British officers to get Taser stun guns

LONDON, Nov. 24 (UPI) -- Police in England are to be armed with 10,000 stun guns, officials announced.

The Sun reported Monday that officers in 43 departments will be trained to use Taser guns on violent suspects. Currently, only a small number of police officers use the 50,000-volt guns.

Home Secretary Jacqui Smith said government funds would be made available to equip 30,000 police officers, the newspaper reported.

"I am proud we have one of the few police services around the world that do not regularly carry firearms and I want to keep it that way," Smith said. "But every day police put themselves in danger to protect us, the public. I want to give the police the tools they tell me they need to confront dangerous people."

The Association of Chief Police Officers applauded the move.

"Taser is a proportionate, low-risk means of resolving incidents where the public or officers face severe violence which cannot safely be dealt with by other means," ACPO spokesman Derek Talbot said.