Every police officer in Scotland should be armed with a Taser to protect themselves and the public amid rising violence and attacks, it has been claimed.
A poll has found that almost three in five Scots back all officers having use of the incapacitating devices, with the body that represents rank-and-file officers insisting it will make their jobs safer.
The Scottish Police Federation (SPF), which called for a wider roll-out of Tasers ahead of Thursday’s Holyrood election, said officers were increasingly facing violent incidents with people carrying weapons such as knives and machetes.
SPF general secretary David Kennedy said any officer on operational duties on Scotland’s streets should have the device ‘so they can defend themselves and members of the public’.
He spoke out as a poll for justice and home affairs magazine 1919 found that 28 per cent of Scots ‘strongly agree’ that all police officers should be supplied with and trained to use a Taser, with a further 31 per cent agreeing.
Only 7 per cent of people ‘strongly disagreed’ with arming all officers with a Taser, while 10 per cent disagreed with the idea.
Almost three in five Scots back all officers having use of the incapacitating devices
Mr Kennedy said the results showed ‘the public understand the pressures and the violence police officers are facing’.
He added: ‘The message to the parties is the public back police officers having access to a Taser.
‘Any officer who is operational should have access to one on the street so they can defend themselves and members of the public.’
Police in London recently used Tasers as they arrested a man accused of carrying out a knife attack on two Jewish men.
Latest figures show Scotland had 16,416 full-time equivalent police officers at the end of December, but only 2,000 are trained in the use of Tasers.
With attacks on police increasing by 6.3 per cent to 7,159 in 2024-25, Mr Kennedy said having the devices makes officers ‘safer and allows them to react when required’.
He said giving them to more officers would ‘also hopefully reduce the number of assaults on police officers’.
Mr Kennedy said ‘there’s often no back-up for officers’ when situations occur, and offenders appear ‘more willing to attack police officers’.
Scottish Conservative justice spokesman Liam Kerr said the Tories ‘support the use of Tasers by police officers and rolling them out more widely with the right training’.
Chief Superintendent Stevie Dolan, of Police Scotland’s Operational Support Division, said the force acknowledged the survey results and the views of the public.
He added that the use of Tasers ‘gives officers an additional tactical option’.
Mr Dolan said: ‘Tasers protect the public and emergency service workers from violent individuals and the mere presence of the device is often enough to de-escalate situations.’