Successful bid to increase Taser capability

A bid from the Police and Crime Commissioner to the Government has been successful and will see more police officers trained and equipped with Taser in the coming years.

Currently the force is equipped with 150 Tasers. The Home Office recently invited funding bids for additional Tasers and a bid was submitted by the PCC’s Office to help meet the force’s needs. The bid for £99,000 was successful and, coupled with existing funding, will allow for the purchase of an additional 40 Tasers in the current financial year and a further 80 Tasers in 2020/21. This will take the total number to 270, an 80% increase on current provision. 

The Taser uplift will meet the operational needs of the force over the same period, allowing sufficient devices to be deployed and the training programme to be achieved. 

PCC Keith Hunter said: “I am delighted that through a bid from my office we will be able to bring the force up to the level of Tasers the Chief Constable considers appropriate, enabling the force to provide an additional element of safety for their officers at a time of increasing numbers of unacceptable assaults and violence against those working on behalf of the public.”