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Front-line cops could all soon be carrying Tasers
5:11pm Thursday 27th November 2008
SWINDON’S front-line cops could soon all be carrying Tasers, under new Government plans.
Home Secretary Jacqui Smith has announced plans to extend powers to carry the electric shock guns to all response officers. At the moment only Wiltshire Police’s specialist firearms unit can use them.
Police spokesman Sam Edwards said: “Wiltshire Police currently have a total of 78 firearms officers that are also authorised to carry Tasers.
“Our minimum amount of Taser trained officers that are on patrol throughout the county at any one time is seven, and these are all from within the Armed Response Group.
“Between April 1 this year and today we have actually fired the Taser five times, and it has been effective on all occasions and has not caused any serious injuries.”
Officers are only allowed to fire the Tasers as a last resort, in extreme situations, when faced with a violent suspect and no other means to capture them.
Ms Smith said that £8m would be made available to equip up to 30,000 police response officers across the country with the new 50,000-volt electric guns.
She said: “I am proud that we have one of the few police services around the world that do not regularly carry firearms and I want to keep it that way. But every day the police put themselves in danger to protect us, the public.
“They deserve our support, so I want to give the police the tools they tell me they need to confront dangerous people.
“That is why I am giving the police 10,000 Tasers to ensure that officers across the country benefit from this form of defence.”
Your Say YourSwindon
nansview, Swindon says...
12:23pm Fri 28 Nov 08
Bobfm, South Marston says...
8:09am Sat 29 Nov 08
Society has become far more lawless in a general sense, where kids, and their parents have little respect for any form of authority. A sound moral value base has been replaced by a self serving, selfish attitude, perpetuated on the one hand by a materialistic society and on the other by a social policy, which indoctrinates those who do not 'have', to feel aggrieved and thus leads them to believe it is morally justified to be anti social and criminal.
Ultimately if that situation isn't altered, our police will indeed end up carrying guns as a matter of routine.
malkym1, Highworth on the Hill says...
10:22am Sat 29 Nov 08
malkym1, Highworth on the Hill says...
10:35am Sat 29 Nov 08
The women are based at the Metropolitan Police training centre at Hendon in north London."
SAYS IT ALL REALLY EH!
Bobfm, South Marston says...
6:52pm Sat 29 Nov 08
Your sayYourSwindon
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Chowmai, Swindon says...
8:00am Fri 28 Nov 08
Having worked around the world it was quite alien to me to see police wearing sidearms all the time and I do not agree that the every day british police officer should have to do that to match force with force.
That said they need more than an extendable truncheon and/or pepper spray to defend themselves whilst carrying out a job few are prepared to do and many are too fast to criticise.
And to all the 'human rights' brigade who will scream at this I will ask one question. If it was your relative threatening someone with a weapon, would you prefer them to be shot or tasered?
Hindsight is 20/20 vision with time to speculate on all possible courses of actions and is a luxury that those in the thick of it facing split second decisions do not have.