A new police coordination centre, which will manage policing for civil emergencies and hold a record of officers with relevant special skills has been opened.
Damian Green, the Minister for Policing, said the National Police Coordination Centre (NPoCC), which replaces the Police National Information Coordination Centre (PNICC), would be better-placed to respond to emergency situations, having built on the experience of aiding policing of the Olympics and Paralympics last year.
The centre will monitor specialisms such as firearms units, mounted officers and dog handlers, help in planning significant events and work with the National Domestic Extremism Unit on establishing threats.
Mr Green said, “This new centre will perform a vital role in helping police forces across the country coordinate their resources to effectively respond to civil emergencies and cross-border policing issues.
“It will ensure that there are teams of trained officers and specialist assets in all forces ready to assist anywhere in the country when called upon.”
The centre’s first task is to deploy officers to look after the G8 summit, which takes place next month.