THE POLICING board has backed the chief constable's call for the deployment of Taser electric stun guns, despite objections from Sinn Féin.
The board, which helps hold the PSNI to account, approved the deployment of the weapon, which Sir Hugh Orde has argued is vital as a less lethal alternative to firearms. Two Sinn Féin members of the board and an independent voted against the measure, while 15 members supported it.
Tasers were used once in Derry last August since they were brought in by the Chief Constable under a pilot scheme last January. The decision is the subject of a legal challenge which is due to be heard early next year. The Garda has recourse to Tasers, as do police forces in Britain.
Sir Hugh said: "I have to deal with the situation on the streets of Northern Ireland tomorrow, I cannot wait. I have bent over backwards to reassure the board at every single level that we have done everything we can to mitigate the impact of using what is a far less lethal weapon than a firearm."
Sinn Féin board member Martina Anderson doubted the readiness of some nationalist communities to accept the decision. "I don't think there's confidence out there, particularly in the nationalist/ republican community, to see this weapon deployed," she said.
The DUP backed the deployment as a commonsense measure.
Talking to The Irish Times, Sir Hugh pressed for progress at Stormont, and said the delay was benefiting dissident paramilitaries.