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Dismay and Disappointment at Kent Police's Planned Taser Roll-Out
At last week's Police Authority meeting Kent Police unveiled its plans to roll-out Taser to non-firearms officers:
- Tactical Support Group (FHQ)
- Special Branch Tactical Team (Longport)
- BCU Tactical Teams
- Roads Policing Unit (24 hour County cover)
- ANPR Intercept Team
Following last year's Home Office announcement, Kent Police has entered a bid for 66 Tasers, 10 of which are to be retained centrally for training purposes.
Ian Pointon, Chairman Kent Police Federation says,
"We would like to see every frontline officer issued with Taser. It is a vital piece of officer safety equipment that, due to the shortness of any after effects, should be used before pepper spray and batons. However we understand issuing Tasers to every frontline officer is not an option yet for a variety of reasons."
"Officers on our Roads Policing Unit (or Traffic as it used to be called) will, apparently provide the 24/7 cover for Taser. However, on nights there are only 3 traffic cars on the road for the entire county. If the M20 is turned into a massive lorry park when the ports are closed (an event that happens all too often) all our traffic officers are engaged dealing with this. Where will the 24/7 Taser cover come from then? None of the other units the Force has chosen to issue Taser to work 24/7."
"We believe the Force should roll-out Taser to our Emergency Response Vehicle (ERV) crews on core section response teams. This would provide 24/7 cover on each of the 6 BCUs ensuring the ready availability of Taser for spontaneous incidents."
"Unfortunately the Force chose not to seek our views. We are dismayed and deeply disappointed over their decision not to consult with us. We are of the firm belief we could have positively influenced the debate for the benefit of core section response officers. We believe there are some serious practical flaws with the route the Force has chosen to go."
Notes to Editor
- Kent Police Federation represents over 3700 officers - Constables, Sergeants, Inspectors and Chief Inspector.
- ERV crew members are trained, for a minimum of 3 weeks for a standard driving course, for the purposes of driving to emergency calls. They work on core section response teams on each the 6 policing areas (BCUs) in Kent.
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