One of Northern Ireland's top police officers has said that the service will take steps to increase the number of teams carrying tasers.
It comes after 850 assaults on officers were reported from 6 September 2025 to 6 September 2026.
The Police Federation of Northern Ireland has welcomed the plans and has urged the service to move at pace given the "extent of assaults".
Deputy Chief Constable Bobby Singleton said officers may use tasers to "protect themselves and their colleagues but also to protect the public and prevent harm to individuals".
"Whilst legislation permits the use of reasonable force by officers where necessary to carry out their role, it can only be used when it is lawful, proportionate, and reasonable in the circumstances," Singleton said.
The PSNI, however, has said that force data, does not highlight the need for Conductive Energy Devices (CEDs) to be routinely carried by all officers.
The assaults on officers reported are provisional, meaning that the number of assaults could be higher than what is recorded at the time.
In August, seven police officers were assaulted during five separate incidents whilst on duty.
On Monday night, officers were attacked in the Waterside area of Londonderry and in a separate incident on Saturday night in Derry, a police officer was headbutted and was left with a significant facial injury during an arrest of a man.
In a statement given to the Nolan Show, Singleton added that the devices are kept "under regular review".
What are NI's taser rules?
The use of tasers are restricted to specially trained officers in Northern Ireland and are not issued to the vast majority of front-line personnel.
CEDs, known by their brand name, Tasers, were first trialled in UK police forces in 2003, and their use by specially trained officers was authorised five years later.
The PSNI are currently transitioning to a new form of taser known as the Taser T10 device. Officers will undergo specialist training with the aim of the devices being rolled out towards the end of 2026.
The model was given approval by the Home Secretary last October, and the devices are already being used by West Midlands Police and Greater Manchester Police.
Liam Kelly, chairman of the Police Federation of Northern Ireland, said it is "heartening and welcome to see the service moving to increase the number of specialist teams trained to carry Conducted Energy Devices".
"Given the extent of assaults, I would urge the service to move at pace to complete this overdue and necessary work," he said.
The figure of 850 is provisional and conservative – the tip of the iceberg - with the real figure likely to be higher. For a variety of different reasons, not all assaults are reported or recorded.
"CEDs not only offer additional protection for officers but they serve as a deterrent and are most likely to make would-be attackers think twice about lashing out and inflicting pain and injury."
Listen to reaction as PSNI announces plan to arm more officers with tasers
'Wait to be assaulted'
On Thursday at the monthly policing board meeting, Chief Constable Jon Boutcher told members that officers in Northern Ireland are more likely to "wait to be assaulted" when dealing with threats than officers in other forces across the UK.
Boutcher said officers are "more likely" to wait to be assaulted before taking action to restrain or deal with a threat in certain conditions.
"When people do assault police officers, there has to be a significant deterrent," he added.
An Garda Síochána (Irish Police) launched a six-month pilot project in December 2025 to equip 128 specially trained frontline officers with tasers in Dublin, Waterford, and Kilkenny.
Officers in the Republic are largely unarmed, with only members of the force's specialist armed unit able to access them at present.