Baton rounds and public order policing
09 November 2011
Metropolitan Police Service officers are deployed to facilitate peaceful protests and that is the aim today. A range of tactics are available to us if there is criminality and violence associated with the event, including the authority to deploy baton rounds in extreme circumstances - however at this moment in time there is no intention to deploy baton rounds.
Officers policing the route will not be armed with baton rounds. These are carried by a small number of trained officers. This is a tactic which has always been available to deploy in the most extreme circumstances.
To give context to their use, the MPS had authority to use baton rounds during the disorder this summer but did not do so. This tactic requires pre-authority, and would take time to deploy, and is one of a range of tactics we have had available for public order, and not used, in the past.