Special police officers will be empowered to use Tasers if properly trained and empowered by senior officials under a new package of anti-crime measures to be announced by the government.
Boris Johnson and his cabinet ministers are due to meet on Tuesday to discuss crime and police, with a set of additional policies to be announced this week.
These will include allowing some special police officers to use Tasers, empowering police to take more knives out of the streets, and more investment to bring back young drug offenders and reduce recidivism.
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This comes after Interior Minister Priti Patel lifted restrictions on police using stops and searches in areas where serious violence is expected.
The government says these restrictions, which have been in place since 2014, have hampered employees’ ability to clear the streets of dangerous weapons.
Ministers believe that by making it easier for police to seize more weapons, knife crime will be reduced and lives will be saved.
Speaking before the cabinet meeting, Mr Johnson said the new measures would ensure that “everyone can have the security and stability that come from having safer streets”.
“While crime in the neighborhood and serious violence are declining, the sad reality is that too many people are still growing up in crime-stricken communities,” he said.
“That is why this government is determined to tackle the violence and restore confidence in our judiciary to really level the playing field.
“Through our anti-crime plan, we are putting thousands more police officers on our streets, stepping up against violent criminals and breaking up drug gangs in the county – so that everyone has the security and stability that comes from having safer streets. “
According to the plan, the government says it has hired another 13,500 police officers to date and is recruiting more rape specialists at the CPS.
Image: Mr Johnson says measures fall within government’s “plan to defeat crime”
Ms Patel is expected to make a statement on the shocks in a speech to the Police Federation on Tuesday.
On Thursday, Police Secretary Keith Malthaus will host a National Summit on Drugs to Tackle Drug Use and the Crimes It Feeds.
And on Friday, Justice Minister Dominique Raab will outline new investments to get young offenders back on track and reduce recidivism.
The reports coincide with this year’s Operation Scepter, a week of intense action by all police forces in England and Wales to fight knife crime across the country.
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