Armed response vehicle

An armed response vehicle (ARV) is a type of police car operated by British law enforcement. ARVs are crewed by Authorised Firearms Officers to respond to incidents believed to involve firearms or other high-risk situations. ARVs are specially adapted and modified to accommodate specialist equipment, along with the transportation of armed officers to a scene of an incident.

Armed response vehicles were introduced to the British Police to provide them with a firearms response capability, as the United Kingdom police do not routinely carry firearms on patrol, with the exception of a minority of armed officers. Outside of London, ARVs are controlled and organised by the Force Firearms Unit, and within the capital they are controlled by Specialist Firearms Command. ARVs are identifiable in London by a yellow dot sticker, visible from each angle, and an asterisk on the roof to enable helicopters to identify the vehicle as being an ARV. Diplomatic Protection Group vehicles, identifiable by their red paintwork, utilise the same markings to denote the carrying of firearms officers.

ARVs were deployed officially for the first time in London, during 1991. An "unpublicised" ARV was deployed in the Brixton area after the riots and was operational in the 1980s, code name Lima Delta 53 . This had the standard S & W revolvers and was on patrol at all times. Following their success, forces outside of the capital later formed them throughout the early to mid-1990s. The concept of an ARV was influenced by West Yorkshire Police's instant response cars, as used in 1976.

Early ARVs contained a secure safe between the seats containing a .38 Smith & Wesson Model 10 for each member, with two 9mm Heckler & Koch MP5 semi-automatic carbines secured in the boot. After ARVs became established and the practice was accepted for widespread use, the Model 10 revolvers were replaced by more recent semi-automatic Glock 17s chambered in 9×19mm, and the Heckler & Koch G36C carbine.

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