Taser Should Be Available To All Frontline Officers

ALL frontline officers should have access to Taser, according to South Yorkshire Police Federation.

Take-up and distribution of the non-lethal weapon is varied across forces in England and Wales, but it’s uniformly praised as being a vital part of their kit by officers.

Stats show just drawing Taser can be enough to quell potentially difficult situations and help officers get violent offenders off the streets.

And while provision South Yorkshire is good, Federation Chair Steve Kent said all officers should have access to it.

He was speaking after Northamptonshire Police Chief Constable Nick Adderley promised to give all his officers a Taser if they want one, after being reportedly ‘sick of the assaults’ on his colleagues.

Steve said: “For me, all frontline officers should be given Taser; that has to be the ultimate endgame.

“I am more than happy and pleased with the approach the South Yorkshire force is taking in aiming for the 50% mark, which is a significantly higher number than a lot of forces.

“We’re on a really good road when it comes to Taser, and I fully applaud that.

“They have been some anxieties around it, but public support is there [for Taser], so credit to the force.

“Ultimately, my policy point on this and our policy point as a Federation is that every frontline officer who’s required to wear protective equipment should have a Taser.”

It’s that deterrent element that makes it such a vital bit of kit on the modern officer’s belt, Steve added.

Just having it can provide real reassurance to them when they are out on the frontline, especially if when they are on their own.

Steve said: “We know that even though our policy is that officers should be double-crewed at all times, sometimes that won’t happen whether that be because the force decides to deploy officers as single-crewed or if officers are out on enquiries where it’s not appropriate to double-crew.

“To have Taser gives them that extra bit of protection; it’s a deterrent.

“You’ve got a really bright yellow light on your body armour, and when I used to carry my Taser, you could see people looking at it.

“When you have a confrontation, you can see people looking at it, and I only ever had to use mine once in five years carrying it. It’s another part of the shield.”

South Yorkshire Police has said it wants at least half of its officers to have Taser.