The use of firearms by police forces varies widely across the world due to differences in recording of police activity, gun use policy, and civilian firearm laws. Police may require that officers use warning shots before aiming on-target, officers may need to make verbal warnings before using their firearms, and officers may be prohibited from carrying weapons while performing tasks such as highway patrol where gun use is not expected.
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Unarmed police forces
In some countries including the Republic of Ireland, mainland UK, Norway, Iceland, and New Zealand police do not carry firearms unless the situation is expected to involve gunfire from the opposing force. A survey conducted in the United Kingdom in 2004 found that 47% of citizens supported arming all police while 48% were opposed to the idea.
Australia
The Australian police force is monitored by the Australian Institute of Criminology which has recorded police shooting deaths since 1989. All fatal police shootings are subject to a mandatory coronial inquest. A 2013 review by the Australian Institute of Criminology found that 42% of victims of fatal police shootings had a mental illness. A more recent history of deaths by police shootings is tabulated below.
1.^ Data provided by the Australian Institute of CriminologyAustria
Police in Austria are monitored by the Austrian Interior Ministry. Since 2006 the records of police firearm use have been expanded to show whether or not a round was targeted at people.
1.^ 10 injuries, severity not specified.Data reported on by Heute
Denmark
Since 1965 all Danish police officers are carry a police pistol when performing their duties. Danish police used Walther PPK 7.65 mm as the standard pistol until 2000, and then the Heckler and Koch 9 mm was introduced. In 2008 police began to carry pepper spray in addition to their firearm.
The appropriate use of firearms is described in the Act on Police Activities regulations, section 16 and 17 is translated into english in.
16. (1) The police may use force only if necessary and justified and only by such means and to such extent as are reasonable relative to the interest which the police seek to protect. Any assessment of the justifiability of such force must also take into account whether the use of force involves any risk of bodily harm to third parties.
(2) Force must be used as considerately as possible under the circumstances and so as to minimise any bodily harm.
17. (1) Firearms may only be used: (i) to avert an on-going or imminent dangerous assault on a person; (ii) to avert other imminent danger to the lives of persons or of such persons incurring grievous bodily harm […] (iv) to secure the apprehension of persons who have or are suspected on reasonable grounds of having commenced or committed a dangerous assault on another person unless the risk that such persons will commit another such assault is deemed not to exist;
(2) Before the police fire shots involving a risk of harm to a person, the person must be informed in so far as possible, first by shouted warnings and then by warning shots, that the police intend to fire if police orders are not observed. It must also be ensured, in so far as possible, that the person is able to observe the order.
(3) In case of an obvious risk of hitting third parties, shots may only be fired as a last resort […]
(5) If police shooting has caused harm to a person, the person must immediately be examined by a doctor.
In Denmark the police use of weapons is recorded by the police department. The police department classifies tear gas as the use of a firearm. In 2006 the death of 4 people by police shootings prompted an investigation into the use of firearms by the Danish police force from 1996 to 2006. The investigation found no significant trends of increased firearms use by the police.
1.^ Includes warning shots and tear gas fired. 2.^ Includes shots aimed at vehicle tyres.More recent figures have been published separately in a different format.
Finland
Police in Finland have access to weapons including a glock 17, H&K MP5, taser and pepper spray. The use of firearms is recorded by the Police College and the Finnish ministry of the Interior.
Data reported on by YLE uutiset
France
In France the police are regularly armed, however, there is no official record of how frequently firearms are used. An independant group A Toutes Les Victimes has tracked the number of deaths and injuries by police which have been published in the media since 2005.
1^ Unofficial data from the A Toutes Les Victimes censusGermany
The German police force routinely carry weapons. Police firearm statistics dating back to 1996 are available, a summary of recent years is tabulated below.
Iceland
Icelandic police do not regularly carry firearms. In 2013 the first fatal police shooting took place where one man was killed. As of July 2016 this remains the only fatal police shooting since Iceland gained became an independent republic in 1944.
