Public show their support for Police Officers having Taser

THE public have shown their support for police officers having access to Taser – with 71% considering it acceptable for police officers to carry Taser when on patrol.

An Ipsos MORI poll for the Police Federation of England and Wales, also showed that 80% of those surveyed said it would make no difference to their decision, or they would be more likely, to approach an officer for assistance if they were carrying a Taser.

In addition, 89% said forces should be allowed to train and equip officers if the use of Taser is automatically recorded by Body Worn Video.

Steve White, Chairman of the Police Federation of England and Wales, said: “We know officers support the use of Taser and Body Worn Video, and now we have the evidence that shows the public do as well.

“Yesterday I wrote to all chief constables and commissioners across England and Wales, outlining the survey results and asking them to support a wider rollout of Taser and call for increased Government funding to assist with this.”

Home Office statistics suggest that an officer is assaulted every 22 minutes in England and Wales. That is 64 officers a day and more than 23,000 in the last year.

The survey results come as a new replacement model of Taser, the X2, awaits final Home Office approval before it can be rolled out to frontline officers, something the Police Federation fully supports.

Steve White said: “Any equipment that helps improve the safety of not just police officers doing their duty, but also the public, is an absolute must. You cannot put a price on safety. The current model is obsolete with spare parts difficult to come by, while the X2 is even safer and more effective.

“The public clearly have their eyes wide open to the very real threats that exist. Attitudes are changing and people recognise the benefits Taser can offer.”

The survey was carried out by Ipsos MORI, using the online omnibus – research took place between Friday 11 and Monday 15 November, 2016 with a nationally representative quota sample of 2,004 adults aged between 16 and 75.

Other results show 79% of respondents said that forces should be allowed to train and equip officers if Tasers were to be issued to police officers working alone. 89% of respondents said that forces should be allowed to train and equip officers if the use of Taser is automatically recorded by a camera mounted on the police officer’s uniform.

Only 17% disagreed that all police officers should be given the option of being equipped with Taser.