Taser Roll-Out Scheme Scrapped

4 October 2010, 10:10 | Updated: 4 October 2010, 11:39

Cambridgeshire's Police force has scrapped plans to show an extra 120 officers how to use electric Taser stun guns.

At the moment just under 50 firearms officers are trained to use the weapons.

According to Cambridgeshire Police, because of their effectiveness an extra 120 officers were going to be shown how to use them.

However, those plans have been abandoned because they would cost too much money - an estimated £50,000.

A force spokesperson said: "Despite this [news], the force’s capacity to deploy Taser to violent incidents remains unchanged with firearms officers still providing a 24/7 response."

Since the start of this year in Cambridgeshire, a Taser has been used 363 times.

Of those instances, an electronic charge was passed through to a suspect on five occasions, but no injuries or medical problems have been caused.