A SHARP drop in the number of incidents involving armed police officers in the region may be partly explained by the introduction of stun guns, one force says.

The number of operations where permission was granted for the use of conventional firearms in 2009-10 fell by 23 per cent, Home Office statistics showed.

The fall was mirrored by the decline in incidents, across the North-East and North Yorkshire, which needed an armed response vehicle – down by 22 per cent on 2008-9.

The biggest fall was recorded by the Cleveland force, which sent armed officers to 430 operations in 2009-10, down from 667, and used armed response vehicles 426 times, down from 661.

A force spokesman pointed to the growing use of stun guns, saying: “Firearms officers are only deployed to incidents where they may have to protect themselves or other people from someone who is believed to have a firearm or other potentially lethal weapon, or someone is so dangerous that it is considered appropriate.”

An increasing number of police officers have been authorised to use tasers, despite criticism that the US-manufactured weapons can be lethal. Forces defended them, saying they were highly effective.

In County Durham, armed officers were sent to 140 operations in 2009-10, down from 181, and armed response vehicles were used 140 times, down from 164.

A spokesman said: “The total for firearms operations can include armed escorts for high-risk prisoners, so the figures can rise or fall depending on the number of escorts required.

“Criminal incidents involving firearms remain low in County Durham and Darlington compared with the national average, and all our training and planning is aimed at ensuring that remains the case.”

There was a similar picture of declining use of firearms in North Yorkshire.

Across England and Wales, the number of operations in which police officers were authorised to use firearms fell by seven per cent. A weapon was fired at only six incidents, up from five a year earlier.