LONDON, Dec. 26 (Xinhuanet) -- Up to 200 extra armed police officers are to be deployed on the streets of London in response to rising gun crime and the shooting dead of a police woman in Bradford, northern England.

    Under plans being drawn up by Scotland Yard, armed police units will be on patrol around the clock in trouble spots in the capital.

    The changes would see the Metropolitan Police's firearms unit expanding from 700 to 900, the Independent newspaper reported on Monday.

    The proposed increase follows an internal review at the Metropolitan Police. This was sparked partly by the shooting dead of Sharon Beshenivsky, an unarmed officer who was murdered after going to deal with a robbery in Bradford in November.Ian Blair, Commissioner of the Metropolitan Police, is also concerned about the continuing rise in gun crime, which rose by 5 percent in the past year in London.

    Steve House, head of Metropolitan Police's central operations, which include the firearms unit, said: "We want firearms officers to be specialists. We are looking to see whether it should expand to a permanent armed presence in the boroughs."

    Gun crime in London has increased by 5.3 percent - up from 195 offenses to 3,903 - in the year up to November 2005 compared to the same period in 2004. Enditem