Tasers must be funded for frontline police officers after violent attacks, government told
‘It shouldn’t take a tragedy to have this debate,’ chair of Police Federation says
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Your support makes all the difference.Tasers must be given to frontline police officers following a spate of violent attacks, the government has been told.
Northamptonshire Police has announced that it will give the electroshock weapons to all officers who want them, in the wake of the death of PC Andrew Harper.
The head of the Police Federation, which represents rank-and-file officers in England and Wales, has now appealed directly to Priti Patel, the home secretary, for funding to enable other forces to do the same.
“Officers feel vulnerable when they’re out on patrol and they know that if something happens their nearest backup is 20 or 30 minutes away,” John Apter told The Independent. “Tasers are lifesavers, it shouldn’t take a tragedy to have this debate.”
He asked the Home Office to provide ring-fenced cash for officers to be equipped and trained with Tasers at a meeting earlier this week.
It follows Boris Johnson's vow to recruit 20,000 more officers and boost stop and search powers, following years of government cuts to policing.
Decisions on the number of Taser-trained officers, and funding for them, to the heads of 43 forces in England and Wales.
Northamptonshire Police chief constable Nick Adderley said he was offering Tasers to all frontline officers so they could protect themselves and the public.
“We’ve had officers stabbed, slashed, punched, kicked, thrown down the stairs,” he said. “It’s my responsibility to do all that I can do to keep them as well-protected and as safe as possible, and that’s why I’ve taken the decision.”
Although every frontline officer will be offered Taser training, not all are expected to pass the required four-day course.
The force estimates that the scheme will cost almost £350,000 over 18 months, but Mr Adderley said Tasers would “pay for themselves four-fold” by preventing injuries and long-term sickness.
“The mere fact an officer carries Taser is in most cases deterrent enough,” he added. “I don’t want people firing it left right and centre. A sign of success for me would be that the public feel more secure and safer, police officers feel secure and safer and the number of assaults go down.”
Mr Adderley said Northamptonshire Police officers had recently Tasered people who were self-harming or attempting to kill themselves.
Tasers were originally introduced as a “less lethal weapon” to be used as an alternative to firearms, but police leaders acknowledge that the remit has widened.
Support for the weapons among police chiefs varies, with some fearing that their increased use damages public relations and undermines the unarmed nature of British policing.
Campaigners have argued against the use of Tasers on people suffering mental health crises, and the weapons have been linked to several deaths.
Police recorded mental health as a factor in 14 per cent of Taser incidents, which rose by 50 per cent in 2017-18.
The vast majority of the 17,000 times where Tasers were drawn or used resulted in arrests, but 950 people were admitted to hospital and 750 were detained under the Mental Health Act.
Tasers were not fired in 85 per cent of incidents, and in half, police officers aimed a red dot indicating their target.
The most common reasons cited by officers were the protection of themselves and colleagues, or making an arrest.
Sophie Khan, a solicitor who represents victims of Taser-related injuries, said the weapons could kill suspects.
“There have been really serious incidents with Tasers being used on people suffering a mental health crisis,” she added. “The bar has been lowered.”
There are also questions over what effect Tasers may have on suspects’ behaviour, following a study that found officers visibly carrying them were more likely to be attacked.
“For many, a weapon is a deterrence,” said Dr Barak Ariel, from Cambridge University’s Institute of Criminology. “However, some individuals interpret the sight of a weapon as an aggressive cue – a threat that creates a hostile environment.”
In February, a police officer was shot in the chest with his own Taser after a suspect managed to grab it in Wales.
Mr Apter insisted that the weapons would not become a “compliance tool” or be used to the extent seen in the US.
“I think as long as you talk to the public and educate them about why we’ve got certain equipment and we still have that approachable, common sense style of policing, there will not be an issue,” he said. “If there’s equipment available that can protect my colleagues and the public, I think chiefs are morally bound to make them as safe as they can.”
Mr Adderley added: “Times have changed and we need to reflect that and be able to respond to the threat accordingly.”
A Home Office spokesperson said: “The government has announced the recruitment of 20,000 additional police officers over the next three years, and we are working to ensure forces have the resources, tools and powers they need to keep people safe. Taser is an important tactical option for officers facing violent situations, and it is for chief officers to determine the number of devices and specially trained officers they need.”