All frontline officers should have Tasers, says Federation

TASERS should be available to all frontline officers amid calls for probationers to get the less lethal weapon, says Essex Federation Chairman Steve Taylor.

The National Police Chiefs’ Council is supporting proposals to allow selected probationers to be armed with Taser, once they have completed a selection and training process.

NPCC bosses say that the option to arm should be made available to individual Chief Constables who will have the final say in who, and how many, probationers will be trained in Taser use.

Probationers will have to apply for training and be able to demonstrate the same level of conflict management expertise as regular officers. However, an officer’s ability, rather than time in the job will be the determining factor. ͞

“It’s a tricky one – ideally you want all frontline officers to be armed with a Taser and certainly that was reflected in a poll we carried out with members last year,” Steve says.

“Using Taser certainly has a high deterrent factor and makes officers feel that bit safer.

“However, until the cost of the Taser itself and the associated training comes down then the chances of all frontline officers having one is slim, even if it’s an important part of personal protection.

“We’re certainly not in a position here for every officer to have one and, as it is a limited resource, do we want to be giving it to student officers?

“The paradox is that we want it to go to frontline officers and more and more probationer officers are making up that frontline. My argument is that it all frontline officers should have Taser anyway.”