POLICE officers carry out a dangerous and demanding job.

One of their primary functions is to protect us and so it is only right that in the course of their duties they are afforded the best protection they can have.

It is no surprise that Thames Valley Police has announced it is more than doubling the number of officers trained to use the stun weapon to 485.

It said this was a possibility months ago and was always likely to be approved, especially on the back of the death of two policewomen in Manchester earlier this year.

Now it may be time to look forward and the view of Andy Viney, secretary of the police federation that represents rank and file officers, is a good indicator. He predicts that eventually every officer on the beat will have one. That will provoke protest but surely it all comes down to training and trust. The tasering of a blind man in Lancashire was hugely damaging to the credibility of police deployment of the weapon.

Yet we believe we do not have such stunningly inept officers patrolling the streets of Oxfordshire and trust our force would ensure anyone given access to the weapon would be properly trained and have a stable mentality.

If more officers having Tasers puts a second thought in the minds of more criminals, then what is the real harm?