News In Focus
5 February 2010
Beat police to get Taser guns in pilot
Police on the beat in parts of Strathclyde are to be issued with Taser "stun guns" from April in a six month pilot.
Strathclyde Police Authority agreed yesterday to allow 30 officers to be trained in the use of the weapons, which deliver a 50,000 volt blow. They render the recipient temporarily immobile by disrupting their nervous system.
The selected trial areas are Glasgow city centre, Cambuslang and Rutherglen, which have seen a high level of police assault.
Chief Constable Stephen House said that while the number of incidents causing injury was up by 5% over the past year, the amount of time off work had risen by 55%, indicating that injuries had become more serious.
He added that the use of the weapons would be very highly controlled, and officers would have to perceive that they or a member of the public were going to be subject to violence before they could use a Taser.
The pilot would show whether the weapons would be more effective than alternatives such as CS spray or batons.
Mr House said he did not expect that all officers would be issued with Tasers even if the pilot was successful, as it would be far too expensive.