Beat bobbies to get 50,000-volt stun guns

Published on Thursday 4 February 2010 21:41

SCOTLAND'S biggest police force will become the first in the country to issue Taser stun guns to officers on the beat.

The 50,000-volt weapons will be issued in Glasgow and South Lanarkshire as part of a six-month pilot project starting in April.

The green light was given by Strathclyde Police Authority yesterday for the selection of 30 officers who will be issued with the devices. The authority says this is to combat assaults on police and reduce time taken off work by officers for injuries.

However, the move triggered political dispute, with Scottish Liberal Democrat leader Tavish Scott claiming it was "slippery slope" to Tasers being distributed as a matter of course.

The 45,559 pilot will focus on Cambuslang, Rutherglen and Glasgow city centre – areas which have recorded a high level of police assaults.

Tasers either deliver electric shocks direct to the body to cause pain, or fire electrified bolts into the body from a distance, to immobilise the target by disrupting the nervous system. Currently only trained firearms officers use the stun guns.

The details of the trial were outlined at a full meeting of the authority in the city chambers in Glasgow yesterday.

Strathclyde Chief Constable Stephen House said: "Injuries to officers are increasing. They are not increasing dramatically. They are up about 5 per cent this year on last year.

"What is increasing dramatically is the amount of time officers spend away from work – it's up 55 per cent as a result of those injuries.

"It tends to indicate to me that injuries are more serious in nature than they used to be."

Mr House said that use of the weapons would be highly controlled.

"Our use of Tasers is very clearly contained," he said. "Officers must perceive that either they or a member of the public is going to be subject to violence before they can use a Taser."

The officers are required to complete a three-day training course before they are authorised to carry a Taser.

Amnesty International yesterday said while it did not oppose the use of Tasers, the training course was insufficient.

The decision was also raised in the Scottish Parliament yesterday when Mr Scott challenged Alex Salmond on the involvement of Government ministers in the decision.

He also demanded to know if Parliament will have a say before any pilot scheme is agreed.

Mr Scott said: "When Tasers were put on trial in England, in the first year they had been used 600 times – 34 children were zapped with 50,000 volts.

"This is the slippery slope to every officer in Strathclyde carrying a Taser gun."

Mr Salmond told MSPs that the issue was currently an "operational matter" for Mr House.

Highlighting the deficiencies of other weapons available to officers during the meeting, Mr House described CS spray as inconsistent, while batons could be lethal if someone was struck on the head by one.

He said the pilot would reveal whether stun guns could deal with suspects in a "more effective manner".

Mr House added that he did not expect to roll out Tasers to all officers if the pilot was successful as the cost would be "hideously expensive".

The stun guns have a computer inside which records information on when the device was used. Mr House said the computers would monitor how the devices were deployed during the pilot.