More police to be armed with tasers

10:39am Thursday 10th January 2013 in News Photograph of the Author By Mark Taylor, Reporter. Please call me on (01865) 425411

MORE police in Oxfordshire are to be armed with Tasers, it was announced today.

Officers concerned for their own safety lobbied Chief Constable Sara Thornton last year over in response to increasing levels of violence or threat of harm to beat police.

The force said today the total number of officers within Thames Valley trained to use Tasers would increase by 280 to 485.

It first issued Tasers in 2004, and currently only firearms officers are permitted to carry and use the devices.

Assistant Chief Constable John Campbell, who is responsible for tactical support, said it would provide further protection to the communities and officers across Thames Valley.

Chief Constable Sara Thornton said: “Officers will be specially selected and trained for this role and I am satisfied that the continued use of the Taser device across the Force area will only be considered in those cases where it is necessary and proportionate to the behaviour the officers encounter.

"As Chief Constable I have a responsibility to ensure that my officers are equipped to do the difficult job I ask of them. It is right that we have increased the availability of Tasers in line with other forces and we will keep our approach under review."

Over the past three years the total number of Taser deployments has increased from 795 in 2010, to 842 in 2011 and 936 in 2012.

Comments (13)

11:31am Thu 10 Jan 13

Sandy Wimpole-Smythe says...

Sorry but I wouldn't trust the Police in Oxfordshire with a pea shooter let alone a taser. The next thing we will see will be 'drive by Police tasering' because how often do you actually see them out of their cars.
Sorry but I wouldn't trust the Police in Oxfordshire with a pea shooter let alone a taser. The next thing we will see will be 'drive by Police tasering' because how often do you actually see them out of their cars. Sandy Wimpole-Smythe

12:18pm Thu 10 Jan 13

REJG says...

...how often do you ever see them !!!!
...how often do you ever see them !!!! REJG

12:43pm Thu 10 Jan 13

wrongly parked says...

I would not trust Thames Valley Police with even water pistols!

Tasers should only be used by professional and competent people…they are neither of these!
Infact their incompetence was highlighted on the national news recently when they accidently shot themselves in a training session!!!
How embarrassing is that…giving Tasers to officers in the Thames Valley Force would be like giving Hand Grenades to school children!

The national news article can be read on the link below and describes how… A police force (Thames Valley) has been fined £40,000 after one of its firearms instructors nearly killed a man after accidentally shooting him during a classroom safety demonstration.

Read more:

http://www.dailymail

.co.uk/news/article-

1215766/Thames-Valle

y-police-fined-40-00

0-gun-expert-shot-ma

n-safety-demo.html#i

xzz27krNJEsl”
I would not trust Thames Valley Police with even water pistols! Tasers should only be used by professional and competent people…they are neither of these! Infact their incompetence was highlighted on the national news recently when they accidently shot themselves in a training session!!! How embarrassing is that…giving Tasers to officers in the Thames Valley Force would be like giving Hand Grenades to school children! The national news article can be read on the link below and describes how… A police force (Thames Valley) has been fined £40,000 after one of its firearms instructors nearly killed a man after accidentally shooting him during a classroom safety demonstration. Read more: http://www.dailymail .co.uk/news/article- 1215766/Thames-Valle y-police-fined-40-00 0-gun-expert-shot-ma n-safety-demo.html#i xzz27krNJEsl” wrongly parked

1:40pm Thu 10 Jan 13

Vocman says...

Don't forget a blind man was recently tasered FROM BEHIND without warning by a "fired up" PC looking for a man carrying a samurai sword! He mistook the mans white stick for a sword, allegedly. Are these the right peple to give weapons to?

Trouble is armed police role-play. And in a role-play (or film) the suspect knows he is the suspect. In real-life this is not the case. As in the man carrying a table leg under his arm (suspected of being a rifle). On hearing a shout behind him he naturally turned round, thus bringing the "gun" towards the shouters who were armed police officers. They shot and killed him. Justifiably an inquiry found. Not to me or his family.

