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Forces reject plans to extend use of taser guns
22 Jun 2009A number of police forces have rejected plans to extend the use of Taser weapons to non-firearms officers, it was revealed today.
At least two forces, including the country's largest, have snubbed Home Office policy to give out 10,000 more of the electric shock weapons.
The Metropolitan Police and Sussex Police will not be giving the 50,000-volt guns to officers who are not also trained to use traditional firearms.
Devon and Cornwall Constabulary and South Yorkshire Police are still deciding on whether to extend the use of the guns. Cleveland Police said they would not introduce any new Taser weapons this year.
The decisions were revealed in response to Freedom of Information Act requests from the Liberal Democrats.
Ten further forces did not reply, meaning the number not taking part could be much higher.
Liberal Democrat home affairs spokesman Tom Brake also found extending the use of Tasers will take up 60,000 officer days as each undergoes 18 hours of training.
He said: "Tasers should be left in the hands of specially trained firearms officers.
"Tasers have killed over 300 people in America since 2001 and yet the Home Office maintains that they are non-lethal.
"In a time of recession, with crime on the rise, it would be far better to spend tight police budgets putting more bobbies on the beat than on putting Tasers in their pockets.
"It is equally ridiculous that the Home Office is lavishing millions on Tasers when some police forces do not want even want them.
"By giving 30,000 officers Tasers we are descending the slippery slope towards fully armed, US-style policing."
The Metropolitan Police Authority said increasing Taser use has the potential to "cause fear and damage public confidence".
The Independent Police Complaints Commission is investigating an incident in Nottingham during which a 40-year-old man was shot repeatedly with a Taser and punched in the head by police.
A Home Office spokesman said: "We are committed to providing the police with the tools necessary to do their job to protect the public. However, it is up to individual police forces to decide whether they want to deploy them.
"Taser provides the police with an additional option that is less lethal than conventional firearms.
"They can be used by police officers in specially trained units who are facing violence or threats of violence of such severity that they would need to use force to protect the public and themselves."
