Taser upgrade will cost over £1 million

The force is set to train 800 extra frontline officers to use a new American made version of the weapon, as well as the 600 officers already carrying the older model.

But the size of the order and the extensive training required means the new Tasers are unlikely to be deployed on the region's streets for at least a year.

Assistant Police and Crime Commissioner Dr Lynnette Kelly said the new equipment would 'cost upwards of £1 million' and added: "I have to stress, that money is not coming out of frontline policing budgets, it is coming from the reserves, and specifically money that is earmarked for equipment.

"I think when we are buying equipment for police we should be buying the best we can afford to get for them, so that they can do their job effectively and keep the rest of us safe.

"So I think this is a good investment."

The new X2 Taser costs £1,200 each and allows two separate shots in quick succession over an extended distance of 25 feet.

It replaces the X26 model which takes around five seconds to manually reload with a new cartridge to fire a second shot and has a 60 per cent failure rate the first time it is fired.

Chief Constable Dave Thompson said the outlay was justified in terms of protecting the public and officers from harm.

"We were already going to make some investments in terms of changing the current Taser, which is now obsolete," he said.

"I think the public would realise that particularly in the security climate we are looking at the equipment our officers have got.

"We want to give them the best chance to protect the public, protect themselves and make sure suspects are detained effectively.

"I would say this is the right use of funds and it is where the public would expect us to invest."

Asked about public concern over the potentially deadly results of being hit by a Taser, he added: "Taser is a less lethal option, but we can't always say that circumstances won't arise where people are injured.

"What I would say is that the device is subject to extensive examination by the Home Office. It is one of the few pieces of equipment that the Home Secretary directly regulates.

"And that is based upon scientific evidence and medical evidence.

"We are very satisfied both in terms of the system that is being made available, and the system of training we give our officers, we absolutely minimise risk, and I would in say most cases the use of Taser is actually safer to use than perhaps striking somebody with a baton, which is something that policing has had available for many years."

The force's use of Tasers decreased in 2016. Officers fired Tasers 20 per cent of the time they were produced, a drop of eight per cent on 2015.