We don't need police officers who are armed with weapons. We want them armed with bravery and common sense.
Don't forget a blind man was recently tasered FROM BEHIND without warning by a "fired up" PC looking for a man carrying a samurai sword! He mistook the mans white stick for a sword, allegedly. Are these the right peple to give weapons to? Trouble is armed police role-play. And in a role-play (or film) the suspect knows he is the suspect. In real-life this is not the case. As in the man carrying a table leg under his arm (suspected of being a rifle). On hearing a shout behind him he naturally turned round, thus bringing the "gun" towards the shouters who were armed police officers. They shot and killed him. Justifiably an inquiry found. Not to me or his family. We don't need police officers who are armed with weapons. We want them armed with bravery and common sense. Vocman

1:57pm Thu 10 Jan 13

xjohnx says...

Why not save us a lot of money and just give them baseball bats or bricks in socks.

We can also save money by having them pay for concealing there own uniform ID numbers.
Why not save us a lot of money and just give them baseball bats or bricks in socks. We can also save money by having them pay for concealing there own uniform ID numbers. xjohnx

2:32pm Thu 10 Jan 13

xjohnx says...

PS

Why dont we trust the police nowdays?

Do we suspect they are self serving or perhap even crooked?

Perhaps we suspect they even conspire to affect government in their favour, or sell information, or lie in court.
PS Why dont we trust the police nowdays? Do we suspect they are self serving or perhap even crooked? Perhaps we suspect they even conspire to affect government in their favour, or sell information, or lie in court. xjohnx

3:26pm Thu 10 Jan 13

oafie says...

Officers concerned for their own safety lobbied Chief Constable Sara Thornton last year over in response to increasing levels of violence or threat of harm to beat police.

Beat police.......laugh, yes where exactly are they? Have the police not always been subject to threats - indeed one what expect it go with the job.
Many others are threatened everyday during the course of their work, Nurses/Doctors/Param
edic/Civil enforcement officer/anyone working with the public generally. Can we all arm ourselves due to 'threats' ? The police have far more resources available to them than others and do not need arming.
If the laws in this land were followed equally and the police likewise investigated crimes equally and not just those they choose to, perhaps there would be a more a law abiding society with far more respect shown to the police; it needs to be earned.
Officers concerned for their own safety lobbied Chief Constable Sara Thornton last year over in response to increasing levels of violence or threat of harm to beat police. Beat police.......laugh, yes where exactly are they? Have the police not always been subject to threats - indeed one what expect it go with the job. Many others are threatened everyday during the course of their work, Nurses/Doctors/Param edic/Civil enforcement officer/anyone working with the public generally. Can we all arm ourselves due to 'threats' ? The police have far more resources available to them than others and do not need arming. If the laws in this land were followed equally and the police likewise investigated crimes equally and not just those they choose to, perhaps there would be a more a law abiding society with far more respect shown to the police; it needs to be earned. oafie

5:11pm Thu 10 Jan 13

xjohnx says...

I wonder if any police officers read these comments???

If you are a police officer please give us your opinion.
I wonder if any police officers read these comments??? If you are a police officer please give us your opinion. xjohnx

7:35am Fri 11 Jan 13

Lord Palmerstone says...

"Assistant Chief Constable John Campbell, who is responsible for tactical support, said it would provide further protection to the communities and officers across Thames Valley. "
Communities of what? Bats? Newts? For heaven's sake stop using the c word. It's meaningless. "The international community"-what cohereence is there between for example North and South Korea? There has to be coherence for there to be community.
Tasers? Yes, let us have them to protect ourselves against people breaking in on our homes. But coppers are far too busy investigating 2 Jags' emails and the alleged misdeeds of dead people to ever need to approach a member of the public.
"Assistant Chief Constable John Campbell, who is responsible for tactical support, said it would provide further protection to the communities and officers across Thames Valley. " Communities of what? Bats? Newts? For heaven's sake stop using the c word. It's meaningless. "The international community"-what cohereence is there between for example North and South Korea? There has to be coherence for there to be community. Tasers? Yes, let us have them to protect ourselves against people breaking in on our homes. But coppers are far too busy investigating 2 Jags' emails and the alleged misdeeds of dead people to ever need to approach a member of the public. Lord Palmerstone

