This is really a review of two books because London’s Armed Police follows on from the author’s earlier title (albeit released by a different publisher) Stop! Armed Police!: Inside the Met’s Firearms Unit.
The earlier title related the history of the Met’s firearms unit, from foundation through an exhaustive recounting of each and every shooting incident and the unit’s repeated reorganisation, up to the date of publication (2013). London’s Armed Police takes up the story, detailing shootings, incidents, and the unit’s reorganisation since. This truncated timeframe (the earlier title covered the period 1966 to 2013, while this book covers 2013 to 2019) allows the author much more space to detail the tactics, training and weapons of the unit (always mindful of course not to divulge confidential details).
The earlier title discussed tactics and weaponry too, but this latter title has much more on this and of course details the contemporary unit’s kit and procedures. Like the previous title, London’s Armed Police is gorgeously illustrated with dramatic colour photographs which bring what might otherwise be a technical manual to life. Similarly, photographs are used to illustrate the accounts of police shootings, though only where appropriate and there are no gratuitous pictures of bodies.
This is a non-fiction history but it is not a dry account and the author knows his subject and brings it to life. Readers will come to this from a variety of perspectives. For some, the appeal will be simple interest in the subject. For others like myself, it will be more reference. As a journalist and a writer of crime fiction, I have an interest in armed police operations. Whatever the readers' motivation, this is a readable and well laid out account of the Met police firearms unit and one that is sure to not disappoint.
5 out of 5 stars
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