All officers will be able to have Taser and BWV says Federation
6 September 2018
All Surrey Police Officers who want access to Taser and Body Worn Video (BWV) will be able to have it, Surrey Police Federation has said.
A new training programme rolled out in conjunction with neighbours Sussex Police should start to reverse the findings of a recent officer survey which showed that only 27% of Surrey officers had access to Taser on every shift.
“Taser and BWV are vital bits of kit and any officer who wants to carry Taser and wants to be trained can be,” Mel Warnes, Surrey Police Federation Chair said.
“We’re halfway through the joint training programme and while there can be some issues around funding the back to back courses on Taser have been filled.
“It’s across two counties and each division and borough is being cut up with rotas, so it may take some time to filter through to everyone, but the Chief Constable is very, very supportive about officers carrying Taser and we are doing everything we can to equip them with an excellent piece of kit.”
It’s a similar story for BWV, Mel added, after the same survey showed that 85% of Surrey officers wanted access to the kit at all times.
“They have been rolled out across the force and they have been available for some time now.
“I am aware there has been some issues in regard to dealing with replacing defective BWV and sometimes there are issues around battery life and in downloading the videos.
“These are technical issues where officers have to travel back to a base station to download rather than downloading anywhere.
“My understanding is that that is being sorted out but again that takes and money.”
Mel knows just how much officers value the kit while they are out on the frontline.
“Statistics show that it helps to reduce the number of assaults on police, the amount of force officers have to exert decreases, as do complaints.
“So, it’s a vital piece of kit, especially in gathering evidence around domestic abuse victims and evidence in general.
“All officers should already have it.”