9:04am Fri 11 Jan 13

full picture says...

xjohnx wrote:
I wonder if any police officers read these comments??? If you are a police officer please give us your opinion.
Oh come on xjohnx of course they wont be reading.You have too high an opinion of police officers.
There is not any intelligence or common sense required to be a police officer and their reading skills are very limited...most of them find it difficult to string a full sentence of words together let alone being able to understand what they are trying to read!
[quote][p][bold]xjohnx[/bold] wrote: I wonder if any police officers read these comments??? If you are a police officer please give us your opinion.[/p][/quote]Oh come on xjohnx of course they wont be reading.You have too high an opinion of police officers. There is not any intelligence or common sense required to be a police officer and their reading skills are very limited...most of them find it difficult to string a full sentence of words together let alone being able to understand what they are trying to read! full picture

1:40pm Fri 11 Jan 13

Sandy Wimpole-Smythe says...

full picture wrote:
xjohnx wrote:
I wonder if any police officers read these comments??? If you are a police officer please give us your opinion.
Oh come on xjohnx of course they wont be reading.You have too high an opinion of police officers.
There is not any intelligence or common sense required to be a police officer and their reading skills are very limited...most of them find it difficult to string a full sentence of words together let alone being able to understand what they are trying to read!
Having just had to read a witness statement before signing it I have to agree with this comment. The spelling and grammar reminded me of when my children were about seven it was appalling. I though the police would need at least, a basic grasp of the English language spoken and written.
[quote][p][bold]full picture[/bold] wrote: [quote][p][bold]xjohnx[/bold] wrote: I wonder if any police officers read these comments??? If you are a police officer please give us your opinion.[/p][/quote]Oh come on xjohnx of course they wont be reading.You have too high an opinion of police officers. There is not any intelligence or common sense required to be a police officer and their reading skills are very limited...most of them find it difficult to string a full sentence of words together let alone being able to understand what they are trying to read![/p][/quote]Having just had to read a witness statement before signing it I have to agree with this comment. The spelling and grammar reminded me of when my children were about seven it was appalling. I though the police would need at least, a basic grasp of the English language spoken and written. Sandy Wimpole-Smythe

3:21am Sat 12 Jan 13

Grunden Skip says...

Lord Palmerstone wrote:
"Assistant Chief Constable John Campbell, who is responsible for tactical support, said it would provide further protection to the communities and officers across Thames Valley. "
Communities of what? Bats? Newts? For heaven's sake stop using the c word. It's meaningless. "The international community"-what cohereence is there between for example North and South Korea? There has to be coherence for there to be community.
Tasers? Yes, let us have them to protect ourselves against people breaking in on our homes. But coppers are far too busy investigating 2 Jags' emails and the alleged misdeeds of dead people to ever need to approach a member of the public.
And therein lies the problem. The police need to decide whether they are a politically motivated "service" there to serve their paymasters latest whim. Or actually a "force". There to protect the law abiding public ( and their rights) from those that wish to rob, steal from, attack, and generally abuse them. Sadly I think that they do not know the answer. 10 coppers in St Giles to catch criminals going over 20mph is the norm, but no coppers about when you are being mugged (but don't worry, just dial 101 from your mobile before they steal it) or hear some scroats downstairs about to nick your Laptop, but god forbid you fight back and give the bad boys a kicking, all of a sudden you have 20 plod on your back, and it is you up on a charge. Give the police tasers, NO, they will only use them on you and I, and not the crims that they should be used on. I rest my case M'Lud.
[quote][p][bold]Lord Palmerstone[/bold] wrote: "Assistant Chief Constable John Campbell, who is responsible for tactical support, said it would provide further protection to the communities and officers across Thames Valley. " Communities of what? Bats? Newts? For heaven's sake stop using the c word. It's meaningless. "The international community"-what cohereence is there between for example North and South Korea? There has to be coherence for there to be community. Tasers? Yes, let us have them to protect ourselves against people breaking in on our homes. But coppers are far too busy investigating 2 Jags' emails and the alleged misdeeds of dead people to ever need to approach a member of the public.[/p][/quote]And therein lies the problem. The police need to decide whether they are a politically motivated "service" there to serve their paymasters latest whim. Or actually a "force". There to protect the law abiding public ( and their rights) from those that wish to rob, steal from, attack, and generally abuse them. Sadly I think that they do not know the answer. 10 coppers in St Giles to catch criminals going over 20mph is the norm, but no coppers about when you are being mugged (but don't worry, just dial 101 from your mobile before they steal it) or hear some scroats downstairs about to nick your Laptop, but god forbid you fight back and give the bad boys a kicking, all of a sudden you have 20 plod on your back, and it is you up on a charge. Give the police tasers, NO, they will only use them on you and I, and not the crims that they should be used on. I rest my case M'Lud. Grunden Skip

