POLICE chiefs in Wiltshire have rejected calls for all officers to be given the option to carry Tasers.

On Tuesday, the Police Federation said 40 per cent of officers fearing being attacked, they should have the choice to carry the stun gun.

But Chief Constable Mike Veale says he has considered the option but believes it would threaten the principles of British policing.

He said: “I, along with Chief Constables across the UK, have considered a wider roll-out of Tasers, and have taken on board the current threat level and risk from terrorism.

“However, I do not believe there is a sufficient need to implement this wider roll-out, which would challenge the UK policing model and the principle of policing by consent.

“Policing by its very nature can be a risky business and we can never discount spontaneous acts of violence.

“But very often our highly-trained officers and staff can effectively manage the threat they face by conducting a dynamic risk assessment process as they deal with the incident.”

Officers can get support from those who have been trained in using Tasers and while Mr Veale will not rule out a change in the future, he feels this is sufficient for now.

“Any officers who find themselves in a situation where there is an operational need to use a Taser will of course be supported by colleagues who have got the appropriate training and equipment to deal with the incident effectively,” he said.

“However, I do not believe it would be proportionate to give them to everyone.

“This does not mean that I have completely ruled out any future measures of this kind. Our ongoing risk and threat assessments remain dynamic and of course I will continue to re-evaluate as new evidence and arguments are presented to me.”

This position has been backed-up by the recently re-elected Wiltshire and Swindon Police and Crime Commissioner Angus Macpherson.

He said: “The police service in this country follows the important and long-established principle of policing by consent

“The risk of issuing Tasers to all frontline officers who want them is that it could, in my view, change for the worse the public’s relationship with the police.

“I agree that response officers should have the devices, but I personally am not keen for them to be issued more widely or worn as a matter of course.”

The Chief Constable has also hit out at claims from the Police Federation that officers in rural areas would be ‘sitting ducks’ during a terrorist attack.

It was said due to cuts among the armed division, certain areas would be particular vulnerable should there be an incident.

But Mr Veale said: “It is unhelpful to suggest that officers would be “sitting ducks” in the event of a terrorist attack.

“I know there are concerns about the firearms provision across the UK, and I welcome the commitment from the Home Secretary to enable the police service to increase the recruitment of firearms officers.

“I would also remind the public that, in the event of a terrorist attack, the police would be able to call on the support from our colleagues in the Armed Forces, the Ministry of Defence Police and the Civil Nuclear Constabulary.

“We will never be able to predict if or where the next terrorist attack will take place, and we can never have armed police on every street corner. All we can do, as a service, is to continuously review the threats to make sure we are as realistically as possible able to respond to threats as they unfold.”