The NRW Ministry of the Interior has an additional 4.5 million euros available in the 2022 state budget to procure Tasers for the North Rhine-Westphalian police. Interior Minister Herbert Reul has therefore decided that, in addition to the five police headquarters already selected (Dortmund, Düsseldorf, Duisburg, Essen and Cologne), the security services of the following authorities will also be equipped with Tasers:
1. police headquarters Aachen
2. police headquarters Bochum
3. police headquarters Bonn
4. district authority Borken
5. district authority Gütersloh
6. district authority Märkischer Kreis
7. police headquarters Münster
8. district authority Paderborn
9. police headquarters Recklinghausen
10. district authority Steinfurt
11. police headquarters Wuppertal
In addition, the security services of the Gelsenkirchen police headquarters and the Rhine-Erft district authority will be equipped with the Taser, which have not yet been included in the pilot project. Some departments of these authorities have already tested the device as part of the pilot project. At present, the procurement of around 700 additional devices and accessories is planned (in addition to the 742 devices already procured nationwide). The order is expected to be placed during the first quarter of 2022.
The district police authorities were selected on the basis of the workload, cases of violence against police officers and geographical aspects. It was also important that district authorities were also included.
Interior Minister Herbert Reul explains: "The Tasers are an enormous added value for the police. In the vast majority of cases, the mere threat of using the device is enough. This not only protects the police officers, but is often also the milder means. I am therefore very pleased with the majority decision of the state parliament. This means that we can now provide eleven more police authorities with this de-escalation tool. Thanks to the additional budget funds, we can make an investment that will immediately benefit security in the state."