Police chiefs consider arming police officers in rural areas with handguns for the first time

Police chiefs in the UK are reportedly considering the idea of patrolling rural areas with handguns for the first time ever.

Simon Chesterman, the UK’s leading adviser on armed policing, has suggested that arming uniformed officers could be the solution in solving a lack of specialist firearms officers in both rural and coastal areas.

Mr Chesterman’s comments come after the National Police Chiefs’ Council (NPCC) announced yesterday that police had been unable to meet a Government target of boosting armed police on the UK’s streets to prevent terror attacks.

Theresa May had previously pledged a staggering £143 million to train 1000 more firearms officers in the wake of the Paris and Brussels terror attacks.

Mr Chesterman now claims that police chiefs are having to consider ‘innovative ways to bridge the gap’ in armed police provisions.

It is believed that arming police could be an effective solution in tackling a terrorist on the loose in sparsely populated areas where it would take too long for an armed response vehicle to arrive.

‘Years ago there were beat officers who would go to the armoury in the police station and put a handgun on and go out and resolve an armed incident. I’m not saying we are going back to those days but it is an option’, he said.

‘One of the options is you look at frontline response officers, devise a role profile and a training course for them, and you train them in use of a firearm to help to bridge that gap between the initial response and when the ARV can get there.’

He cautiously added: ‘’I think it does not need to happen at the moment. We have to monitor the threat constantly… it’s an option that remains on the table.’

At present, the NPCC is believed to be in discussions with large rural forces including Devon and Cornwall Police.

Although terrorism has largely averted rural communities, two of Britain’s worst mass shootings occurred in rural areas.

In 2010, Derrick Bird killed 12 people in Cumbria, while Michael Ryan killed 16 people in Hungerford in 1987.

Mr Chesterman added: ‘’The public don’t mind when we shoot a terrorist, they do mind when we shoot criminals. There is a lot more scrutiny, perhaps understandably.’

A spokesman for Devon and Cornwall Police said: ‘’What we are now looking to do is increase our capability in responding to incidents where armed officers may be needed – this includes an uplift in the number of trained armed officers we have in the force and an increase in available ARV units,