SOUTH Yorkshire Police Federation is calling for an increase in the number of officers in the force trained to use Taser \u2013 asking \u201cWhat price officer safety?\u201d<\/p>\n
Neil Bowles, Chairman of the Federation, described issuing the less-lethal weapon to more officers as a \u201cno-brainer\u201d and added that \u201cevery officer who wishes to carry one should be trained and equipped with one\u201d.<\/p>\n
He said that more injuries will occur to suspects by use of a police baton than a Taser.<\/p>\n
Mr Bowles said: \u201cIt is a proven piece of less-lethal kit that every Officer who wishes to carry one should be trained and equipped with. There have been over 700 pieces of research that show how safe it is.<\/p>\n
\u201cAs many as 99.7% of its use results in no after effects to the person it is used on. There were doubters when police officers were equipped with CS Gas, now PAVA. Doubters when we changed the traditional piece of wood in your pocket to an extending steel baton. Doubters when we started wearing ballistic and knife resistant vests.<\/p>\n
\u201cThese are now commonplace personal protective equipment that the public are now used to. Importantly, Officers are now safer as a result; the faster we can restrain a non-compliant offender, the safer we, the offender and the public are.\u201d<\/p>\n
He added: \u201cIn the force continuum \u2013 the scale of force an Officer may use, from mere presence to using firearms \u2013 Taser comes below use of a baton. More severe injuries will result with baton use than a normal Taser use.<\/p>\n
In South Yorkshire we have already trained three to four times the numbers of Officers to the numbers of devices available to cater for abstractions. Therefore the training costs are already being met, the force just needs to pay for the extra kit. What price officer safety?<\/p>\n
\u201cThis is definitely something we, the Federation, will be pursuing through all the normal channels.\u201d<\/p>\n
Chief Constable David Crompton told The Star he is considering issuing \u2018some extra officers\u2019 with Tasers but stressed he will not be arming every officer.<\/p>\n
\u201cI am not thinking of giving every officer in the force Tasers but what I am willing to consider is for some extra officers having Tasers,\u201d CC Crompton said.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe CS spray officers carry works on around 95% of people. Tasers are effective on everybody but I think public would probably be rightly concerned if every officer had a Taser, it would feel like a step towards arming the police \u2013 ratcheting up.\u201d<\/p>\n