The Executive Yuan has approved a NT$2.5 billion (US$80.64 million) plan to bolster police safety by obtaining improved training and protective equipment for officers, Minister of the Interior Lin Yu-chang (林右昌) said on Thursday last week.
The National Police Agency (NPA) wrote a shopping list after consulting rank-and-file officers’ opinions on their needs, he said, adding that the list includes 7,926 small cameras to replace those that are worn out or have an unsatisfactory resolution.
It also includes funding for protective equipment — 43,793 modern tactical vests with improved ergonomics, 35,559 pairs of anti-cut gloves, 12,299 riot shields for patrol vehicles and 1,881 stun guns, he said.
Photo courtesy of the Ministry of the Interior
A NT$2.24 billion portion of the budget would be used to enhance police training and education, with an emphasis on officers’ knowledge of the law, professional skills, marksmanship and physical conditioning, he said.
That part of the budget is to be implemented from this year through 2027 and would provide continued funding for virtual reality training in managing police encounters with the public, Lin said.
The budget would be used to establish 13 virtual reality firearms and encounter training centers at county and municipal police departments, two additional general purpose ranges at the counterterrorism training center, three live-fire pistol ranges and gyms, Lin said.
“Enhancing officer safety improves the safety of all Taiwanese and is an urgent mission,” he said, adding that the NPA has been tasked with continually updating police equipment and training with an eye toward integrated strategies.
TRAGEDY: An expert said that the incident was uncommon as the chance of a ground crew member being sucked into an IDF engine was ‘minuscule’ A master sergeant yesterday morning died after she was sucked into an engine during a routine inspection of a fighter jet at an air base in Taichung, the Air Force Command Headquarters said. The officer, surnamed Hu (胡), was conducting final landing checks at Ching Chuan Kang (清泉崗) Air Base when she was pulled into the jet’s engine for unknown reasons, the air force said in a news release. She was transported to a hospital for emergency treatment, but could not be revived, it said. The air force expressed its deepest sympathies over the incident, and vowed to work with authorities as they
A tourist who was struck and injured by a train in a scenic area of New Taipei City’s Pingsi District (平溪) on Monday might be fined for trespassing on the tracks, the Railway Police Bureau said yesterday. The New Taipei City Fire Department said it received a call at 4:37pm on Monday about an incident in Shifen (十分), a tourist destination on the Pingsi Railway Line. After arriving on the scene, paramedics treated a woman in her 30s for a 3cm to 5cm laceration on her head, the department said. She was taken to a hospital in Keelung, it said. Surveillance footage from a
BITTERLY COLD: The inauguration ceremony for US president-elect Donald Trump has been moved indoors due to cold weather, with the new venue lacking capacity A delegation of cross-party lawmakers from Taiwan, led by Legislative Speaker Han Kuo-yu (韓國瑜), for the inauguration of US president-elect Donald Trump, would not be able to attend the ceremony, as it is being moved indoors due to forecasts of intense cold weather in Washington tomorrow. The inauguration ceremony for Trump and US vice president-elect JD Vance is to be held inside the Capitol Rotunda, which has a capacity of about 2,000 people. A person familiar with the issue yesterday said although the outdoor inauguration ceremony has been relocated, Taiwan’s legislative delegation has decided to head off to Washington as scheduled. The delegation
Another wave of cold air would affect Taiwan starting from Friday and could evolve into a continental cold mass, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday. Temperatures could drop below 10°C across Taiwan on Monday and Tuesday next week, CWA forecaster Chang Chun-yao (張竣堯) said. Seasonal northeasterly winds could bring rain, he said. Meanwhile, due to the continental cold mass and radiative cooling, it would be cold in northern and northeastern Taiwan today and tomorrow, according to the CWA. From last night to this morning, temperatures could drop below 10°C in northern Taiwan, it said. A thin coat of snow