Counter Terrorist Specialist Firearms Officer

A Counter Terrorist Specialist Firearms Officer (CTSFO) is a United Kingdom police firearms officer.[1] The CTSFO standard is the highest Authorised Firearms Officer level in the National Police Firearms Training Curriculum (NPFTC) and was established by the Metropolitan Police Service in the lead up to the 2012 Summer Olympics held in London on 27th of July.[2][3] The firearms units of police forces organise CTSFOs into teams to establish a police tactical unit.

Counter Terrorist Specialist Firearms Officer
An SCO19 CTSFO during an Olympic security practice drill
Active2012–present
Country United Kingdom
TypePolice tactical unit
Role
AbbreviationCTSFO

A national capability to respond to terrorist incidents such as marauding terrorist attacks (MTA) through collaboration of police forces who maintain CTSFO teams was established known as the CTSFO Network.[4][5]

History

Prior to the Summer Olympics, the highest authorised firearms officer standard was the Specialist Firearms Officer (SFO). The Metropolitan Police Service (MPS) in preparation for the Olympics trained officers to a higher standard, including use of live rounds during close quarters combat (CQC) training and fast-roping from helicopters, to be able to respond more effectively to terrorist incidents.[3][6][7][8] CTSFOs conduct training with United Kingdom Special Forces.[4][7]

Training was also provided to five territorial police forces, including Thames Valley Police, West Yorkshire Police, West Midlands Police, Greater Manchester Police and Strathclyde Police (now Police Scotland), to form what was named the national Combined Response Firearms Teams (CRFT) capability for the London Olympics and Paralympic Games.[9][10][11][12] The police forces received standardised training and also had standardised procedures, weaponry and equipment to enable interoperability.[13]

CTSFO Network

The CTSFO Network provides a collective response capability to terrorist incidents from police forces with CTSFO teams through regional hubs based nationally.[2][4][5][13] The national Combined Response Firearms Teams established for the Olympics was maintained after the closing of the Games forming the basis of the CTSFO Network.[3] The CTSFO Network has six regional hubs outside London including Scotland.[14][5]

In 2013, West Midlands Police CTSFOs deployed to London to support the MPS following the Murder of Lee Rigby in Operation Pegboard.[11]

In April 2016, a two-year recruitment drive known as the CTSFO uplift project, part of the Home Office National Armed Uplift Programme, commenced to double the number of CTSFOs and was extended until the end of 2018.[2] In July 2019, the National Police Chiefs' Council reported that the uplift had increased the number of CTSFOs by 63%.[15]

MPS Specialist Firearm Command
Main article: Specialist Firearms Command § Counter Terrorist Specialist Firearms Officers
Metropolitan Police CT-SFO identification patch

The MPS Specialist Firearms Command (SCO19) has seven CTSFO teams consisting of one sergeant and fifteen constables, with six CTSFO inspectors and an Operational Senior Manager with a reported strength of 130 officers.[16][17][7] An operational CTSFO team works a 7-week shift pattern which includes night patrol duty.[16]

On 30 June 2015, Operation Strong Tower was held in London over two days.[18] The National Counter Terrorism Programme exercise was the largest ever conducted in the United Kingdom and included the British Transport Police.[19][20]

CTSFOs are able to be deployed by air, on the river, using armoured vehicles and motorcycles if needed.[21] CTSFOs are equipped with SIG MCX carbines and BMW F800GS motorcycles used for deployments in central London.[22][23][24]

