Richard Taylor

Tag: Taser

  • Holding the Police to Account – March 2009

    On Thursday the 19th of March 2009 I attended Cambridge’s North Area committee, where councillors vote on what they believe ought to be the local policing priorities and hold the police to account for their performance in the areas they have prioritised. The police were represented by Sgt. Jason Wragg. Using the opportunity given to […]

  • Encouraging Liberal Democrats to Act Locally on their National TASER Policies

    The Liberal Democrats nationally are calling for: “an in-depth inquiry into the use of TASERs before they become commonplace on British streets”. The call was made by Liberal Democrat Home Affairs spokesman Chris Huhne in a statement he made following the release of figures on TASER use against under-eighteens in the UK in response to […]

  • Cambridgeshire Police Authority February 2009

    I went to observe a meeting of Cambridgeshire Police Authority on Wednesday the 18th of February 2009. The agenda for the meeting had only been made publicly available on Monday the 15th, after the suggested deadline for members of the public submitting questions. When I questioned the late publication of the agenda by email in […]

  • The Role of Police Authorities in Decisions to Extend TASER Deployment

    Speaking in a Westminster Hall debate on Wednesday the 28th of January 2009, Vernon Coaker the Home Office Minister of State for Policing, Crime & Security spoke on the expanded deployment of TASER: With regard to Taser training, the roll out of Tasers has been widely welcomed as a good thing. The training costs will […]

  • Policing West and Central Cambridge – January 2009

    I attended Cambridge City Council’s West Central Area Committee on the 8th of January 2009. One of the main items on the agenda was “Safer Neighborhoods”, the meeting’s chair was almost tripped up by the cryptic title and had to ask the committee manager what the policing item was called saying: “Is it Safer Communities?”. […]

  • Cambridgeshire Police Authority – December 2008

    I attended Cambridgeshire Police Authority’s meeting on the 17th of December 2008, items discussed below include: TASERs Public Speaking Police Powers for Security Guards Common Assessment Framework Treasury Management Collaboration Other Items TASERs Following the Home Secretary’s announcement on the 24th of November that all the UK’s response police are to be issued TASER weapons […]

  • Setting Police Priorities for North Cambridge in December 2008

    I attended Cambridge City Council’s North Area Committee on the 11th of December 2008. One of the things councillors had on their agenda for this meeting was the setting of the police priorities for North Cambridge for the forthcoming quarter. The policing section of the meeting is run as an open meeting to which members […]

  • All UK Front Line Response Police to Carry TASERs

    Hidden behind today’s big news of a pre-budget report which could determine the future economic prosperity of the country is an announcement from the Home Secretary that all the UK’s 30,000 front-line response officers will soon be carrying TASER weapons. This was reported in an article on the front page of the Sunday Times headlined […]

  • Opposing More UK Police being Armed with TASERs

    Dear David Howarth (Cambridge MP), I am writing to you following the arming of non-firearms police with TASER electroshock weapons in the UK as part of a year long trial which started on 1st September 2007. (1) I support police firearms units having access to TASER weapons which they can elect to use as an […]