UK Metropolitan Police Jankel Guardian

Recent media coverage of the UK Metropolitan Police procurement of Plasan SandCats has turned the spotlight on its Jankel Guardian predecessor, writes Bob Morrison.

~

Entering service in 2004, the Jankel Guardian was used for High Risk Armed Policing Operations in and around London and at major airports. It is believed that on occasions some of the fleet were also loaned out by the Met to allow other Constabularies to have on-call capability during events where there was a heightened possibility of terrorist attack.

In 2017, in response to a tabled Question to the Mayor of London, it was stated: “The MPS [Metropolitan Police Service] currently owns 14 Jankel trucks deployed across Armed Policing, Aviation Policing and Public Order. Jankels have been deployed twice in operational public order incidents in the last two years.

“Armed Commands use Jankels more regularly for both spontaneous and pre-planned operations in line with the threat and risk that each incident presents. The vehicles’ deployment in this case is not routinely recorded.”

Just two months later, Jankel Guardians were deployed in the aftermath of the 2017 Westminster Attack (see below) in which four civilians and an unarmed police officer were murdered, and over fifty of the public were injured by a lone terrorist.

Based on the Ford F-450 two-door pick-up truck, the Jankel Guardian had a discreetly armoured two-person cab with a walk-through armoured box behind this capable of transporting, dependent on seating arrangement, up to five firearms officers and their kit. The rear compartment had two doors, one at the back and one in the left side behind the cab, and there were five circular firing ports plus armoured vision blocks. Assault ladders could also be fitted to the vehicle if required.

I first photographed a Guardian at the ACPO (Assoc. of Chief Police Officers) Conference at the NEC in mid-May 2004, and first saw one outdoors at DVD (Defence Vehicle Dynamics) 2004 about seven weeks later. The vehicle displayed at DVD 2004 was borrowed from the customer, as evidenced by the number plate and markings, but the Guardian displayed at DVD 2005 (by which time all were in service) was possibly a company demonstrator.

Following the COVID-19 pandemic, trials were undertaken by the Met Police, with PSNI (Police Service of Northern Ireland) observing, to find a replacement for the ageing Guardians which had by now exceeded their 12 to 15-year anticipated service life. Several vehicle types were considered and in 2021 my sources informed me off-the-record that the Israeli Plasan SandCat and the American Lenco BearCat had been down-selected for user trials.

Last week, after the appearance of SandCats on the streets of London, the BBC reported that 18 had been ordered by the Met Police and although not yet operationally deployed they were out on the streets being used for driver training. The report also quoted a police spokesperson as saying: “These are specialist armoured vehicles used for high-risk armed policing operations by officers deployed at airports and as a contingency option for use in the most serious public disorder the like of which we thankfully rarely see.”

~