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'Police and Tasers'.
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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 #11759 email]
Mr Paul W Sullivan
Reference: T7932/9
2 June 2009
Dear Mr Sullivan,
Thank you for your e-mail of 9 May 2009 in which you ask for information about the police use of Taser. We are now in a position to offer a reply to your request. Your questions are answered below in the order that you provided.
1. How many times during 2008 was a Taser used against a member of the public?
The latest figures on the use of Taser can be found on the Home Office Scientific Development Branch website at:
2. How many times was a Taser used instead of a firearm (gun) during 2008?
This information is not held by the Home Office. Nor can such a clear distinction be made.
3. During the whole time that Tasers have been deployed has anybody suffered any ill effect from being 'Tasered'? If so please provide anonymized information.
No, there have been no directly attributable serious injuries or deaths from the use of Taser in the UK. The Defence Scientific Advisory Council's Sub-Committee on the Medical Implications of Less Lethal Weapons (DOMILL) has now issued five statements on the medical implications of the use of the Taser. Its view is that the risk of death or serious injury from the use of Tasers within ACPO Guidance and Policy is very low. The latest DOMILL statement can be found at http://police.homeoffice.gov.uk/operational-policing/firearms/taser/?view=Standard
In addition, DOMILL has examined all the available medical reports where Taser has been used, they are content that the medical issues attributable directly or indirectly to Taser use were not unexpected and are addressed by their existing statements to Ministers.
DOMILL are an independent group of medical experts who are asked comment on the medical implications of the use of particular less lethal options used according to particular ACPO guidance.
4. What percentage of police now carry Tasers?
In 2004, following a trial in five forces, the then Home Secretary agreed that chief officers of all police forces in England and Wales could make Taser available to authorised firearms officers as a less lethal option for use in situations where a firearms authority had been granted in accordance with criteria laid down in the Association of Chief Police Officers (ACPO) manual of guidance on police use of firearms.
The Home Office and the Association of Chief Police Officers (ACPO) announced on 19 July 2007 that authorised police firearms officers in England and Wales would be able to use Taser in a wider set of circumstances. These officers are now able to deploy Taser in operations or incidents where the use of firearms is not authorised, but where they are facing violence or threats of violence of such severity that they would need to use force to protect the public, themselves or the subject. At 31 March 2008, there were 6,780 authorised firearms officers in England and Wales.
Following the success of a 12 month trial in 10 police forces, 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 the use of Taser 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).
The Home Secretary also announced on 24 November 2008 that the Home Office would be making available a one-off injection of funding to support the purchase of up to 10,000 Tasers for use by police forces in England and Wales based on their own operational requirements. 7,000 Tasers have so far been distributed to forces. There are currently more than 140,500 police officers in England and Wales.
5. Please provide information on operational guidance for their use (when and where and by whom) or provide details of where this information can be freely accessed.
Full policy and operational guidance documents on the use of Taser has been issued by the Association of Chief Police Officers and is available on West Mercia Police website at:
6. What records are kept each time a Taser is deployed?
The use of Taser by the police is being managed in a co-ordinated and robust manner with the strictest guidelines and monitoring procedures in place. Every incident in which Taser is deployed - whether it is discharged or not - is recorded by the local police force and a report sent through to the Association of Chief Police Officers (ACPO) and the Home Office Scientific Development Branch (HOSDB) to monitor. DOMILL also examine all the reports where Taser has been discharged.
The police use of Taser in England and Wales has shown that it provides an additional and less lethal option for police when dealing with violent or threatening situations. They have certainly contributed to resolving incidents without injury where otherwise there would have been a real possibility of someone being shot and killed. In most cases they have not needed to be discharged: drawing/aiming them or arcing the Taser has been enough of a deterrent.
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 11901:
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