TASER was only used by South Yorkshire Police officers 20% of the time it was drawn, new figures reveal.<\/p>\n
In South Yorkshire Taser was drawn 280 times in 2016, Home Officer statistics show, and was only used 20% of the time.<\/p>\n
\u201cTaser is about officers having that tactical option available to them,\u201d said Zuleika Payne, Chair of South Yorkshire Police Federation.<\/p>\n
She added: \u201cWe have to consider the number of times the request is made for deployment and the number of times there\u2019s an actual discharge.<\/p>\n
\u201cTaser may in some instances serve as a deterrent by virtue of the fact that an officer is armed with it. There will be occasions when that in itself may be enough to make an individual reconsider their actions.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat we do know is that both nationally and locally, there is certainly the appetite for more officers to be equipped with Taser.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis links in with the ongoing \u2018Protect the Protectors\u2019 campaign \u2013 we have to ensure that we appropriately equip and train our officers.\u201d<\/p>\n
Zuleika added that the Federation \u201cspeaks very openly and works very closely with the force\u2019s Senior Leadership Group\u201d around officer safety and welfare issues \u2013 such as the wider roll-out of Taser.<\/p>\n
She concluded: \u201cIssues around officer safety and security are currently in discussion. I attended a meeting at the end of April around security and safety \u2013 Taser was one of the issues that I raised in that forum, and that is a piece of ongoing work. We will keep our members informed.\u201d<\/p>\n