The Government has announced increased funding for the Police in order to equip them to protect officers. Violence against the Police has surfaced recently, with the tragic loss of an officer in the line of duty recently.
A ringfenced fund of £10 million over the next 12 months has been designated with the intention of equipping over 10,000 more officers with tasers, allowing them to protect themselves and maintain public order.
This will come alongside the hiring of 20,000 additional officers over the next three years with a national recruitment campaign, backed by £750 million next year. This is despite Labour voting against a £970 million investment to make available to the Police, and voting against increasing Stop and Search Powers of the Police designed to keep themselves and the wider public safer.
The funding will see 60% of officers with access to Tasers, significantly improving their safety as they fulfil their jobs and improving the safety of the public by increasing their ability to apprehend criminals.
The Home Secretary, Priti Patel, said in her conference speech:
“I am equipping Police Officers with the kit and tools they need to protect themselves and others from harm. I have created a new fund to give police chiefs the ability to train and equip police officers with Tasers.
“It is the job of chief constables to make that operational decision. It is the job of the Home Secretary to empower them to do so. I am giving them that power.”
Commenting on the policy announcement, Caroline Dinenage said:
“This is fantastic news to safeguard the security of our officers and communities.
“Recent events, with over 30,000 attacks against the Police in the last year and the tragic loss of life of an officer, have shown that such protection is crucial to protecting our officers who do so much to ensure out safety.
“The investment will mean 60% of officers will have access to tasers, empowering them to fulfil their function safely and increasing their effectiveness in maintaining law and order.”
