Armed Policing Report 2021/22
Armed Policing teams are based across Scotland and are deployed to a wide range of incidents in order to keep people safe.
The below information provides the number of:
- Authorised Firearms Officers (AFOs)
- Armed Policing Deployments
- Armed Policing Use of Taser
- Armed Policing Firearm Discharges
This information will be updated on a quarterly basis.
Authorised Firearms Officer (AFO)
Total number of AFOs
Q1 2021/22 - 530
Q2 2021/22 - 527
Q3 2021/22 - 515
Q4 2021/22 - 503
The number of AFOs is correct on the day of publication (07/04/22), however can fluctuate on a daily basis due to a variety of factors.
Armed Policing Deployments
2021/22
April 2021 - 43
May 2021 - 35
June 2021 - 47
July 2021 - 59
August 2021 - 102
September 2021 - 105
October 2021 - 74
November 2021 - 52
December 2021 - 40
January 2022 - 44
February 2022 - 15
March 2022 - 35
Historic Armed Policing - Deployments
2020/21 - 575
2019/20 - 615
2018/19 - 446
2017/18 - 434
2016/17 - 260
2015/16 - 341
Armed Policing - Use of Taser
2021/22
April 2021
- Drawn - 3
- Aimed - 0
- Red Dot - 5
- Fired - 0
- Drive Stun - 0
May 2021
- Drawn - 30
- Aimed - 0
- Red Dot - 4
- Fired - 0
- Drive Stun - 0
June 2021
- Drawn - 0
- Aimed - 1
- Red Dot - 9
- Fired - 0
- Drive Stun - 0
July 2021
- Drawn - 0
- Aimed - 0
- Red Dot - 4
- Fired - 0
- Drive Stun - 0
August 2021
- Drawn - 4
- Aimed - 1
- Red Dot - 3
- Fired - 0
- Drive Stun - 0
September 2021
- Drawn - 0
- Aimed - 0
- Red Dot - 5
- Fired - 0
- Drive Stun - 0
October 2021
- Drawn - 3
- Aimed - 2
- Red Dot - 3
- Fired - 0
- Drive Stun - 2
November 2021
- Drawn - 1
- Aimed - 0
- Red Dot - 0
- Fired - 0
- Drive Stun - 0
December 2021
- Drawn - 3
- Aimed - 0
- Red Dot - 6
- Fired - 0
- Drive Stun - 0
January 2022
- Drawn - 2
- Aimed - 0
- Red Dot - 11
- Fired - 4
- Drive Stun - 0
February 2022
- Drawn - 5
- Aimed - 2
- Red Dot - 5
- Fired - 5
- Drive Stun - 0
March 2022
- Drawn - 6
- Aimed - 2
- Red Dot - 3
- Fired - 0
- Drive Stun - 0
Historic Armed Policing - Taser Deployments
2020/21
- Drawn - 36
- Aimed - 11
- Red Dot - 76
- Fired - 16
- Drive Stun - 0
2019/20
- Drawn - 21
- Aimed - 6
- Red Dot - 55
- Fired - 5
- Drive Stun - 0
2018/19
- Drawn - 20
- Aimed - 8
- Red Dot - 46
- Fired - 5
- Drive Stun - 1
2017/18
- Drawn -22
- Aimed - 8
- Red Dot - 32
- Fired - 3
- Drive Stun - 0
2016/17
- Drawn - 11
- Aimed - 1
- Red Dot - 14
- Fired - 1
- Drive Stun -0
2015/16
- Drawn - 5
- Aimed - 0
- Red Dot - 8
- Fired - 0
- Drive Stun - 0
Armed Policing - Firearm discharges
Total number of discharges 2021/22 - 12
Conventional
- April 2021- 0
- May 2021- 0
- June 2021- 0
- July 2021 - 0
- August 2021 - 0
- September 2021 - 0
- October 2021 - 2
- November 2021 - 0
- December 2021 - 0
- January 2022 - 0
- February 2022 - 0
- March 2022 - 0
Other Less Lethal
- April 2021 - 0
- May 2021 - 0
- June 2021 - 0
- July 2021 - 0
- August 2021 - 0
- September 2021 - 0
- October 2021 - 0
- November 2021 - 0
- December 2021 - 0
- January 2022 - 0
- February 2022 - 1
- March 2022 - 0
Specialist Munitions
- April 2021 - 0
- May 2021 - 0
- June 2021 - 0
- July 2021 - 0
- August 2021 - 7
- September 2021 - 0
- October 2021 - 0
- November 2021 - 0
- December 2021 - 1
- January 2022 - 0
- February 2022 - 0
- March 2022 - 1
Historical Armed Policing - Firearm discharges
2020/21
- Conventional - 0
- Other Less Lethal - 0
- Specialist Munitions - 1
2019/20
- Conventional - 2
- Other Less Lethal - 0
- Specialist Munitions - 1
2018/19
- Conventional - 0
- Other Less Lethal - 2
- Specialist Munitions - 4
2017/18
- Conventional - 6
- Other Less Lethal - 1
- Specialist Munitions - 1
2016/17
- Conventional - 12
- Other Less Lethal - 0
- Specialist Munitions - 0
2015/16
- Conventional - 6
- Other Less Lethal - 1
- Specialist Munitions - 0
Please note the information provided only refers to Armed Policing and does not include information in relation to Royalty and VIP Planning or Specially Trained Officers.
For 2020/21 and 2021/22 - Due to an ongoing investigation, some data cannot currently be included. The report will be updated as soon as possible.