MORE South Yorkshire Police Officers can expect to see a Taser included in their everyday personal protective kitbag.<\/p>\n
South Yorkshire Police Federation says the Chief Constable has promised a 50%-60% uplift in Taser provision as part of medium-term plan to get all officers access to the deterrent, should they want it.<\/p>\n
However, Federation Chairman Steve Kent says the way the Government has gone about releasing the funds for Taser across England and Wales is not on.<\/p>\n
He said: \u201cIt shouldn\u2019t really be a bidding war. It should be that every force gets a certain amount of funding dependent on their size.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou could argue that metropolitan forces who have increased knife crime should get something on top of that, but that should be a bonus rather than cutting into the expectation that everybody is going to get an increase in Taser numbers.\u201d<\/p>\n
Steve is backing the planned increase for South Yorkshire Police but will continue pushing for 100% coverage.<\/p>\n
He added: \u201cThe Chief has pledged to uplift between 50-60% which is really good for a force of our size. Ultimately I will keep putting pressure on, and I think the Chief is not averse to, once they\u2019re bedded in, maybe 100%. But that\u2019s a medium-term plan.<\/p>\n
\u201cThings are coming along nicely; it\u2019s just that the Government needs to get its hand in its pockets, give the money out and make sure forces have got the resources to get it done now and for it not to be forgotten about.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat 50-60% number for us as a metropolitan force we\u2019ll be, as it stands, one of the highest percentages of officers in the country.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019ve started to roll out the training, and we\u2019ve started to acquire the Tasers, but I won\u2019t be happy until it\u2019s bedded in and then I\u2019ll be pushing for 100%.<\/p>\n
\u201cUltimately, Taser needs to be like people carrying batons and gas for me. It needs to be a frontline tool for every officer.\u201d<\/p>\n