Convoys between Police response vehicles and other services
Freedom of information request reference no: 01.FOI.25.043783
I note you seek access to the following information:
- Does the force allow convoys between Police response vehicles and other services i.e. LAS does not allow convoy driving between their vehicles.
- How many Taser trained officers are there within the MPS.
- How is it decided who gets to undertake the training to carry a Taser. i.e. Decided by how many are on the team or who applies for the training etc.
- Do you double or triple crew your Armed Response Vehicles (ARV).
- Do each member crewing an ARV have dedicated roles and what are they.
- Can you confirm if the force is considering a different vehicle for response Policing. i.e. Going back to Peugeots instead of Corollas etc.
- Has there been any discussion on what will replace the BMW 5 series used as area cars and traffic cars and the BMW X5s used by MO19 as ARVs given that the contract with BMW has now ended.
Decision
I have today decided to disclose the located information to you in full. Please find below information pursuant to your request above.
Q1 - Does the force allow convoys between Police response vehicles and other services i.e. LAS does not allow convoy driving between their vehicles.
Yes we can escort and/or facilitate convoys between police response vehicles and other services in certain circumstances.
Q2 - How many Taser trained officers are there within the MPS.
As of 24 March 2025 we had 7586 trained deployable officers, we break that down as 5217 Specially Trained Officers (STOs) and 2369 Accredited Firearms Officers (AFOs).
Q3 - How is it decided who gets to undertake the training to carry a Taser. i.e. Decided by how many are on the team or who applies for the training etc.
Application to carry Taser is made using the form 6614T. Support is required by both 1st and 2nd line managers and a signature from Borough Operational Command Unit (BOCU) commander (usually deputised to a Superintendent) once they’ve completed the pre-requisites for the course.
Q4 - Do you double or triple crew your Armed Response Vehicles (ARV).
The MPS deploys both double and triple-crewed ARVs.
Q5 - Do each member crewing an ARV have dedicated roles and what are they.
Different officers have different roles within the ARV when patrolling or en route to a call, however the role of each ARV officer in a deployment depends on the incident, tactic, etc.
Q6 - Can you confirm if the force is considering a different vehicle for response Policing. i.e. Going back to Peugeots instead of Corollas etc.
Q7 - Has there been any discussion on what will replace the BMW 5 series used as area cars and traffic cars and the BMW X5s used by MO19 as ARVs given that the contract with BMW has now ended.
In answer to both questions 6 and 7, the MPS follows public procurement regulations with regards to vehicle purchasing, which includes tendering operational and technical requirement via the Crown Commercial Vehicle purchasing framework.
Within this process we ensure that we achieve an outcome which will meet all operational requirements and achieve best value for the tax payer. A significant number of our operational BMW ARVs have already been replaced with Volvo products and future vehicles will be determined by future tenders. Therefore, we are unable to provide a response to the questions as the outcome of future tenders are not yet known.
The below links you may find of interest with previously published responses regarding the strength of ARV teams:
Armed Response Vehicles(ARV) bases and questions | Metropolitan Police
The below link is to a previous response on the number of deployable AFOs: