Police federation renews call for more Tasers after London sword attack

The body representing rank and file police in London has renewed its call for every officer who wants a Taser to be equipped with one in the wake of the Hainault sword attack.

About 7,500 of the Met’s 34,000 police officers are currently trained to carry the non-lethal devices.

However, the incident in Hainault, north-east London in which two officers were wounded by a samurai sword-wielding assailant has led to calls for the number of Tasers to be increased.

It is thought the first local officers at the scene of Tuesday’s attack were not equipped with the devices when they attempted to tackle the attacker.

Tasers incapacitate an assailant by firing two barbs into the target’s skin, sending an electrical current into the body that temporarily disrupts voluntary control of the muscles.

Frontline officers see the devices as a vital part of their personal protective kit which can help subdue or repel violent attackers until armed back-up can arrive at the scene.

In 2022, Sadiq Khan, the Mayor of London, said the Met anticipated an operational need of about 10,000 officers.

To be able to carry a Taser, an officer must pass a four-day intensive training course and undergo regular refreshers with personal safety and first aid training.

But while the number of trained officers at any one time fluctuates, the most recent figures suggest the force could still be about 2,500 officers short of that target.

The strategic threat and risk assessment, produced every two years, dictates where resources are deployed and so will earmark Tasers to certain units.

A Met source said some officers wanted to carry the devices but could not get authorisation because they were in units that had not had the resources approved.

Community and engagement officers are not viewed as requiring Tasers in their day-to-day roles, and newly-qualified officers are not approved to carry them until they have completed their training.

A spokesman for the Metropolitan Police Federation said: “Our position is that every officer in London who wants a Taser should have one.”

In 2019, a survey among serving officers in England and Wales revealed that almost nine out of 10 police want to be routinely armed with Tasers. It followed a string of violent attacks on officers.

The poll of almost 7,000 police officers found that 89 per cent would like to be issued with a Taser, while 81 per cent said they would feel safer if they were armed with the devices.

The survey came after PC Andrew Harper was killed while responding to reports of a burglary in Berkshire and Gareth Phillips, a West Midlands Police traffic officer, suffered life-changing injuries when he was run over by a suspected car thief in Birmingham.

Stuart Outten, a 28-year-old Metropolitan Police constable, was also left with head injuries after challenging a suspect armed with a machete in Leyton, east London.

In 2022, Dame Priti Patel, the then Home Secretary, announced that special constables would be allowed to carry Tasers.