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What is going on at the Metropolitan Police when it comes to guns? Today it emerged that a movie set in Elephant and Castle, that had police permission, was later declared a crime scene. The Met's CO19 armed response unit has also been revealed as having the countries worst itchy trigger fingers, accidentally discharging their weapons more than any other force. The entertainment group behind the 'crime scene' that gained permission from police for the use of fake weapons said it was "astonishing" that the police could not tie the two incidents together. There were even two officers on the set for two days whilst actors and stunt men blasted 1,700 blanks at each other. Crew swept up the shells but the next morning a member of the public found some and alerted the police. Forensic officers descended on the Heygate estate and sealed off the area, it was only when the cartridges were analysed that the penny dropped. The spokesman for the Foxtrot movie firm said cops suggested they could be charged with wasting police time. Scotland Yard said officers had spoken to the production company and "inquiries are ongoing". The site is derelict and is used frequently for filming. Residents called the bungled response "pretty stupid". Met defend CO19 blunders CO19 officers accidentally discharged their weapons 56 times in the last three years; nationally the mistakes outnumbered the amount used in actual incidents. Police have only used their guns 29 times in response to suspected crimes. A spokesman for the Metropolitan Police defended the number of blunders: "We have nearly 3,000 authorised firearms officers and many deploy every day with firearms. Most will carry two weapons are required to load and unload at the beginning and end of every shift. The majority of such discharges are during load and unload drills. They do not involve injury. They are not taken lightly. Each case is reviewed. Work is done to remind officers of the risks - to review the operating environments and procedures to make them as safe as possible."
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