Calls for frontline police to be armed with tasers

Representatives at the Police Federation annual conference have called for a national roll out of tasers for frontline officers. According to the Police Federation, the roll out of tasers and culture change are needed to tackle the issue of assaults on police officers. Addressing the conference, John Apter, chair of Hampshire Police Federation, said that it was wrong to accept assaults on police officers as ‘part of the job’. He said: “It’s a disgrace to say Taser shouldn’t be rolled out further. It is an essential piece of kit. I accept it’s expensive, but what’s the cost of the safety of officers?” Apter also said that chief officers needed to drive a change and suggested that relationships with other agencies, such as Crown Prosecution Service (CPS), College of Policing and Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary (HMIC), were vital to reducing the overall number of assaults on officers. Apter also cast doubt on the reliability of figures that suggest around 23,000 officers are assaulted each year. He claims that in Hampshire only about 25 per cent of officers voluntarily recorded their assaults, so it was unlikely that the national figure would be accurate. In addition to the roll out of tasers, Apter also called for standardised officer safety training across England and Wales. He said: “It isn’t right that there isn’t a standard. It isn’t good enough. If we get it right, we can look after our people.”