restricted/recuperative duties, complaints/investigation, maternity/paternity leave, or who have voluntarily surrendered their firearms authorisation.

* December 2022 incomplete