Tasers

Part of the debate – in the Scottish Parliament at 11:08 am on 25 February 2010.

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Photo of Nigel Don Nigel Don Scottish National Party 11:08, 25 February 2010

The answer is yes. I suggest that the member considers the numbers. My information is that, at the moment, Strathclyde Police have 197 authorised firearms officers. If the chief constable of Strathclyde Police had decided to turn that number into 227, that would have been an operational matter and we would not have been having this debate. As far as I can see, all that the chief constable has done is say, "I don't need 30 more firearms officers fully trained in all the weapons. These 30 officers need to be fully trained on the Tasers. They don't need to be trained in the use of all the weapons." As I understand it, what he suggested is that a fraction of his officers should be able to use Tasers properly.