Additional TASER Devices for York Regional Police

York Regional Police will provide more than three dozen flashlight and TASER devices to front-line officers beginning from September.

The move, which was approved by the York Region Police Services Board, is the first step taken that the police department hope will triple its self defense devices by 2012.

A survey undertaken by the York Region Media Group illustrates that York police are in fact the last force located in the Greater Toronto Area that has armed its front-line officers with the stunning device.

Regional police in Durham, Halton and Peel, in addition to Toronto already have them.

Front-line officers have often questioned why others have access to these devices and they don’t. As a result of that and in a bid to support front-line police, the department explained that it was one of their motivations to achieve that.

For this year, York police will purchase 39 TASER devices; however, under the current guidelines only tactical officers and front-line supervisors will be allowed to carry the self defense tool.

When it comes to police safety and the safety of others it is important that they have another option that they can rely upon rather than a firearm. Police don’t want to shoot people knowing there is a risk of fatal harm and knowing they have a device that is just as powerful at stopping someone, but non-lethal will only make police departments more than likely to turn their attention to these tools for safety.

Currently, there are only half a dozen of the tools deployed across the area at any given time. Because of this, it puts officers at greater risk if they find themselves at risk, but have to wait for tactical officers to arrived on the scene to assist.

York police, at the moment, have 24 TASER devices. If the second phase of the plan is introduced next year and an additional 46 stunning tools are bought, that would mean extra front-line supervisors, in addition to supervisors who work with specialized units such as the courts, traffic, drugs and vice, would be the next to receive access to the units for their safety.