Nick Ferrari's Call For Tasers Backed By 13 Senior Police Chiefs: Read The Letter

2 September 2019, 06:55 | Updated: 2 September 2019, 15:12

Nick Ferrari has written to Priti Patel, asking her to provide ring-fenced budget so that all police officers can be armed with a taser.

Nick is launching a campaign called Time for Tasers, looking to guarantee funding so that any police officer who wants one can be equipped with the electric devices.

It comes after the attack on PC Stuart Outten in east London, in which he was suffered serious head injuries following a simple traffic stop.

Currently, it is up to the individual police forces as to whether they arm their officers with tasers. Last week, Northamptonshire Chief Constable Nick Adderley said he would be offering a taser to all officers.

After seeing the danger that police officers face every day - and following a trip to the US to spend time with the NYPD - Nick believes this is the only way we can protect our officers every day.

Signatories of the letter include John Apter, the head of the Police Federation - the voice of the police - seven Police and Crime Commissioners, three Chief Constables and Lord Stevens, the former Met Police Commissioner.

Nick Ferrari's Letter To Priti Patel In Full

Dear Home Secretary,

I am writing to you as part of a campaign involving the Police Federation to improve the safety of frontline police officers.

As you will no doubt be aware, over the last 4 years, assaults on police officers have increased by 1,000 per year, reaching 26,295 in 2017/2018 – meaning an officer is now assaulted on average every 20 minutes.

Exemplified by the horrific attacks on PC Stuart Outten in Leyton, PC Gareth Phillips in Birmingham and the attack on the Ministry of Housing employee outside the Home Office and many others, assuring the safety of officers must now be treated as an urgent priority.

Therefore, with the support of the Police Federation, Chief Constables, Police and Crime Commissioners and former heads of the Metropolitan, Greater Manchester and Gloucestershire Police forces, we are calling for the Home Office to provide additional ring-fenced funding for a national roll-out of Conducted Energy Devices (CEDs), such as TASER, for all police officers to accompany their standard Personal Protection Equipment.

The funding will provide Chief Constables the option of equipping both new and serving officers with the tools they need to keep themselves and the public safe.

You have said you will make sure our police officers get the protection they deserve, I would be interested to hear whether this new funding would be a step in the right direction.

I would be delighted to host you on my LBC Programme to discuss this matter when our campaign launches the week of the 2nd of September.

Yours Sincerely,
Nick Ferrari

Signatories:

John Apter, Chair of the Police Federation of England and Wales.
Bill Skelly, Chief Constable, Lincolnshire Police
Pam Kelly, Chief Constable, Gwent Police
Hardyal Dhindsa, Police and Crime Commissioner for Derbyshire
Arfon Jones, Police and Crime Commissioner for North Wales
Anthony Stansfeld, Police and Crime Commissioner for Thames Valley
David Munro, Police and Crime Commissioner for Surrey
Mark Burns-Williamson, Police and Crime Commissioner for West Yorkshire
Matthew Scott, Police and Crime Commissioner for Kent
Barry Coppinger, Police and Crime Commissioner for Cleveland
Lord John Stevens, Commissioner of the Metropolitan Police (2000-2005)
Sir Peter Fahy, Chief Constable of Greater Manchester Police (2008-2015)
Dr Timothy Brain, Chief Constable Gloucestershire Police (2001-2010)