Direct Communications Unit

2 Marsham Street, London SW1P 4DF

Switchboard 020 7035 4848 Fax: 020 7035 4745 Textphone: 020 7035 4742

E-mail: [Home Office request email] Website: www.homeoffice.gov.uk

[FOI #11295 email]

Mr Richard Taylor

Reference: T7658/9

2 June 2009

Dear Mr Taylor,

Thank you for your e-mail of 6 May 2009 in which you ask for information about the police use of Taser. We are now in a position to offer a full reply to your request.

I am pleased to be able to disclose the information that you requested to you.

Following the success of a 12 month trial, the Home Secretary agreed on 24 November 2008 to allow Chief Officers of all forces in England and Wales, from 1 December 2008, to extend Taser use to specially trained units in accordance with current Association of Chief Police Officers (ACPO) policy and guidance. This sets out that Taser can only be used by specially trained units where officers would be facing violence or threats of violence of such severity that they would need to use force to protect the public, themselves and/or the subject(s).

A fund for up to 10,000 additional Tasers was also made available for individual Chief Officers to bid for Tasers based on their own operational requirements. The Home Secretary announced on 19 March 2009 that forces were to receive 6,175 new Tasers following the first wave of bidding.  Following a second round of bidding, a total of 7,000 Tasers have now been issued to forces in England and Wales. Please find attached a table showing the number of Tasers provided to each force area in England and Wales. We do not hold information on the date that each force received their Tasers, but understand that all forces are now in receipt of the Tasers chief officers had requested as per the table. Should you require information on the exact date Tasers were delivered to each force, please contact the Chief Constable of the force concerned.   

If you are dissatisfied with this response you may request an independent internal review of our handling of your request by submitting your complaint within two months to the below address quoting reference 11896:

Information Rights Team
Information and Record Management Service
Home Office
4th Floor, Seacole Building
2 Marsham Street
London
SW1P 4DF

Email: [email address]

During the independent review the department's handling of your information request will be reassessed by staff who were not involved in providing you with this response. Should you remain dissatisfied after this internal review, you will have a right of complaint to the Information Commissioner as established by section 50 of the Freedom of Information Act.

I hope that you find this information of interest, and would like to assure you that you have been supplied with all relevant information that the Home Office holds.

Yours sincerely

Mr A Lama

Home Office