Forty more policemen and women in Wiltshire are beingtrained to use Taser guns in the wake of a pledge by Chief Constable Patrick Geenty to protect his officers.

The chief made the pledge last year after Manchester officers PC Fiona Bone, 32, and PC Nicola Hughes, 23, were shot by Dale Cregan last September.
Since then 40 officers have begun a training programme in Taser use.

Mr Geenty said: “At present we have a total of 190 Taser-trained officers. Seventy of them are armed response officers who have that training as a matter or course, the other 120 are in neighbourhood policing ream roles.

“Officers want as much protection as possible when they are out on patrol and I want to do whatever I can to make sure they are as safe as possible.”
He said that his aim is to see at least 50 per cent of his officers on patrol trained in Taser use.

Ideally if two are patrolling together one would be equipped with a Taser.

“Tasers are not part of officers’ personal equipment,” said Mr Geenty. “They are stored in a bank at the police station and those officer trained in their use will withdraw them when they begin their shift.”

A Taser gun, which uses an electric charge to stun offenders, costs about £1,000 and officers need three days’ training, plus a yearly update.