Page 14 - Top Cover Issue 4

TOP COVER +557'

5'%10& +06'48+'9

DCC SIMON

CHESTERMAN

TOP COVER ':2.14'5 6*' #<'..' 41&0'; +037+4; (#.. 176

9JGTG FQGU VJG KPSWKT[ NGCXG RTG armed criminals in a vehicle on route to
RNCPPGF CTOGF QRU PQY KPVGN GVE ! commit offences where firearms may be
T e Public Inquiry made three used. Ideally we would want to intervene
recommendations. Two relate to before we get to this stage but this is not
improving the way in which the Police always possible, either because acting too
Service conducts debriefing following a early is unlikely to produce sufficient
Police shooting, the third calls for a review evidence to ensure the criminals are kept
of the MPS armed policing arrangements, in custody, which delivers sustained public
taking into account the learning from protection, or because the first we know
Operation Tayport. I was asked by of it is that they are on the way to commit
Assistant Commissioner Mark Rowley to the offence. Either way Police Firearms
complete the review and I have submitted commanders have to balance the risk to
&%% 5+/10 %*'56'4/#0
my report to him. A summary is publicly the public, the subjects of the operation
available at and Police Officers.
www.met.Police.uk/foi/pdfs/priorities_ Consideration could be given to
and_how_we_are_doing/corporate/ deterring the subjects by placing high
operation_tayport.pdf profile Police resources in the vicinity of
T e reality is that criminals will the planned offence. With determined
continue to arm themselves to commit criminals this may not deter them and if
crime and the Police Service has to step it does then they are likely to commit the
up and protect the public. Wherever offence anyway at a time of their choosing
possible we should seek to make arrests when our intelligence may not be so good
and curtail their activities before an armed (in this case the location was imprecise and
intervention is necessary, but the nature this was not a realistic option). If the Police
of this type of offending, which is often don’t stop the vehicle and the subjects go
sporadic and with very little intelligence, on to cause serious harm or kill someone,
means that this is not always possible. we are failing in our duty to protect life and
T erefore, it is our duty to maintain the property and are likely to have breached
capability to conduct armed interventions the Article 2 rights of any individual(s)
against dangerous armed criminals and who may have come to harm.
terrorists in order to prevent harm and In relation to your question as to
protect the public. In this respect, nothing whether, in this case, they should have
has changed; however, we must continually stopped the vehicle, the following is a
strive to learn from incidents and improve direct lift from my review: “In this case,
our guidance, training and tactics. the MPS had good reason to believe that
Azelle Rodney and his two associates were
#\GNNG 4QFPG[ YCU KP C XGJKENG YKVJ armed with fully automatic firearms and
VYQ QVJGTU GP TQWVG VQ EQOOKV CP were travelling to an area of London in
KPFKEVCDNG QHHGPEG VJG[ JCF VJTGG order to commit an armed robbery where
»TGCTOU KP VJGKT XGJKENG UJQWNF they intended to rob a rival criminal
2QNKEG JCXG UVQRRGF VJG XGJKENG! group of their drugs. T e tactics adopted
Generally speaking, the Police frequently by the MPS, namely to conduct armed
receive intelligence of this nature i.e. surveillance on the vehicle they were