All Jersey police officers to carry tasers
All Jersey police officers will be able to carry tasers from now on.
Politicians have approved a proposition put forward by the island's Home Affairs Minister, Deputy Gregory Guida.
A year trial started in March 2021, but was cut short to allow time for the proposition to be debated ahead of the election.
Deputy Rob Ward had submitted an amendment to Deputy Guida's proposition, asking for the trial period to be extended by a further 18 months. This amendment was rejected by 29 votes to 15.
All officers will be required to complete training before they are issued a taser.
They were previously only allowed to be used by officers in Jersey's firearms squad.
Chief Inspector Chris Beechey said: “The States of Jersey Police welcomes the decision of the States to adopt the Minister’s proposition in respect to the continued use of Taser outside of a firearms authority.
"Taser was adopted by the Jersey Police in 2014, however its use was extended beyond the firearms environment at the beginning of April last year and has been subject to a year’s trial.
"We are pleased to see that the States were satisfied with the comprehensive training provided to Specially Trained Officers (STO’s) and satisfied with the policies and procedures adopted by the Force in order to appropriately manage the use of TASER as an additional piece of personal protective equipment.
"The step change both provides the Force with an additional tactical option and further maximises not only the safety of the officers sent to deal with such situations but also those members of the public involved in them.
"The States were particularly interested in the data attributed to incidents involving mental health and young people and once again were satisfied that the comprehensive training and procedural measures now in place and that such matters over the last year had been appropriately managed.
"Data pertaining to the use of Taser will continue to be collected and scrutinised by the Force and used to ensure that all such matters are appropriately managed to the future.”