This resource is from the News section. This page contains press release 46/07, in which the MPA puts Taser expansion pilot on hold.

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Metropolitan Police Authority puts Taser expansion pilot on hold

46/07
27 September 2007

A pilot rollout of Tasers for use by police officers who are not trained to carry firearms has been postponed following questions raised today by the Metropolitan Police Authority.

The Met had asked the Authority to support the proposed Home Office-approved pilot which would have allowed officers of the Commissioner’s Reserve - drawn from the ranks of the cross-borough Territorial Support Group - to carry and use the updated Taser X26 electronic stun-guns.

But MPA members meeting senior officers today raised questions about operational need and public perception and asked for further detailed information before they would agree to the proposal.

The MPA’s co-ordination and policing committee was told that no more than six non-firearms trained officers at any one time would be allowed to carry the weapons, although many more TSG officers would need to be trained in their use in order to maintain cover.

Cindy Butts, MPA deputy chair, said:

"The Authority previously agreed to the deployment of Tasers in London as an alternative to firearms, and undoubtedly their deployment to critical incidents have saved lives.

“However, the proposal brought to us today was for Tasers to be used in addition to firearms, which is a significant development and one we were not happy to agree to without greater explanation of the implications and justification for this move.

“We have therefore called for a more thorough report to the October meeting of the full Authority. This will require a detailed business case, a clear indication that the Met has taken into account the concerns that London’s communities will rightly raise, and a commitment to communicate how, when and why Tasers will be deployed in the future.”

Notes to editors

The Taser X26 was made available to authorised firearms officers across the Metropolitan Police Service armed commands as of 18 April 2006 as part of an agreed extension of the less-lethal option.

The co-ordination and policing report can be viewed at:

www.mpa.gov.uk/committees/cop/2007/070927/08.htm

Further media information

For further information, please contact the MPA press office