MONEY is the main stumbling block stopping the full roll-out of Taser to all officers in Essex.<\/p>\n
Essex Police Federation has been clear in its desire for all officers in the county to have access to the non-lethal weapon, and the force says they would also like to meet that aim.<\/p>\n
All officers in neighbouring Kent now have Taser but its full provision in Essex is still some way off.<\/p>\n
Essex Police Federation Chairman Steve Taylor said: \u201cWe are in a different situation to Kent and while we welcome the success Kent have had in being able to roll out Taser, unfortunately we are still restrained by finances in Essex.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe are working towards a similar roll-out, and the force is clear that\u2019s what we as the Federation want. But we\u2019re a long way from it unfortunately.<\/p>\n
\u201cMy sense when we engage with the force on this is that it\u2019s somewhere that they\u2019d like to be, but circumstances mean they don\u2019t have the finances to support such a move. That is disappointing, but it is because the finances involved are so large.\u201d<\/p>\n
Putting Taser into every officer\u2019s PPE kit is expensive but funding has been found to pay for an increase in the number of Taser-carrying officers, the new Taser device and for further training, which should boost Taser coverage in the county.<\/p>\n
But it\u2019s not necessarily the silver bullet for policing, Steve said.<\/p>\n
He explained: \u201cIt doesn\u2019t solve all of our problems. It is a piece of equipment that can fail, that on occasion doesn\u2019t deliver what we need it to do. Just like every other piece of kit, it\u2019s fallible.<\/p>\n
\u201cBut officers rightfully would feel safer with a Taser than without one. So that\u2019s the impetus we use to move towards having it available for all those on the front line.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s just going to take us time and effort to get these because of the finances involved, against the backdrop of all those other things we have to prioritise, but I think the will is there.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"