Give officers Taser if they want it, says Federation Chair

EVERY officer in South Yorkshire Police should be able to have a Taser on their hip in order to keep themselves and the public safe, the force’s Federation has said.

Steve Kent has called for greater availability of Taser as part of a wider move to better protect frontline officers from assault.He said: “My ultimate aim is that all frontline officers should have a Taser and I’d like to think years down the line, when cost doesn’t become an issue anymore, that’s where we’ll be.

“We’re extremely highly trained in its use, I’m a Taser officer myself, extremely highly trained, and ultimately I think it’s a better option to use Taser on somebody than to use a baton or a police dog.

“I carried the Taser for five years and I used it once in those five years and I red dotted people several times so it’s not something I’d use willy nilly because most of the time people see it and they back down. I used to wear mine on the front of my stab vest and it’s highly visible, it’s bright yellow, people see it and think twice. They do. There’s no two ways about it. So if I could have my way then I would always push for routine equipping.”

South Yorkshire Police is currently training officers to use the new X2 model, and is also moving towards introducing spit guards, after the UK’s largest force, the Met, equipped its frontline officers with them this month.

Steve said: “They are not personal issue just yet but we’ve had training rolled out for spit guards. They’re widely used, they can be taken out, they’ve been used in custody especially. So our force, to its credit, broadly supports them.”