Call For All Frontline Officers To Have Taser
TASER should be issued to every officer on the front line in a bid to keep officers and the public safer, Essex Police Federation has said.
Last month, Northamptonshire Police’s Chief Constable Nick Adderley announced that his would become the first force in the country to arm every officer with Taser after a “sickening” trend of attacks on officers.
Essex Police Federation would like the same, but has warned that it would take time to equip all officers.
Chairman Steve Taylor said: “Essex as a force is slowly growing the number of Tasers available on the front line, and the view of our federation is we would like to see Taser made available for every officer. But that’s going to take time. It’s an expensive piece of kit and we’re a poor force. So those two things don’t marry up very easily.
“I would much rather our officers have it and not need it than it not be available when they do. So we are consistently and fairly lobbying the force to increase its Taser provision. To be fair to Essex Police, they are doing that. They are listening and we are slowly growing the number of Tasers that are available on the front line. For some officers that change can’t come quickly enough. I do appreciate that. But I’m encouraged that we’re moving in the right direction.”
But Steve also warned that Taser is not a panacea. He added: “Taser is a really impactive piece of kit and we know in Essex it is only actually discharged a fraction of the time it is used. When it is used that means someone is deterred from using violence because they simply had the device turned on or pointed at them. Not fired at them, pointed at them. So, I don’t dispute that it’s a really effective piece of equipment.
“I think it’s only reasonable to add into this debate that it’s not the silver bullet. It’s not completely infallible. It does fail. It doesn’t work on everyone. There are circumstances where we can’t or shouldn’t use it. So in that sense it’s a fantastic piece of kit but it is just one of many tools we’d like to see our officers have more readily available, rather than a super-tool that will solve all ills. It’s a great tool. We’d like to see more of it – but it is just a tool.”
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