Federation says it’s great news that officers with colour-vision deficiency will now be able to be Taser trained

30 November 2020

Essex Police officers with colour-vision deficiency will be able to be Taser-trained next month thanks to years of lobbying from the Federation.

Laura Heggie, Essex Police Federation Chair, has been fighting for four years for the College of Policing U-Turn which will allows officers with CVD to apply for Taser training.

She said: “This is great news. I have been pushing this for years so am really happy with the decision. The minute I heard, I was on to the Chief Inspector in charge of the Taser training, we already had it agreed by the Chief that as soon as that paper got signed off we would start to train people.

“This is a really important decision because in years to come Taser will become PPE. It will become part of every officer’s kit, just like a baton, handcuffs or CS gas is now. We’ve already got our first course programmed in for next month. It’s a great development.”

The College’s decision to establish a new training and assessment process means officers with CVD – whose vision falls below national standards and were previously excluded from Taser training – will now be assessed using a Taser fixed sight.

The Police Federation of England and Wales challenged the College over its original CVD Taser training standards on the grounds they were unfair and discriminatory. Fed reps argued it was putting officers at risk of being assaulted on duty.

Steve Hartshorn, PFEW Firearms and Taser lead, said: “The new training and assessment process will allow officers with CVD to apply for Taser training and to be deployed operationally if successful. The College’s decision to change policy is an important step forward for those officers with CVD and for the protection of themselves and the public.

“My colleagues with CVD face the same dangers as those without it. Denying them the opportunity to carry this essential piece of equipment was putting both their lives and the public’s lives at risk. Taser is an extremely effective means of dealing with the many dangerous situations that our officers face on the streets.”