Demands were today made for all front-line PSNI officers to be armed with Taser stun guns to tackle violent crime.

Policing Board member Jimmy Spratt said the use of the guns is “progressive policing” and warned that Northern Ireland should not be left behind England and Wales — where tens of thousands of police officers are to be trained to use the high-voltage stun guns.

The weapons, which Amnesty International claims have been responsible for 320 deaths in the US, are currently only deployed by specialist firearms officers in the UK.

But Home Secretary Jacqui Smith, has said she wants front-line response officers in all 43 police forces in England and Wales to be trained to fire Tasers at violent suspects.

In Northern Ireland, 12 guns have been given to specialist police teams as part of a pilot scheme launched in January. Since then the weapon has been used once.

Last month the Policing Board formally endorsed the Chief Constable’s decision to deploy the weapon, and he will decide if Tasers should be used on a permanent basis after an equality assessment is completed.

Mr Spratt, a former chairman of the Police Federation in Northern Ireland, said that the plans for wider deployment in England and Wales should be adopted in the province.

“There is an obligation for a Chief Constable to provide the best possible protection under health and safety for the officers who are having to go out to various scenes.

“I would be very supportive of this. It is progressive policing and should be encouraged.

“Tasers are not something that will be used all that often. They are a less lethal option for officers who find themselves and members of the public in dangerous situations.

“They afford protection to officers and the public.”

The Northern Ireland branch of Amnesty International however, has called for guarantees that the Taser electro-shock weapon will not be deployed any wider than specialist firearms officers in the province.

Programme director, Patrick Corrigan, said: “Tasers should never go beyond the hands of a small number of fully-trained officers capable of making the potentially-fatal decision over whether to fire 50,000 volts into a person's body.

“We do not want to see a shift towards American-style policing where widespread deployment has led to misuse of Tasers and a series of Taser-linked deaths. We don’t want to see the PSNI repeating these mistakes.

“Of course, the police have a duty to protect themselves and the community at large from violent situations, but arming more officers with dangerous weapons without the rigorous training and necessary safeguards could well be a recipe for disaster.”

The issue of Tasers has proved highly controversial in Northern Ireland.

A legal challenge on the deployment of the guns in the province is due to take place in January. Sinn Fein had wanted the decision to deploy the weapons deferred until the judicial review was heard.

Tasers are not something that will be used that often. They are a less lethal option for officers who find themselves and members of the public in |dangerous |situations

The Home Secretary said she wanted to give police the tools they need in their drive to tackle violent crime.

“Every day the police put themselves in danger to protect us, the public. They deserve our support, so I want to give the police the tools they tell me they need to confront dangerous people.”

The move was welcomed by the Association of Chief Police Officers (ACPO), which said trials showed in the majority of cases Tasers helped police resolve incidents without resorting to other weapons.