This article is more than 2 years old

This article is more than 2 years old

All police officers on routine patrol should be allowed to carry stun guns, the country’s chief firearms officer has said.



Simon Chesterman, the armed policing lead for the National Police Chiefs’ Council (NPCC), indicated he supported a wider rollout of the weapons amid fears of a growing threat to frontline officers.

The possibility of expanding the pool of staff eligible for stun gun training was first mooted last year as police leaders launched a review to examine what further measures may be needed to ensure staff could protect themselves and the public when faced with armed terrorists.

PC Keith Palmer was stabbed to death in the Westminster attack nearly one year ago, while an officer was hurt when he confronted the London Bridge attackers with a baton.

In both cases the attackers were shot dead by armed police.

In an interview with the Sunday Times, Chesterman, who is deputy chief constable of the Civil Nuclear Constabulary, said: “I personally would not want to be a frontline patrol officer now without Taser.

“My view is that if an officer wants to carry it and they can meet the standard, they should be allowed to carry it.”

Asked whether he expected to see most officers armed with Tasers on the beat, Chesterman said: “I think we should be having more of a conversation with the public about this. I hope we will see an increasing rollout of Taser.”

The NPCC previously said the number of officers in a force who are trained and equipped with stun guns would remain a decision for individual chief constables.

Chesterman agreed with this assessment, adding: “I think officers now deserve the protection it affords them.”

He praised the weapon’s ability to save lives and said it was less damaging than a baton, but conceded that some “perceive [stun guns] as an instrument of torture”.