Recording and documentation of firearms planning meetings and briefings
Jermaine Baker Inquiry · Report into the Death of Jermaine Baker · Issued 5 July 2022 · Addressed to: Metropolitan Police Service
Government responseMetropolitan Police Service: Accepted in part (Oct 2022)
DeliveryNo statement from Metropolitan Police Service found
Recommendation, verbatim from the inquiry
●Inquiry recommendation, 15.7
MPS Armed Policing Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) to be amended so that: a. Notes and/or audio recordings should be made of all meetings in relation to general strategy where it is envisaged that firearms may or will be deployed during the course of a planned operation, and training given to explain why it is so important – for reasons of accountability and to establish an audit trail. b. Such notes should include the date, location and duration of the meeting, the identity of those present, the capacity in which they are attending, and details of decisions made and actions accepted or rejected. c. All planning meetings should be properly minuted and the minutes thereof should be centrally retained. d. All briefings relating to firearms operations should be audio-recorded unless it is not reasonably practicable on the grounds of sensitivity of information/intelligence to do so, in which case they should be minuted in the same way as planning meetings.
Jermaine Baker Inquiry, Report into the Death of Jermaine Baker · 5 Jul 2022 Source PDF →
Published evidence summary
AI-generated evidence summary
The Metropolitan Police Service stated in October 2022 that it had issued internal guidance requiring planning meetings for authorised armed operations to be comprehensively minuted, and had reviewed training to ensure proper record keeping across operational roles (Metropolitan Police Service response, Oct 2022). It added in October 2022 that recording all firearms briefings remained under national review alongside the College of Policing, after which it would consider necessary amendments to its standard operating procedure (Metropolitan Police Service response, Oct 2022). The record holds no update since the Metropolitan Police Service's response of October 2022 (Metropolitan Police Service response, Oct 2022).
Sources
AI-generated summary of the record on this page, checked by a second model and automatic checks, 26 Sep 2026.
Government response
●Metropolitan Police Service · Accepted in part · 28 Oct 2022
The MPS has issued internal guidance to all SFCs and TFCs that planning meetings for authorised armed operations must have comprehensive minutes recorded to ensure operational clarity and to provide an audit trail. The latest iteration of the MPS Police Use of Firearms Standard Operating Procedure (PUoF SOP) is consistent with APP-AP in relation to this. 18. This recommendation applies only to the MPS Armed Policing Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) which is the document referred to at paragraph [17] above. Amendment to the PUoF SOP however will have a limited effect upon officers in non-firearms roles. The MPS accepted at the Inquiry that there were shortcomings in notes and minutes of meetings from some officers in both the firearms command structure and from the Central Crime Command. The MPS agrees with the broad terms of this recommendation and that such record keeping should be implemented where practicable. Having considered this recommendation in light of the evidence heard at the Inquiry, there has been a meeting between the organisational learning team designated to this Inquiry and the MPS Senior Investigation Officer (SIO) course director in order to review training and policy documents relating to SIOs on such operations to ensure that they and the colleagues they supervise are reminded of the need to keep a proper record during such planning meetings. This will ensure that this recommendation is not confined to officers in firearms roles. 19. The recommendation in relation to the recording of all firearms briefings is still being reviewed in conjunction with the College of Policing and national colleagues. For the reasons given by Superintendent McKibbin during the Inquiry hearings at 29/107/4-108/12, this is a complicated matter, and any solution must be functional, proportionate and effective. The MPS is reviewing this matter but considers that it would not be appropriate to institute the policy until consideration of the issue has been completed at a national level. The MPS has been involved in discussions with key armed policing stakeholders, including at the meeting on 8 September 2022, concerning what instructions from an OFC may be regarded as recordable briefings and as to what systems and safeguards would apply to preserve officer anonymity and the covert nature of armed policing. 20. The MPS understands that following this recommendation the College of Policing will review APP-AP in respect of recommendation 7 (a-c) and in particular the content on the recording of all firearms briefings. Once this is published, the MPS will consider any necessary amendments to the PUoF SOP.
Response document: Public Inquiry into the Death of Jermaine Baker: Update on Recommendations
Delivery
No statement on delivery from Metropolitan Police Service has been found in the sources searched. This is separate from the response above.
How this page is built
The recommendation and the government responses are verbatim from primary documents. Delivery statements and other bodies' findings are shown in their own words, each with its source. The summary is written by this site and labelled as such. The Index does not paraphrase sources or characterise intent; it records what has been published.