19% rise in police firearms operations
The number of police firearms operations in England and Wales increased by 19% to 18,746 in the year to March - the highest number since 2010/11, Home Office figures show.
The increase of 2,937 represents a continuing rise since the year ending March 2016, when there were 15,809.
It is the highest number of armed police operations since 2010/11 when there were 19,586.
The statistics reveal there were 12 incidents in which police firearms were discharged - up from 10 in the previous year.
They also show there were 6,459 armed officers at the end of March - an increase of 3% (181 officers) compared with a year earlier.
