It comes after senior officers made a request to the
department to allow selected students to put themselves
forward for the specialist training. Previously, only
officers who had passed their two-year probation period
were eligible.
Student officers can be deployed to the frontline and
face the same threats as ranked officers. Police chiefs
therefore want certain recruits to complete Taser
training where there is a clear local need.
Home Secretary said:
The police put themselves in harm’s way to keep us
all safe and that includes student officers working
on the frontline.
Tasers give them an important tactical option when
facing potentially dangerous and violent situations.
I remain committed to giving officers the tools they
need to protect themselves, their colleagues and the
public.
Lucy D’Orsi, National Police Chiefs’ Council Lead for
Less Lethal Weapons and Deputy Assistant Commissioner,
said:
Giving chief constables the option of selecting and
training their probationary officers to carry Taser
is a welcome step
Probationers are posted to the frontline and they
respond to the same calls as other colleagues. These
calls range from dealing with vulnerable people in
need of help to incidents of serious violence.
At present, an officer’s suitability to carry Taser
is determined by the amount of time someone has been
an officer. The diversity of our workforce has
changed considerably and many of our probationers
have professional and life skills from before they
started their police career that help to demonstrate
their capability to carry Taser. I believe these
skills should be recognised as well as their ability
as a Police Officer, particularly when dealing with
conflict.
Police use of Taser is regulated by strict standards
and is conditional on the completion of a training
programme.
All officers who volunteer to carry a Taser are
required to have the support of their supervisor,
endorsement at Superintendent level and pass the Taser
training course.
In addition, student officers who undertake the
training are required to:
-
have been assessed as safe and lawful for
independent patrol
-
have demonstrated experience of successfully
managing conflict
-
hold a review with a supervisor following use of a
Taser
The deployment of Taser is an operational matter for
chief officers, who determine the number of devices and
specially trained officers they need based on their
force’s strategic assessment of threat and risk.
Taser refers to TASER®, the brand name of the conducted
energy device used by police forces in England and
Wales
