Gardaí Could be Armed with Taser Stun Guns This Month
Credit: Garda.ie
Gardaí Could be Armed with Taser Stun Guns This Month
Text: Izzy Copestake
If approved today, the rollout would begin immediately.
Uniformed gardaí may soon be equipped with Taser stun guns for the first time. Up until now, Tasers have been limited to specialist Garda units such as the ERU and ASU. Frontline officers responding to 999 calls currently rely on verbal de-escalation techniques and must wait for armed colleagues when situations involve knives or firearms.
The potential shift is coming because the numbers of assaults on gardaí are high, with over 300 members attacked each year. The trial would involve around 130 uniformed gardaí in areas already piloting body-worn cameras, allowing officials to review how the devices are used and how they affect interactions with the public.
This proposal from Minister for Justice Jim O’Callaghan going to Cabinet on today. If Ministers give it the green light, the devices could be in use on the streets of Dublin, Waterford and Kilkenny before Christmas.
The six-month pilot would also examine whether simply producing a Taser can help defuse dangerous situations without firing it. Officials emphasise there is no plan to move towards routinely arming uniformed gardaí with conventional firearms.
If approved today, the rollout would begin immediately.
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