Britain will increase the number of its armed police as a response to recent attacks in Europe that have seen terrorists make coordinated strikes against multiple targets.
Around 1,000 extra firearms officers will be recruited, 400 of them in large cities outside London, including Manchester and Birmingham. They will be given 40 new armed response vehicles, Prime Minister David Cameron said during a visit to Washington to discuss nuclear security issues.
"After the terrorist attacks in France last year, we decided to look at whether there was more we could do to protect people from the type of terrorist threat we now face," Cameron said in a statement. "That's why we're increasing the number of specially trained armed officers up and down the country."
Britain's police force is largely unarmed — out of 120,000 officers, just under 6,000 can carry weapons — something made possible by tight rules on gun ownership. There are only about 30 deaths due to gun crime each year, compared to more than 8,000 murders involving firearms in the U.S. in 2013.
Cameron's move followed a decision earlier this year by London's Metropolitan Police to increase its own armed capacity. Intelligence officials have warned that the country is highly likely to be the target of terrorist attacks like those in Belgium and France.
The expansion of armed police is intended to complement contingency plans for as many as 10,000 troops to be deployed in response to a terrorist attack.
Simon Chesterman of Britain's National Police Chiefs' Council said the changes "will ensure we are in an even stronger position to respond quickly and effectively to protect the public."
