The use of firearms by police forces varies widely across the world, in part due to differences in gun use policy, civilian firearm laws, and recording of police activity. Some police forces may require that officers use warning shots or verbal warnings before employing deadly force, and others may prohibit officers from carrying firearms while performing tasks such as highway patrol where gun use is not expected.

Unarmed police forces

In eighteen countries or territories, the police do not carry firearms unless the situation is expected to merit it: Botswana, Cook Islands, Fiji, Iceland, Ireland, Kiribati, Malawi, Marshall Islands, Nauru, New Zealand, Niue, Samoa, Solomon Islands, Tonga, Tuvalu, the United Kingdom (except for Northern Ireland), the British Virgin Islands and Vanuatu. These countries exhibit gun-homicide rates markedly lower on average than countries with armed police forces. Their police forces commonly adopt a philosophy of policing by consent.

In China, police also do not carry guns on standard patrol.

A survey conducted in Great Britain in 2004 found that 47% of citizens supported arming all police while 48% were opposed to the idea.

By country Australia

All police officers in Australia carry firearms which are personally issued to them. This usually includes detectives and highway patrol officers. The firearm most commonly issued is the Glock semi-automatic handgun. The Australian police forces are monitored by the Australian Institute of Criminology, which has recorded police shooting deaths since 1989. All fatal police shootings are subject to a mandatory coronial inquest. A 2013 review by the Australian Institute of Criminology found that 42% of victims of fatal police shootings had a mental illness. A more recent history of deaths by police shootings is tabulated below.

2000/1 2001/2 2002/3 2003/4 2004/5 2005/6 2006/7 2007/8 2008/9 People killed 3 2 5 7 6 3 3 3 5

2009/10 2010/11 2011/12 2012/13 2013/14 2014/15 2015/16 2016/17 People killed 3 6 4 1 3 10 5 4

1.Data provided by the Australian Institute of Criminology

Austria Police in Austria usually carry firearms, including Glock pistols. They are monitored by the Austrian Interior Ministry. Since 2006, the records of police firearm use have been expanded to show whether or not a round was targeted at people.

2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 Rounds discharged 133 105 172 177 143 121 147 107 120 111 74 81 Rounds targeted at people - - - - - - 9 6 6 7 4 4 Minor injuries 1 1 - 2 1 1 1 1 1 0 0 0 Major injuries 6 3 - 14 4 3 5 6 5 3 3 1 People killed 0 0 0 0 X 1 X X X X X X 1.10 injuries, severity not specified. Data reported on by Heute

Czech Republic

All uniformed police officers belonging to the Police of the Czech Republic (PČR) and all Municipal police departments usually carry firearms. Most officers are equipped with CZ 75D Compact pistols. The use of firearms by police officers belonging to the PČR is regulated by the Act no. 273/2008 Sb. (Act on the Police of the Czech Republic), which defines the ways an officer can use his service weapon and states that a police officer of the PČR is not a subject to the Act no. 119/2002 Sb. (Act on Firearms and ammunition) and as such doesn't have to possess a weapons licence.

The use by officers belonging to a municipal police department is regulated by the Act no. 119/2002 Sb. therefore they need to possess the appropriate weapons licence. The use is further regulated by the Act no. 553/1991 Sb. (Act on the Municipal Police), which gives officers more rights regarding the use of a firearm, such as the right to open carry.

The regulation for the Municipal Police is generally more strict than the regulation for PČR and doesn't give municipal police officers the same rights as PČR officers.

Table below only includes the statistics for PČR officers and doesn't include municipal police departments.

2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 Threat by a pointed weapon - - 945 812 1126 982 1079 824 Warning shots - - 70 54 37 60 77 40 Total shots fired for effect 28 30 29 29 26 27 26 19 Of which at a person: 5 2 3 8 1 3 - - a vehicle: 16 18 18 12 11 13 - -an animal:71089145 - - 1.Data until 31st of August 2.Data until 13th of November Data reported on by the Police of the Czech Republic

Denmark

Since 1965, all Danish police officers have carried firearms when performing their duties. Danish police used Walther PPK 7.65 mm as the standard pistol until 2000, and then the Heckler & Koch USP 9 mm was introduced. In 2008 police began to carry pepper spray in addition to their firearm. Further, all officers are trained in the use of Heckler & Koch MP5, which is issued on special assignments or severe incidents.

Additionally, every police district have specially trained "Reaktionspatruljer" deployed round the clock, carrying the 5.56 × 45 mm NATO GV M/10.

The appropriate use of firearms is described in the Act on Police Activities regulations, section 16 and 17 is translated into English in.

In Denmark the police use of weapons is recorded by the police department. The police department classifies tear gas as the use of a firearm. In 2006 the death of four people by police shootings prompted an investigation into the use of firearms by the Danish police force from 1996 to 2006. The investigation found no significant trends of increased firearms use by the police.

1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 Cases of firearm use 222 276 196 216 234 242 269 305 269 243 253 Reports of shots fired 15 18 7 10 11 22 17 10 18 15 20 Reports of shots aimed at civilians 7 7 4 5 3 12 7 3 4 2 11 People hit 7 3 4 3 3 7 5 3 3 2 11 People wounded 6 3 4 3 3 4 3 2 3 2 7 People killed 1 0 0 0 0 3 2 1 0 0 4 1.Includes warning shots and tear gas fired. 2.Includes shots aimed at vehicle tyres.

