Tasers urged for police to defend against terrorists

Due to the rising terror threat the head of Britain's Police Federation has encouraged officers to be equipped with stun guns

According to the Guardian, Chairman Steve White said that terrorists have turned to long-wolf style tactics that can bring terrorism to virtually any town or city.

White told the Guardian: "The terrorist ideal to get attention no longer relies on an attack being in a place of note. It could be in Cheam high street, in any town, in any part of the UK. We know there are more dangerous people out there, preparing to attack police officers and we need to be able to respond to that threat. The terrorism threat level for police was raised two severe two weeks ago."

The move to arm all officers would be expensive. In order to use a Taser, police must pass a three-day training course which costs about £1,000. A Taser costs $999 to buy in the US (£663 if we assume the same pricing). That means the police would face a bill of over £190m to make sure the remaining 90 per cent of the 127,000 rank and file officers are armed.

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