Rural police ‘sitting ducks’ as fewer officers have guns
RURAL police would be “sitting ducks” should terrorists launch armed attacks, it was claimed yesterday.
Lack of police marksmen in rural areas could put police forces at risk
Officers in isolated areas fear a growing shortage of police marksmen will leave them in acute danger.
Potential rural targets include power stations.
John Apter, of the Police federations Hampshire branch, said: “Being realistic, if a firearms unit was coming from the middle of the county you are still talking about 30 miles away – you are not talking about a few minutes.
“So the only only officers available are unarmed and vulnerable.
So the only only officers available are unarmed and vulnerable
“They are saying to me that in a terrorist situation they would be sitting ducks.”
His concerns come after figures last month showed that the number of firearms officers in England and Wales has plunged by nearly a fifth in five years to 5,647.
Officers in rural areas are terrified about being prosecuted for murder
John Apter said that in a terrorist situation officers would be sitting ducks
The Federation says officers are now reluctant to become marksmen because they fear arrest for murder.
But Independent Police Complaints Commission chairwoman Dame Anne Owers accused officers of “stoking fears” about the prosecution of marksmen and “appearing to be resistant to robust” inquiry