The use of 50 000-volt electric Taser stun guns by the police is growing, with the ”less-lethal” weapon used on nearly 2 700 occasions since they were first introduced in England and Wales in 2004, according to Home Office figures published on Wednesday.
The figures show that those incidents included 834 occasions in which the guns were ”discharged”, which involves delivering a disabling shock by firing two electric barbs up to 10,5m. On a further 115 occasions police officers used the Taser for a ”drive stun”, when the gun is pressed against the person and fired like a cattle prod.
The Home Office minister, Tony McNulty, said the Taser guns had been available to all authorised firearms officers since 2004 as a less lethal option in situations where officers faced a severe threat of violence. The Home Office also published figures for the first nine months of a trial of the use of the Tasers by non-firearms officers in 10 police forces. They have used the stun guns on 411 occasions — discharging them 57 times — since the pilot scheme began last September.
Amnesty International has repeatedly voiced concerns about the use of stun guns by the police. The human rights organisation called for them to be banned in Canada last November after four people died after being Tasered.
”Of course the police have a duty to protect themselves and the community from violent situations, but arming more officers with dangerous weapons without the rigorous training and necessary safeguards could well be a recipe for disaster,” said Amnesty’s arms programme director, Oliver Sprague.
McNulty defended their use: ”Tasers have contributed to resolving incidents without injury where otherwise there would have been a real possibility of someone being seriously injured or killed. In a significant proportion of cases … drawing or aiming the Taser has been enough of a deterrent.” – guardian.co.uk