The number of times police drew or pointed firearms in Northern Ireland rose by 20% in 2022-23, new figures have revealed.
Use of force statistics were published on Friday and relate to incidents between 1 April 2022 to 31 March 2023.
They showed police drew or pointed firearms 527 times, which was the highest level in the previous 10 years.The report said in the vast majority of cases officers acted to protect themselves or other officers.Irritant spray usage increased while attenuating energy projective - more commonly known as baton rounds - and baton use decreased.
The spray was used on 240 occasions - up from 220 - and was drawn a total of 274 times, a 20% rise on the previous figure of 229.
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