Who are the British Counter-Terrorism police, how many officers are there, are they armed and what do they do?
TERRORISTS beware – a new breed of super cops are working around the clock to keep the UK safe from deadly fanatics.
The heavily armed SAS-style units are part of a new wave of highly-trained marksmen being deployed in Britain’s major cities. Here’s what we know about them…
Who are the British counter-terrorism police?
They are the first line of defence for any terror attack in the UK.
Before any of the military units can be called into action on UK soil, authorisation must be given by the civilian authorities.
This authorisation usually comes from a crisis response committee held in special conference rooms within Whitehall.
Sometimes referred to as COBR or COBRA, these committees are headed by the Prime Minister and other top civilian leaders.
COBRA analyses the level of threat and determines how to respond.
As the politicians and security chiefs sit in committee, it will be the police on the scene of a terrorist incident who will be the first responders.
Each United Kingdom police constabulary maintains a specialist firearms capability with tactical team members trained to Authorised Firearms Officer (AFO) standard or higher.
AFOs are roled with carrying out law enforcement operations outside the capability of regular, unarmed officers.
AFOs in an Armed Response Vehicle (ARV) unit would typically be the first armed police unit to arrive at the scene of a terrorist attack
In July 2018, anti-terror cops arrested a man from south London on suspicion of plotting acts of terror.
Ravi Mendis was allegedly carrying an offensive weapon and making threats to kill before cops detained him on July 20.
Mendis, 43, was charged with a terrorism offence by officers from the Met’s Counter Terrorism Command unit.
He is suspected of preparing an act of terror and has been charged under the Terrorism Act 2006.
What kind of equipment do they carry?
In 2016, the Metropolitian Police unveiled a new force of ‘super cops’ to take on the terrorist thinking of targeting Britain.
The heavily-armed unit are part of a new wave of 600 highly trained marksmen deployed onto the streets of London each day.
Similar units are being rolled out in other major UK cities.
Clad in grey Kevlar body armour they carry state-of-the-art weapons including sniper rifles, automatic assault rifles, handguns, submachine guns and tasers.
The counter-terror specialists are capable of racing to the scene of any potential incident on board specially adapted BMW F800 motorcycles.
Riding pillion the officers will be able to cut through the heavy London traffic on board the all-terrain bikes which are capable of reaching top speeds of 120mph.
They also carry state-of-the art support gear including battering rams and heavy duty cutting equipment.
The elite officers are also trained to carry out water-borne assaults from rigid inflatable hull vessels and even abseil into situations from hovering helicopters.
Then Metropolitan Police chief Sir Bernard Hogan-Howe said the first of the force’s additional 600 marksmen, put in place following terror attacks in mainland Europe, are trained and operationally ready.
How many terror cops are there in Britain?
Although the exact figure is a closely guarded secret it is known the number is growing all the time.
It’s been revealed the UK force wants to train-up another 1,500 officers for counter-terror duties.
But the Police federation warns that could take at least two years.
Steve White, chairman of the union, which represents rank and file officers, said: “Some forces are getting volunteers coming forward, but they are not always being selected because they don’t meet the criteria.
“It is vitally important that standards are maintained. The best-case scenario is two years in terms of recruiting an extra 1,500 officers.
“If there is an attack it is unlikely to be an isolated incident. We’ve got to have the resources around the country because it might happen in multiple places at the same time.”
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