THE Northumbria Police and Crime Commissioner has prioritised reducing the number of times where Tasers are needed over equipping more officers with the weapons.

Last week, it was announced that Police and Crime Commissioners across England and Wales could bid for a share of a £10m fund to equip more of their officers with Tasers, as part of an overall plan to give police more powers and tools to tackle crime.

However, Kim McGuiness said: “We have to protect the people who protect us, but we need to stop it reaching that point by improving lives to prevent crime shown through the Violence Reduction Unit.”