All officers who want Taser should have it

ALL Northumbria Police officers should have access to Taser if they want it, the force’s Federation has said.

The force is looking to increase the number of Tasers available to police officers, in line with the national trend. But it will have to carefully consider the cost involved in buying Taser and training officers to the appropriate level, according to Federation Chairman Jim Gray.

He said: “The national federation’s position, which I’m fully in support of, is that all operational officers should have access to Taser if they want one.

“Obviously we’re not in that position at the moment because there is the challenge of cost and there’s also a challenge with training.

“So the uplift that we will be seeing has got to be appropriate, it’s got to be sustainable, and we have got to make sure that the people who carry them are properly trained, because we can’t cut corners in that area.”

He was speaking after calls were made for more protection for officers following terrorist attacks in London and Manchester.

Mr Gray added: “We need to be thoughtful and considerate as we progress. Yes, in the long term we would like to see all operational officers to have Taser if they wish to carry it as part of their personal protective equipment, and we are certainly not there yet.

“But the signs are that we’re uplifting in Northumbria, so we’ve got more protection for more officers, and more Taser officers able to respond and swiftly to support officers who are not carrying them.”

In 2015, the Police Federation of England and Wales voted unanimously for the larger roll out of Taser and that stance remains unchanged. In a survey in 2016, just 14% of members who responded said they have access to Taser, but 43% more said they would like access to it.

The number of Tasers deployed to officers nationally is a decision for chief constables to make, the Home Office said.