Taser training to come for more Essex officers

POLICE officers will be better protected after the force announced that many more Essex Police officers are to be trained to use Tasers.

Essex Police Federation has spent months outlining the case as to why more officers need Tasers and the force has now agreed to more than double the number of officers trained to use the device.

Ninety-two more officers – including 23 police dog handlers – will undergo training to use the devices, with a further 41 due to follow, after a review.

“We asked and the force have delivered,” said Steve Taylor, Chairman of Essex Police Federation. “Police officers will now be better protected.

“The Federation have been pushing for more Taser trained officers for months, and credit must also be given to my predecessor Mark Smith for this result.

“The good news is that the force is also planning to widen the pool of officers that can use the device, removing some of the prerequisite roles that were only allowed to have Taser. That is a real positive.”

Steve said the Federation was also pleased that some 800 body-worn cameras are to be made available to officers.

He added: “We will almost be at the point where every uniformed officer interacting with the public will have a camera. And that is more good news.

“It is proven that the cameras will reduce the number of malicious complaints against our officers and then the confidence in our officers and the service will increase.

“We are also confident this move will reduce the number of assaults against Essex Police officers and prove to be a major deterrent.

“And having increased numbers of body-worn cameras will also provide valuable evidence as perpetrators and cases go through the criminal justice system.”

Speaking about Taser, Chief Constable Stephen Kavanagh said: “A small but determined number of criminals and gangs are intent on bringing violence and fear to our streets.

“We are winning that battle but every day I ask my officers to run towards danger and use force to confront those threats when assaults on them are on the rise. I simply won’t tolerate that and I know the public don’t either.

“More well-trained officers able to use Tasers make communities and the people who protect them safer and I need the public to know that we will use all the tools at our disposal to take violent crime off the streets.”

Roll-out of the training will begin immediately, the force said.