Around the world, nuclear power stations are carefully guarded.

There is supposed to be a high level of perimeter security at US plants, for instance, and physical patrols are also common. Security personnel at such locations have received more live-fire weapons training since 2009, according to the Nuclear Energy Institute in Washington DC.

But the level of security at nuclear power stations can change from time to time. In 2015, France raised protections at its facilities following the Paris attacks in November.

In the years after the 9/11 attacks in America, a decision was taken in the UK to increase security at British facilities. The old force, the Atomic Energy Authority Constabulary – which was established in 1955 and which did not protect power stations – was replaced in 2005 by the CNC. It stations armed officers at all non-military nuclear sites, a level of protection that hadn’t been present before.

The CNC, a relatively new force, has faced some scrutiny recently. Last year, a BBC freedom of information request revealed that there had been 130 security breaches over the past five years, including a gun that went missing during training and keys to a power station that were also lost. The power station in question had its locks changed and the keys were eventually found.

At the time, Chief Constable Mike Griffiths said the force was committed to “maintaining a security culture” and that, with regard to the gun that went missing, some procedures had been changed to prevent it happening again.

Extreme cases

The kind of incidents these officers are preparing for in training today are actually extraordinarily rare.

“Have I ever taken a shot [as a CNC officer]? Personally, no I haven’t,” says one trainee in between drills. “Do I go along to incidents and deal with members of the public on a daily, weekly basis? Yeah, I do.”

Occasionally, while on patrol, officers may make arrests. There were 11 in 2015, and there were three offences recorded under the Terrorism Act in 2011.

He adds that he is based at Hinkley Point in Somerset. A new station in the area, Hinkley Point C, was recently approved for construction – though the decision was not without controversy. Securing power stations during nearby public protests against new nuclear power stations, for example, is another part of the job.

“They just want their voices heard,” acknowledges the officer. “Provided we give people the freedom to express themselves, there’s no issue.”

And yet, many people in the UK are not aware that there are heavily armed police officers watching over nuclear power stations day in, day out, all year round.

Armed police officers are not common in the UK. Out of the roughly 200,000 police officers in England and Wales, just 10,500 have firearms training. There are some exceptions to the rule elsewhere in the UK, however. Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) officers, for example, are issued with guns as standard.

For this reason, CNC officers say they sometimes encounter locals who question why such heavily armed police are present. This is something the trainees claim they tackle with a conversation when possible, explaining their role.