Today I was part of a media team that was briefed by the CO19 unit which is the branch name given to the Specialist Firearm Command branch of the Metropolitan Police Service that provides firearms-related support to their unarmed colleagues. The branch is comprised of a small number of officers who are highly trained and motivated in dealing with all aspects of the criminal use of firearms. Operationally, the branch is there to provide armed support to allow the vast majority of policing activities throughout London to be conducted in the traditional manner by unarmed officers

These officers are the first 'Armed officers' to arrive on the scene and in serious cases can call for the support of specialist firearms teams.
Each Armed Response Vehicle (ARV) is crewed by three officers in police uniform who patrol specific areas of London to ensure the fastest response. Each member of the crew has specific functions whilst responding to calls. The 'driver' is responsible for getting the crew to the scene in the fastest, safest way possible having regard to the public presence on the roads. The 'operator' is responsible for the many in-car communications and extracting the maximum amount of information prior to their arrival. The 'observer' in the rear of the vehicle has a London map book and provides the driver with a suitable route

When the officers first arrive they will make an immediate assessment. If an armed containment is deemed necessary to isolate an armed suspect from the public, then two of the crew will deploy leaving one to control the incident, calling for further armed support and liasing with the local senior police officer. All these officers are personally armed with 'Glock' 17 self-loading pistols and two of the officers have access to 'Heckler and Koch' MP5 carbines as shown here.

Supervising officers from the firearms department also patrol in marked police vehicles and attend incidents as they develop. They take charge of the armed officers present and give the local senior officer tactical advice on how to resolve these incidents in the safest possible way. They carry additional equipment, which may have to be used particularly if force is needed to gain entry to premises
We also had a chance to use imitation firearms in a video game