Officers better protected after law change to allow them to carry Taser in courtrooms

30 November 2020

Officers will be better equipped to protect themselves and members of the public now that that they are permitted to carry Taser in courtrooms, Essex Police Federation has said.

Laura Heggie, Federation Chair, was speaking after the rule change following years of campaigning from the Police Federation of England and Wales.

She said: “I carried a Taser and was subject to these rules in court and it was ridiculous. You actually had officers having to put away a Taser in order to go and attend court, to give evidence. There’s every possibility that whilst at court a situation is going to develop that they are going to have to deal with. We’ve already shown that the use of Taser is a less lethal device but it also stops an officer having to go hands-on with a person which then puts less risk of injuries to not only them but also the suspect.

“Because this isn’t just about officers. It’s for the protection as well of other members of the public that we’ve got in the court, the jury and the people involved in facilitating the proceedings themselves. We’ve still got that duty of care to protect the public and we should be giving the officers as much of the correct equipment necessary to do that, and Taser is one of those bits of kit.”

Evidence gathered from frontline officers by the Police Federation of England and Wales highlighted the difficulties they faced when having to remove and store the equipment before being allowed into court – including lack of secure storage facilities and eating into their time. This helped police chiefs strongly demonstrate to the Judiciary and senior judges why a change in the law was desperately needed. 

PFEW Firearms and Taser Lead Steve Hartshorn said: “This is a big step forward for policing…This much welcomed and long-overdue decision means they can better protect themselves, the courts’ staff and the public if faced with violence or threats of violence and we appreciate the Judiciary and senior judges for listening to the concerns raised.”