See also

References
  1. "Why do we have Armed Police?". Police Firearms Officers Association. Retrieved 28 May 2017.
  2. "More firearms officers ready to protect the public". National Police Chiefs' Council (Press release). 19 April 2017. Retrieved 27 May 2017.
  3. "Firearms Training - Commissioner Briefing Paper" (PDF). Police & Crime Commissioner Greater Manchester. 1 August 2013. Archived from the original (PDF) on 23 March 2017.
  4. "NPCC Lead for Armed Policing has said he is confident in the ability of firearms officers to protect the public". National Police Chiefs' Council (Press release). 18 November 2015. Retrieved 27 May 2017.
  5. Police Firepower (PDF) (Radio broadcast). File on 4. BBC Radio 4. 17 May 2016. Retrieved 28 May 2017.
  6. "Minutes of the ACPO Armed Policing Working Group" (PDF). National Police Chief's Council. Association of Chief Police Officers Minutes. 24 January 2013. Archived from the original (PDF) on 23 March 2017. Retrieved 24 March 2017.
  7. Vikram Dodd (29 June 2015). "Scotland Yard creates SAS-style unit to counter threat of terrorist gun attack". The Guardian.
  8. Drweiga, Andrew (March 2013). "A Career Policing London's Skies". Rotor and Wing. Vol. 47, no. 3. Rockville, Maryland, USA: Access Intelligence. p. 54. ISSN 1066-8098. Archived from the original on 18 November 2015.
  9. Smith, Stephen (2013). Stop! Armed police! : inside the Met's firearms unit. London: Robert Hale. ISBN 9780719808265.
  10. "Performance Review Committee" (PDF). Thames Valley Police Authority. 2 October 2012. Archived from the original (PDF) on 9 June 2015.
  11. "Strategic Policing and Crime Board Report" (PDF). West Midlands Police. 3 September 2013. Archived from the original (PDF) on 24 March 2017.
  12. Magnay, Jacquelin (21 May 2012). "London 2012 Olympics: police officers across Great Britain seconded to help bolster Games security". The Telegraph. Retrieved 23 March 2017.
  13. Deputy Chief Constable Simon Chesterman (West Mercia) (April 2013). "UK Response to Active Shooters and Terrorist Incidents: Increasing Interoperability across Police Forces and Military". In COL Andrew F. Mazzara USMC (Ret) (ed.). Report on the Ninth International Law Enforcement Forum - International Law Enforcement Recommendations on Preventing and Countering Armed Attacks (PDF). Pennsylvania: Institute for Non-Lethal Defense Technologies. pp. 16–25. OCLC 1079869509. Retrieved 24 February 2020.
  14. Deputy Chief Constable Simon Chesterman (NPCC lead for Armed Policing) [@@ChestermanSimon] (3 August 2016). "Counter Terrorist Specialist Firearms Officers are not just based in London, they are part of a national network" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  15. "Increases in firearms officers allows forces to carry out more armed operations to protect the public". National Police Chiefs' Council (Press release). 25 July 2019. Retrieved 26 February 2020.
  16. "Guidance Note - Experienced Police Officers - Specialist Roles". Metropolitan Police Service. 11 February 2015. Archived from the original on 5 August 2016.
  17. "SC&O19 Operational Capability". Metropolitan Police Service. Archived from the original on 27 July 2014.
  18. "Major exercise to test response to terror attack". Metropolitan Police Service (Press release). 30 June 2015. Archived from the original on 1 July 2015.
  19. "Operation Strong Tower underway". Metropolitan Police Service (Press release). 1 July 2015. Archived from the original on 1 July 2015.
  20. Greany, Commander Chris. "Commander Chris Greany NPoCC Blog, 8 July 2015". National Police Chiefs' Council. Archived from the original on 6 October 2017. Retrieved 6 October 2017.
  21. Harris, Lord Toby (October 2016). "An independent review of London's preparedness to respond to a major terrorist incident" (PDF). Greater London Authority. Retrieved 24 March 2017.
  22. Garnder, Frank (4 May 2017). "Terror threat: UK upgrades armed police response". BBC. Retrieved 17 October 2017.
  23. Evans, Martin (3 August 2016). "The new heavily armed face of counter terror policing is revealed". The Telegraph. Retrieved 17 October 2017.
  24. "Met anti-terror police to use BMW F800GS". Motor Cycle News. 10 August 2016. Retrieved 17 October 2017.
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