Scotland Yard renames Viper gun unit focused on tackling violent crime in London as the Proactive Firearms Team because venomous snakes association is deemed ‘too aggressive’
- Met Police gun crime unit set to be renamed Proactive Armed Team by bosses
- Operation Viper unit name seen as ‘too aggressive and militaristic’, sources said
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Scotland Yard is to rename its Operation Viper unit tackling violent gun crime because it is deemed to be ‘too aggressive’.
The unit, which was established to address the rise in gun crime across London, will now be called the Proactive Armed Team after senior officers worried that the association with venomous snakes portrayed the wrong image.
The unit set up in 2016 carries out targeted intelligence-led operations in areas where there are reports of gun violence and activity.
A source told the Telegraph that bosses feared the current name sounded ‘too aggressive and militaristic’.
Other Met units are also being considered for rebranding, including the Parliamentary and Diplomatic Protection where Sarah Everard’s killer Wayne Couzens and serial rapist David Carrick worked.
Scotland Yard is to rename its Operation Viper unit tackling violent gun crime because it is deemed to be ‘too aggressive’
Susan Hall, leader of the City Hall Conservatives and a member of the Policing and Crime Committee said ‘it is all a bit ridiculous’
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There has also been discussion over whether the Metropolitan Police itself should be renamed in a bid to restore public confidence.
Susan Hall, leader of the City Hall Conservatives and a member of the Policing and Crime Committee, told the Telegraph: ‘I assume they have got their reasons, but a mobile phone is stolen every six minutes, burglaries are not being solved.
‘It is all just a bit ridiculous and raises questions about priorities.
‘I do not have a problem with the police using aggressive names for units that are going out and tackling dangerous criminals. These men and women are going out to face armed villains.
‘We have got a situation where the people who should not fear the police are frightened to death of them and those who should fear them do not.’
A Met Police spokesman said: ‘The name change better reflects the fact the team focuses exclusively on firearms crime.’
The news comes after four people were shot in separate attacks in the capital over the weekend.
A total of 150 teenagers have been violently killed in London since Sadiq Khan was elected Mayor seven years ago.
