Taser goes on trial with MOD police
Ministry of Defence Police (MOD) firearms officers have begun trials of the X26 Taser as a new less lethal option for the force.
Ministry of Defence Police (MOD) firearms officers have begun trials of the X26 Taser as a new less lethal option for the force.
The deployment of the Taser is part of a five month trial to assess its fitness for purpose for the Ministry of Defence Police (MDP) and to begin the process of gaining MOD endorsement for it`s use across the defence environment.
It has been given on trial to those authorised to carry firearms on duties at Regents Park Barracks and at MOD Main Building, in Whitehall.
Sergeant Rob Lowe, of Operational Support, said: This trial is very much following in the footsteps of the issue of the Taser to trained firearms officers at ACPO (Association of Chief Police Officers) and of ACPOS (Association of Chief Police Officers in Scotland) forces.
But it does not form part of the current Home Office assessment on the use of Taser by non-firearms officers for public order situations.
More than 60 of the MDP`s firearms authorised officers have so far been on a two-day training course in the use of the weapon as a less lethal option. The two sites in London where it is being deployed have been chosen because they are representative of many of the environments where MDP officers operate.
Sgt Lowe explained: The results of the assessment will be gauged to ensure that Taser is able to be used alongside all other MDP operational equipment. The MOD will also be assessing the trial results with a view to endorsing the use of Taser at other MOD sites.
Because of the military aspects of the environment that we work in, the carrying of Taser at MOD sites must take into account different operational and safety considerations from those considered when it was approved by the Home Office, so it requires this separate endorsement.
However, use of the Taser by the MDP will follow the same guidelines used by other police forces. Any decision to fire it will be down to the judgment of the individual officer and will be dependent on their assessment of the threat that they face,” Sgt Lowe continued.
As firearms officers they are authorised to use it in any situation where conventional firearms could otherwise by deployed. And our training programme ensures that all MDP officers are fully conversant with the policy and laws which govern its use.
The initial effect of a Taser discharge will last for five seconds but follow up bursts can be delivered if a subject continues to resist; as long as the probes remain attached.
Officers can also spark the Taser without firing it which produces a loud electrical crackle and subjects are also verbally made aware that they have been targeted with its red laser aiming system.
Other police forces have already found in many cases that this demonstration is sufficient to ensure compliance in subjects who would previously have continued to resist.
If the trials prove successful then it is envisaged that the Taser can be made available to MDP firearms officers at a variety of MOD establishments.