THERE will be more armed officers on the streets of Hampshire following government investment to protect the public from terrorism.

Police in England and Wales have started training around 1,500 extra firearms officers, who are equipped to respond to incidents such as last year’s Paris attacks.

The Home Office is providing £143m of new funding to assist forces in areas deemed to be “of greatest risk”. The money is on top of that already pledged by individual chief constables, including Hampshire’s, to increase the number of armed officers under their command.

In total, around 1,000 officers will be trained and equipped as a result of the government grant, which will be spread over five years. The majority of these will be deployed in “highly mobile, rapid reaction teams on patrol and ready to respond 24/7”.

Other officers will receive even more specialised training to deal with a wider range of terrorism threats.

Individual forces are also making more money available to increase their overall numbers of authorised firearms users. This will result in a further 500 who are locally funded.

The extra cash has been welcomed, with Scott Chilton, temporary assistant chief constable for Hampshire Constabulary and Thames Valley Police, saying the boost will help build on the forces’ work to date.

“We have been developing plans for many months, supported by our police and crime commissioners,” he said.

“This increase in national funding is welcome as it will put us in an even stronger position to respond quickly and effectively to protect the public.

“We have been working with regional partners across the South East for some time to make sure that, when recruited and trained, these resources will be deployed to best effect. We will be announcing more details of the specific local plans for Hampshire and Thames Valley in the coming weeks.”

In addition to the extra officers, funds will also be used to increase the number of high-speed armed response vehicles available.

The Home Office grant will up the numbers by 30 per cent to around 150 in key regions, but added to local funding the eventual number of crewed vehicles operating around the clock will be between 170 and 190 country-wide.

The recruitment and training programme for new officers is already under way. Numbers completing the courses will increase incrementally with most qualifying within a year, and all by April 2018.

Deputy Chief Constable Simon Chesterman, the National Police Chiefs’ Council lead for Armed Policing, added: “Over recent years we have significantly enhanced the training, tactics and weaponry of armed officers to ensure that they are capable of dealing with all types of terrorist attacks.

“We have also delivered enhanced capability across all emergency services to deliver an effective joint response.

“This additional uplift will ensure we are in an even stronger position to respond quickly and effectively to protect the public.”

The Metropolitan Police have ramped up patrols of armed officers in London to tackle the risk of a terrorist attack.

An extra 600 were announced in January, bringing the capital’s total up to 2,800.

However, with so much attention placed on London, some fear it leaves other “softer targets” around the UK more appealing for would-be terrorists, hence the government’s steps to distribute further armed officers around the country.