In June the Commissioner announced that an additional 1,800 Metropolitan Police officers would be armed with Taser, saying the increase would allow her officers to better protect the public and themselves from “violent incidents”.
Expenditure for the uplift has now been approved by Sophie Linden, the capital’s Deputy Mayor for Policing and Crime, allowing the force to replace its current stock of Taser X26 devices with the newer X2 device recently approved for use in the UK by Home Secretary Amber Rudd.
Unlike it’s predecessor, the X2 holds two cartridges meaning offers have a ‘back up’ shot instantly available without having to reload.
2,700 devices, plus support equipment and training will be bought over the next five years at a cost of £15.8m.
The decision to replace the entire stock with the newer weapons not only ensures the consistency of the equipment being used, but also avoids potentially expensive repair bills for the existing X26 devices which are mostly out of warranty.
