Watch: Armed Counter-Terrorism officers hit the streets of London

Counter Terrorism Specialist Firearms Officers – dubbed C-men – can deploy by road, river or air in an emergency 

Feel free to go nuts, with the “C-Men” puns.

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Heavily armed new police patrols have been deployed on the streets of London today after a wave of terror attacks in Europe.

Met Commissioner Sir Bernard Hogan-Howe unveiled the plan to put more highly visible patrols, armed  to the teeth with pistols and semi-automatic SIG Carbine rifles, at major landmarks as a deterrent to potential attackers.

https://youtu.be/ToIoM3z8JX8

As well as guns, the new generation of armed officers also have BMW F800GS motorbikes to allow them to scramble to an incident anywhere in the capital and speed boats so they can deploy from the Thames.

 

The new officers are masked in order to protect their identity from attackers, which can help in a variety of different circumstances – from hostage situations, targeted attacks to kidnap attempts. The masks provide an extra layer of safety for counter-terrorism officers as they carry out their various specialist tasks.

But today’s announcement – dubbed Operation Hercules by the Met – came against a backdrop of warnings from the Police Federation that it will take two years to deliver a promised increase of 1,500 in the trained-strength of armed officers across the country.