JB-15.26 Accepted

Alternative to life hammer for window entry during armed operations

Jermaine Baker Inquiry · Report into the Death of Jermaine Baker · Issued 5 July 2022 · Addressed to: Metropolitan Police Service

Source — verbatim from the inquiry

Inquiry recommendation, 15.26

Consideration should be given by the MPS, Home Office and the NPCC to finding a more suitable solution for smashing windows during the course of an armed operation, so that an officer who is holding a firearm does not need to take their hand off their main weapon to utilise a life hammer.

Jermaine Baker Inquiry, Report into the Death of Jermaine Baker · 5 Jul 2022 Source PDF →

Published evidence summary

Publicly available evidence relating to this recommendation:

- The Metropolitan Police Service stated on 28 October 2022 that MPS firearms officers no longer use a glass hammer, and that each officer had been issued an extendable X-ball device, with each team issued a longer device for use at distance (MPS Response to Jermaine Baker Inquiry, October 2022).
- The College of Policing updated APP-AP in August 2023 noting progress on this recommendation (College of Policing APP-AP update, August 2023).

Response — verbatim from government

Metropolitan Police Service

MPS formally responded on 28 October 2022 (para 39). MPS firearms no longer use glass hammer. Each officer issued extendable X-ball device; each team issued longer device for use at distance.

Metropolitan Police Service · 28 Oct 2022 Written response →

Evidence trail — what's actually happened since

  • 1 Aug 2023 Status as of College of Policing APP-AP update (August 2023): Completed Source →

Each entry above links to a primary source — gov.uk written statement, consultation response document, or inspection report. The Index does not characterise government intent; it tracks what has been published.

How this page is built

Source and Response are verbatim from primary documents. The Evidence trail records published activity since — written statements, consultation outcomes, inspection findings, parliamentary references. The Index does not paraphrase or characterise intent; it tracks what has been published. Where the evidence is the absence of action (a missed deadline, a slipped timetable), that absence is documented from primary sources rather than inferred.

This recommendation's data is verified periodically against primary sources. The Index is monitored for staleness weekly.