Specialist Firearms Command
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The Specialist Firearms Command (CO19), better known by its former Specialist Operations designation SO19, is the department of London's Metropolitan Police which provides firearms-related support to the generally unarmed force. It could be considered London's equivalent to the SWAT units in the United States. CO19 are sometimes called the "Blue Berets", since they used to wear them, although now they are more likely to wear helmets or baseball caps.
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[edit] History
The Firearms Wing was established in December 1966 as part of the Civil Defence and Communications Branch (D6, later D11) following the murder of three officers in the Massacre of Braybrook Street. It originally consisted of ten officers who were trained by British Army instructors and they then trained Authorised Firearms Officers (AFOs) throughout the force.
In the mid-1980s, as a result of several mistakes by local AFOs, the operational role of D11 began to increase dramatically. Prior to this, the D11 teams, made up of instructors, would normally only be deployed at well-established sieges or if exceptional firearms were expected to be encountered. Unable to keep up with the increased work load, non-instructors, known as Level 2 Officers, were selected and used to deal with pre-planned and response operations not involving hostages or suspects with exceptional firepower.
The Level 1 teams made up of instructors dealt with more serious incidents. By this time, the unit had undergone a name change and had become PT17 (the "PT" standing for "Personnel and Training"). By 1991, the two teams had merged into their current format and were known as Special Firearms Operations Teams (SFOs). At the same time, the Armed Response Vehicle Teams (ARVs) were created to deal with response calls round the clock. The department, for the first time, came under the control of Operations and became SO19 (the "SO" standing for "Specialist Operations").
In 2005, following a significant reorganisation of some units in the Metropolitan Police, the unit moved from Specialist Operations to Central Operations, becoming CO19, although the officers' shoulder numbers, even in the D11 days, had always been prefixed with "CO" (in this case standing for Commissioner's Office). At the same time the department was renamed from the Force Firearms Unit to the Specialist Firearms Command.
[edit] Current role
The department maintains its training role and is still responsible for training the Met's 3000 AFOs. These include SO12 (Special Branch), SO14 (Royalty Protection), SO16 (Diplomatic Protection Group), SO18 (Airports; policing London Heathrow Airport and London City Airport), SCD7(5) (Flying Squad), SCD11 (Surveillance), the Belmarsh High Security Court Team, and some Territorial Support Group (TSG) officers.
The ARVs now deal with thousands of armed calls a year, ranging from children with air rifles to serious armed incidents. In their first year of operation they were deployed actively 132 times; in 2001, that number rose to 1441, and in 2002 to 2490. However they also attend many more false alarms or situations where use of weapons is not required - a total of 13,394 calls in 2002.
The smaller and more highly trained SFO teams deal with nearly 1000 operations a year. The additional training of SFOs includes the use of a wider range of weaponry including shotguns, and their additional firearms include Heckler and Koch MP5 and Heckler & Koch G36 carbines, and also CS gas and stun grenades. SFOs are trained in "Dynamic entry", involving abseiling, the use of ladders, and explosive charges to rapidly gain entry to buildings[citation needed]. Full body armour is available to them, including nuclear, biological and chemical protective clothing.
The operations SFOs perform range from pre-planned operations, to arrests of armed criminals and terrorists, hostage rescue and security operations.
The SFO teams are better equipped and trained than many national counter-terrorist teams and are well respected within the international tactical community for their varied and constant operational experience.
All aspects of armed policing in the UK are covered by guidance issued by the Association of Chief Police Officers (ACPO) in their Manual of Guidance on the Police Use of Firearms. This manual provides an overview of the basic principles and tactics involved in the use of firearms by police officers in different environments along with details of command structures that are in place in all pre-planned and spontaneous firearms operations.
[edit] Equipment used
- 9 mm Heckler & Koch MP5SF.
- 7.62 mm Heckler & Koch G3K with Schmidt & Bender Flashdot sights and either collapsible stocks or adjustable PSG1 stocks.
- 5.56 mm Heckler & Koch G36K/C-SF with various sighting systems.
- The standard issue pistol is the 9 mm Glock 17.
- M26 Taser made by Taser International.
- L104A1 Baton gun (Heckler & Koch).
- Benelli M3 Super 90 12 Gauge Shotgun
[edit] In fiction
- As SO19, and now referred to as "CO19", the unit often features in The Bill.
- SO19 personnel are used in situations involving firearms in Ultimate Force
- CO19 (formerly SO19) was heavily used in the Playstation 2 video game series The Getaway as backup for Frank Carter and Ben Mitchell. CO19 operatives in the first game wore baseball caps, but the designers later reworked the model, with their headgear changed into PASGT helmets.
- The unit was seen in Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex when Motoko Kusanagi infiltrated a CO19 squad by stealing a uniform from one of its operators.
- In 2007 film Hot Fuzz, Nicholas Angel is described as a former member of CO19, and is shown in flashback shooting an offender with an AK-47.
[edit] Similar units outside the United Kingdom
- NSW Police State Protection Group and South Australian Police STAR Group, Australia
- Royal Canadian Mounted Police ERT, Canada
- SWAT, United States of America
- Gendarmerie Nationale GIGN and EPIGN, France
- YAMAM, Israel
- Polizia di Stato NOCS, Italy
- New Zealand Police AOS, New Zealand
- Policía Nacional GEO, Spain
- Guardia Civil UEI, Spain
- Hong Kong Police Special Duties Unit, Hong Kong
- Garda Síochána Emergency Response Unit (ERU), Ireland
- Beredskapstroppen, Norway