Jamaica
The Jamaican police use of lethal force has been monitored by Amnesty International. From 1983 to 2000 the Jamaican police force has been reported to kill between 121 and 355 people each year with an average of 171 deaths. A subsequent report by Amnesty USA shows that from 2000 to 2015 between 101 and 307 people were killed each year with an average of 192 deaths. In 2010 the Independent Commission of Investigations (Indecom) was established to tackle the frequent use of lethal force which has made progress towards reducing the problem.
Netherlands
Law enforcement in the Netherlands regularly carry firearms, in every incident where a firearm round hits a person there is an investigation conducted to determine if the use of a firearm was justified. The results of the investigations are made publicly available, the cases for each year are tabulated.
Data from firearms use investigations
New Zealand
The New Zealand Police do not routinely carry firearms. When force (including handcuffs and physical force) is used a tactical operations report is filed. Use of tactical options is published by the police force.
A summary of tactical options used in 2010-2014 was published in 2015. In 33,198 events over the four year period firearms were drawn 1,422 times resulting in 5 injuries. Tactical operations resulting in fatalities are not recorded in the database.
Norway
Norwegian police only carry firearms in response to specific situations. The use of firearms is recorded by the police department which publishes detailed statistics on the annual use of firearms. The information presented in the 2014 report is detailed in the table below.
South Africa
The South African Police Service is monitored by the Independent Police Investigative Directorate (IPID) which releases an annual report on the performance indicators of police activity. The IPID publishes deaths as a results of police action and deaths in police custody. Use of firearms forms the majority of the killings by police; shootings by police are all classified under deaths as a result of police action.
1^ Includes all categories of deaths as a result of police action with labels "Shot with service firearm", "Shot with police firearm" and "Negligent handling of a firearm leading to death". Excludes suicides.Sweden
The Swedish Police Authority always carry firearms when on public duty. The police authority report that normally police will threaten to use their weapon but do not discharge it, this happens about 200 times per year. In a typical year the police shoot 20 warning shots aimed at people or vehicles. An investigation reviewing the use of weapons by police details the firearm use from 2010 to 2014.
1.^ Shots aimed at people and vehicles.United Kingdom
The police forces in the United Kingdom are managed by different bodies and as such they have different standards for firearms usage. Police in Northern Ireland regularly carry firearms whereas the police in Scotland, England and Wales do not.
England and Wales
The police force in England and Wales do not routinely carry firearms, a 2006 poll of 47,328 members of the Police Federation of England and Wales found that 82% do not want officers to be routinely armed while on duty. The UK home office reports annual statistics on the use of firearms by police forces. The use of firearms is recorded by the police department which publishes detailed statistics on the annual use of firearms dating back to 2003. One report published figures for 2003-2013, later years are published individually. While the Home Office monitors the use of police equipment the Independent Police Complaints Commission monitors the fatalities of people due to police contact.
1.^ Data provided by the UK Home Office. 2.^ Data provided by the Independent Police Complaints CommissionNorthern Ireland
The police service of Northern Ireland publish an annual report on the police use of force which lists the frequency that firearms were drawn and fired. However, this report does not list the injuries or deaths resulting from firearms use.
Data published by the Police Service of Northern Ireland.
United States
There is no consistent recording of firearms use across all states, some bodies such as the New York Police Department report on firearms discharge. In 2015 NYPD reported a record low of 8 deaths as well as 15 injuries caused by police firearms discharge.
The Federal Bureau of Investigation publish the number of justified homicides by law enforcement.
In response to the lack of published data The Guardian launched The Counted- a program to record the number of fatal police shootings throughout the United States. The Guardian reports that 1146 people were killed in 2015 and 1092 people in 2016.
1.^ Justifiable homicides recorded by the FBI 2.^ The Counted. Unofficial figures based on media reports 3.^ Fatal Force. Unofficial figures based on media reportsComparison of countries
The way in which firearm use is recorded varies from country to country, however there is a frequent measurement of people wounded and people killed in many countries and this forms a basis for comparison.
1. ^ Unofficial data.