National chair supports wider roll-out of Taser

27 October 2020

The national chair of the Police Federation has again called for all officers who want to carry Taser to be equipped and trained in their use.

John Apter says the Federation is determined to make policing safer for members. And, he explains, that includes the wider roll-out of Taser, which he says protects officers and the public.

“I know of countless occasions when Taser has without doubt saved the lives of officers and members of the public,” he said, “In many cases, it has prevented officers from having to use greater force.

“I know Taser is contentious for some but I would ask them what’s the alternative? PFEW supports a much wider roll-out of Taser and I firmly believe every officer who wants to carry one - and we know many do - should have access.

“When I first became national chair in 2018, I campaigned for ring-fenced funding for Taser. This achieved £10 million to supply forces with this essential equipment. It’s not enough, of course, but certainly a good start.

“Since then, we’ve continued to see Taser rolled out to more officers, even though Covid-19 has slowed down the training.”

John’s comments came in a Q & A session, featured on the national Federation website at polfed.org in which he highlighted officer safety, the challenges in protecting officers in their job and the campaigning work of the Federation.

This campaigning included the use of spit guards, which help protect officers from being spat or coughed at, attacks which have increased during the pandemic.

John said: “The Federation has long been campaigning for officers to carry spit guards and I’m glad that as a result of this most officers in England and Wales can now do so.

“I find it staggering there was an initial reluctance from politicians and leaders in policing regarding spit guards when it was obvious they were badly needed.

“It won’t prevent spitting, but it’s another tool in the policing toolbox to protect officers and their families from harm.”

Another area that has seen increased attacks is in the use of vehicles as a weapon. And John called for a change in legislation, saying the current laws do not offer sufficient protection.

“We have seen the increased use of vehicles against police officers, involving ramming or the use of vehicles to mow down police officers and staff,” John said.

“Current laws don’t fully capture the gravity of such an offence. On one extreme you have attempted murder, on the other it is dangerous driving.

“There must be a specific offence of using a vehicle in this way to cause harm to others.

“This is something I’ve discussed with the NPCC and raised with the Home Office to see how we can offer as much protection to officers as possible.

“We are pushing to see an addition in the Police Powers and Protections Bill early next year to provide the change in law needed.”

He also addressed the wider issue of officer assaults.

There were 30,000 assaults against officers in the past year, a rise of more than five per cent, and John said the Federation is campaigning to make policing safer for all members.  

He said: “These figures come as no surprise. Every time statistics come out, they show there’s been an increase in the number of officers who have been assaulted. Any assault on an officer is totally unacceptable and to see the number increasing is extremely concerning.

“Combatting violence against police officers is at the top of the Federation’s agenda – and mine.

“PFEW has done a lot of work on this and continues to do so – whether that is the Protect the Protectors campaign to pushing for a Police Covenant to provide better protections for officers.”

He added: “The Federation’s Protect the Protectors’ campaign successfully brought about the Assaults on Emergency Workers (Offences) Act 2018, which saw the maximum penalty for assaulting an emergency worker increased from six to 12 months, and, this year, the bringing forward of a new law to increase that maximum from 12 months to two years.

“In addition to this, we’ve also been lobbying the Sentencing Council to make sure this two-year maximum is fully utilised to deter attacks on blue light workers.”

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