Armed Response Vehicle

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Armed Response Vehicles (ARVs) are used by the Firearms units of Policing in the United Kingdom Territorial police force including London's Metropolitan Police Services CO19 that respond to armed criminal activity, their main role is to react to spontaneous incidents involving firearms. They are also sometimes used for escorting Category A (high-risk) prisoners during transfers.

The Association of Chief Police Officers (ACPO) defines an ARV:

“‘Armed Response Vehicle’ is the term generally used to define a patrolling vehicle which contains firearms, usually in a secure armoury. The vehicle is crewed by at least two police officers suitably trained in the use of weapons and equipment to be carried in the vehicle. … [The purpose is] to provide an immediate armed response to appropriate incidents with the ability to use firearms if justified. … to provide initial containment at such an incident, pending the arrival of other firearms support” (ACPO, 2003, 5.10.3)

ARVs were first modelled on the Instant Response Cars introduced by West Yorkshire Police in 1976, and were first introduced in London in 1991, when 132 armed deployments were made. During 1992 and 1993 all police forces in England and Wales introduced ARVs.

The British police do not routinely carry firearms – only specially-trained Authorised Firearms Officers or Specialist Firearms Officers are authorised to do so. ARV crews are typically teams of two (or, in London, three), and are responsible for patrolling specific areas.

In most forces, the main weapons are locked in an armoury, in a less threatening situation where no immediate risk to life is present AFOs are required to gain authorisation to deploy the weapons although personal sidearms are carried on the officer as a matter of routine. However, if waiting for authorisation to remove the weapon would significantly increase the risk to life, then the AFO may do so without formal authorisation.

As with all use of force in England and Wales, the onus is on the individual officer to justify any use of force, which includes not only discharging a weapon (intentionally or otherwise), but also pointing his weapon at any person (all of which constitute an assault unless there are 'reasonable grounds'). The individual officer is held personally accountable for all of his actions. This however has changed slightly since the implementation of Operation Kratos, whereby a Designated Senior Officer can give an order to shoot in a situation whereby the firearms officer may not be fully aware of the entire situation, in which circumstance the DSO can be held accountable.

ARVs are typically large high performance vehicles: saloon cars, people carriers or four wheel drives. The Volvo T5 estate is a favourite in many forces. The crew of a county force ARV consists of a driver, responsible for getting to the scene quickly and safely, and an 'operator', whose job is to navigate, use the radio and perform other non-driving tasks. In London, a third observer is also carried, responsible for navigation, liaising at the scene with local police and requesting more AFOs if needed. In some forces as many as five or six officers are carried in larger Armed Intervention Units.

Since firearms operations are rare in many forces, ARVs often perform the duties of unarmed units, such as Traffic Units.

ARV Drivers will be at least 'Standard' level, meaning that they will have undergone at least a 5 week driving course at their force's driver training centre, and may have completed further training.

ARVs are known to include:

  • Hand held spot light.
  • Fire Extinguisher.
  • Stinger (Spike strip for stopping cars safely, through the slow deflation of tyres).
  • Standard first aid kit.
  • Ballistic First aid kit.
  • Brush etc for clearing roads after accidents.
  • On board Radio set.
  • Incident Data Recorder, (Commonly known as a "black box").
  • MOE (Method of Entry) equipment, such as an enforcer (battering ram), crowbar or sledgehammer.
  • ARVs contain a handgun and a rifle/submachine gun for each crewmember. Common choices for rifles include the Heckler & Koch MP5 submachine gun, and the Heckler & Koch G36; and the Glock 17 is a popular choice for the handgun.
  • Most ARVs now carry less-lethal weapons such as Heckler & Koch Baton Guns and XP26 Tasers.

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