More recent figures have been published separately in a different format.

2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 Cases of firearm use 361 305 277 260 323 315 Rounds discharged 32 39 86 49 58 53 Warning shots 11 6 49 6 12 17

Finland Police in Finland have access to weapons including a Glock 17, Heckler & Koch MP5, Taser and pepper spray. The use of firearms is recorded by the Police College and the Finnish ministry of the Interior.

2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 Incidents firearms were used 39 26 36 27 41 44 32 40 34 39 27 Firearm was threatened 31 23 25 20 28 39 30 32 24 33 19 Rounds fired 10 3 11 7 9 5 3 13 48 7 6 Warning shots 10 3 7 4 3 3 2 5 1 0 2 People killed 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 0 0 0 People wounded 0 0 3 3 3 2 1 2 1 1 4 Data reported on by YLE uutiset

France French police carry firearms; however, there is no official record of how frequently firearms are used. An independent group A Toutes Les Victimes has tracked the number of deaths and injuries by police which have been published in the media since 2005. In 2021 the National Assembly passed Article 25, allowing French police officers to carry service firearms while off-duty, though their use remains strictly limited to defense of self and others.

2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 Number of deaths 6 10 19 11 6 9 10 14 Number of injuries 3 7 2 7 5 4 0 4 1Unofficial data from the A Toutes Les Victimes census

Germany

German police forces usually carry firearms. Police firearm statistics dating back to 1984 are available, a summary of recent years is tabulated below.

2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 20152016201720182019202020212022 Warning shots 59 49 54 41 65 48 32614944496048 Firearm use on objects 10 30 14 17 22 13 2881929352826 Firearm use on people 37 36 36 42 46 40 52755664755160 Injuries 23 15 20 20 31 2228393430413141 Deaths 8 6 8 8 7 101114111515811

Iceland Icelandic police officers do not regularly carry firearms, although all receive firearms training. In 2013 the first fatal police shooting took place where one man was killed. As of October 2019 this remains the only fatal police shooting since Iceland became an independent republic in 1944.

Ireland

The strength of the Garda Síochána (national police) is approximately 15,000 officers, most of whom are unarmed; approximately 4,000 are authorised to carry firearms.

The majority of armed Gardaí (officers) consist of ordinary detectives (routinely armed with handguns for personal protection) or belong to specialist regional Armed Support Units. An elite national Emergency Response Unit exists that is trained in hostage rescue tactics.

There were six fatal shootings by Gardaí between 1998 and 2021.

Italy The members of all three National law enforcement forces of Italy – the civilian Polizia di Stato, the Carabinieri national gendarmerie, and the Guardia di Finanza – normally carry firearms on duty; to date, the standard service sidearm is the Beretta M92-FS, but the Carabinieri and the Guardia di Finanza in the past few years have either supplemented or started to phase it out with more compact pistols such as the Beretta 8000 and the Beretta PX4 Storm, and to a lesser extent, the Beretta APX since 2020.

Members of national police forces are also allowed to retain their service pistol and carry it when off-duty, all through the national territory; due to the large size and weight of the Beretta 92, which makes it difficult to carry concealed in most of the Country during the Summer, Law 80/2025 was passed on June 9, 2025, allowing members of the Polizia di Stato, Carabinieri and Guardia di Finanza to privately purchase firearms to carry off-duty without additional licenses.

Patrol officers are also issued submachine-guns when on duty, usually at the rate of one per two-men car. The standard issue submachine-gun is the Beretta PM12-S, but the newer Beretta PMX started to phase it out in Italian law enforcement service in 2018.

Other firearms – including Benelli and Franchi semi-automatic and pump-action shotguns, Beretta assault rifles and more – are kept in armories at police stations for deployment in case of severe emergencies such as active shooter situations or terror attacks.

Officers on patrol are also equipped with truncheons of different kinds, and, since 2022, have access to the Axon X2 Taser. The TW-1000 RSG6W pepper spray has been adopted and is in service since 2017.

Elite units have access to a broader range of firearms and weaponry.

The Polizia Locale – small local law enforcement departments operated by each individual municipality and generally tasked to enforce urban regulations, control traffic, and deal with petty antisocial behaviour – can be issued with pistols if their city's local police regulation allows them to do so. In that case, they can carry their issued firearm when off-duty only within the confines of their municipality. Each Polizia Locale decides which firearm to adopt among the many available on the Italian civilian firearms market, so the type and caliber of handguns used can vary wildly all through the Country.

The use of firearms by all local and national law enforcement is regulated by Article 53 of the Italian Criminal Code, which allows officers to use weapons for self-defense, in case of resistance, or to prevent suspects from committing the crimes of murder, armed robbery, kidnapping, or mass casualty attacks including large-scale terror attacks, volountary shipwreck, train wreck, or hijacking.

Jamaica

The majority of police officers in Jamaica are trained in the use of firearms. The main service firearm used by Jamaican police, particularly the Jamaica Constabulary Force has changed over time. In recent years, the JCF has predominantly employed the Glock 17 as its regular service pistol. Constables assigned to the Specialized Operations Branch (Jamaican equivalent of a SWAT team) have been seen carrying M16 and M4 carbine assault rifles.