mainland Britain in an attempt to combat rising gun crime. Officers wearing Walther P99 pistols on their hips are conducting regular patrols on
estates in Nottingham. Until now, armed officers have been deployed on the streets of
mainland Britain only for diplomatic duties or when crewing armed response vehicles.
The use of the foot patrols in Nottingham is being monitored by at least six other forces,
including Merseyside and West Yorkshire, which face similar problems over gun crime,
largely drug-related.
Chief constables are free to make their own decisions on how they deploy armed officers,
and the Home Office was not consulted over the move by Nottinghamshire police.
This weekend Charles Clarke, the Home Office minister, admitted that he had not been
aware of it until last week. "I would stress this is an operational matter for the chief
constable, but I have asked for a full briefing," he said. "For the time being, I am not going
to say more than that."
The patrols were launched by Nottinghamshire Police after a series of shootings on the
city's St Ann's and Meadows estates sparked by a turf war between rival gangs of
drug-dealers.
At least six officers, armed with pistols and operating in pairs, spend up to five hours from
dusk until midnight patrolling the streets. They are supported by two police vans, in which
Heckler and Koch MP5 carbines are carried.
Senior Nottinghamshire officers believe the use of armed patrols, which are reviewed
weekly, has sent a "strong message" to criminals not to use weapons and has, so far,
helped prevent gun crime spiralling out of control.