11:18am Wed 16 Jan 13

locodogz says...

Grunden Skip wrote:
Lord Palmerstone wrote:
"Assistant Chief Constable John Campbell, who is responsible for tactical support, said it would provide further protection to the communities and officers across Thames Valley. "
Communities of what? Bats? Newts? For heaven's sake stop using the c word. It's meaningless. "The international community"-what cohereence is there between for example North and South Korea? There has to be coherence for there to be community.
Tasers? Yes, let us have them to protect ourselves against people breaking in on our homes. But coppers are far too busy investigating 2 Jags' emails and the alleged misdeeds of dead people to ever need to approach a member of the public.
And therein lies the problem. The police need to decide whether they are a politically motivated "service" there to serve their paymasters latest whim. Or actually a "force". There to protect the law abiding public ( and their rights) from those that wish to rob, steal from, attack, and generally abuse them. Sadly I think that they do not know the answer. 10 coppers in St Giles to catch criminals going over 20mph is the norm, but no coppers about when you are being mugged (but don't worry, just dial 101 from your mobile before they steal it) or hear some scroats downstairs about to nick your Laptop, but god forbid you fight back and give the bad boys a kicking, all of a sudden you have 20 plod on your back, and it is you up on a charge. Give the police tasers, NO, they will only use them on you and I, and not the crims that they should be used on. I rest my case M'Lud.
"but no coppers about when you are being mugged "

Possibly due to the tendency of muggers to avoid carrying out their crimes when coppers are around? Blatantly unfair, wouldn't you say, but not entirely the fault of the constabulary?
[quote][p][bold]Grunden Skip[/bold] wrote: [quote][p][bold]Lord Palmerstone[/bold] wrote: "Assistant Chief Constable John Campbell, who is responsible for tactical support, said it would provide further protection to the communities and officers across Thames Valley. " Communities of what? Bats? Newts? For heaven's sake stop using the c word. It's meaningless. "The international community"-what cohereence is there between for example North and South Korea? There has to be coherence for there to be community. Tasers? Yes, let us have them to protect ourselves against people breaking in on our homes. But coppers are far too busy investigating 2 Jags' emails and the alleged misdeeds of dead people to ever need to approach a member of the public.[/p][/quote]And therein lies the problem. The police need to decide whether they are a politically motivated "service" there to serve their paymasters latest whim. Or actually a "force". There to protect the law abiding public ( and their rights) from those that wish to rob, steal from, attack, and generally abuse them. Sadly I think that they do not know the answer. 10 coppers in St Giles to catch criminals going over 20mph is the norm, but no coppers about when you are being mugged (but don't worry, just dial 101 from your mobile before they steal it) or hear some scroats downstairs about to nick your Laptop, but god forbid you fight back and give the bad boys a kicking, all of a sudden you have 20 plod on your back, and it is you up on a charge. Give the police tasers, NO, they will only use them on you and I, and not the crims that they should be used on. I rest my case M'Lud.[/p][/quote]"but no coppers about when you are being mugged " Possibly due to the tendency of muggers to avoid carrying out their crimes when coppers are around? Blatantly unfair, wouldn't you say, but not entirely the fault of the constabulary? locodogz

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