The Government has announced that thousands more police officers will be equipped with Taser under a Home Office funded uplift. Forces in England and Wales will receive £6.7m to purchase over 8,000 devices. A total of 41 forces submitted bids and all will receive the full amount of money they requested. Funding applications from forces were based on the threats and risks in local areas.
In London, the Metropolitan Police Service will receive 2,382 new devices from the provided funding of £1.9m, giving officers the ability and support they need to do their most important duty – keeping the public safe.
Mike Freer MP said, “This is fantastic news for policing here in London and the wider country. We are providing our officers with the powers and resources they need to keep the public safe, and I welcome this announcement from the Home Secretary.”
This follows a number of commitments to provide the police with more resources and support, including the biggest funding boost for the policing system in a decade, recruitment of 20,000 additional officers over the next three years, and expanding stop and search powers. The Government is also planning to consult on increasing the maximum sentence for assaulting police officers and other emergency workers.
You can read more about the announcement here.
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