Police officers across Britain get the go-ahead to use a new, more powerful type of taser stun-gun
Home Secretary Amber Rudd has followed given the green light for a new model to replace the current stun guns
POLICE have been given the go ahead to use a newer, more powerful type of taser gun.
The X2 model has been recommended by the Home Secretary as a good replacement for older guns.
The current model - the X26 - is 13 years old and the weapons are breaking down more frequently.
Officers have been lobbying for a replacement for it. Today Amber Rudd has followed advice given to her and given the new model the green light.
The X2 can also fire a second shot if the first one fails - current ones have to be reloaded first.
The Home Office said the new taser had undergone "extensive evaluation" and a "full technical evaluation".
The weapon has an electric crackle warning noise and pulsating light to try to encourage a suspect to surrender before being fired upon.
At least 11 deaths in the UK have been linked to the use of tasers - but experts have not been able to say whether the guns were directly responsible.
Officers will have to record the location and outcome of every incident where a taser is used later this year. They will also have to record the age and ethnicity of anyone who a taser is used on.
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The Police Federation has welcomed the news - and called for all those who want to carry a taser to be issued with the new gun. Officers said the upgrade was "essential".
Steve White, Chairman of the Police Federation of England and Wales told Sky this afternoon: "We've been calling on the Government to get on and authorise the taser X2 for quite some time.
"The X26 has seen its day, it's breaking down. Officers aren't able to access the spare parts."
The new model is much safer, and demand is huge he said.
"That's absolutely vital - we've got to keep face with technology," he added.
But he also expressed concern that cuts to forces would mean many would not be able to afford the new models.
"These things don't come cheap - where is the money going to come from? How are we going to find the resources to buy this kit?"
He said he had spoken with the then-Home Secretary Theresa May about his worries.
"It's part of their responsibility to find the resources," he urged. "We've got to start having a proper conversation about what the public want the police to do for them, and how much they are willing to spend."
But campaigners today said that "regulation [of tasers] remains woeful".
Bella Sankey, Director of Policy at Liberty, said: "Increased monitoring, including ethnicity and age monitoring, is welcome.
"But it is deeply irresponsible that the Home Secretary – instead of tightening up regulations – is authorising more powerful and dangerous Tasers. Making an already lethal tool more lethal will do little to reassure those communities at the sharp end of this practice."
And the Liberal Democrats also highlighted concerns with the use of the guns.
Brian Paddick, Liberal Democrat Shadow Home Secretary and former Deputy Assistant Commissioner in the Metropolitan Police, said:
"The use of tasers by the police sits uncomfortably with the principle of policing by consent.
"Rather than using the phasing out of the old model as an opportunity update guidance and ensure tasers are used only as a last resort, the Home Secretary has opted for a powerful upgrade.
"Tasers have caused fatalities in the past and their use must be carefully monitored. I hope these new transparency measures will allow as to scrutinise their use even more closely, but I fear we won't like what we see."