Taser Usage
Dear Greater Manchester Police,
I am writing to request the following information under the freedom of information act.
How many people have had a taser drawn on them (commonly known as being "red dotted") and how many people have had a taser discharged on them between March 2020 and December 2021 by Greater Manchester Police.
Yours faithfully,
Terry Flemming
Good Afternoon,
Please find attached the response to your Freedom of Information request.
Kind regards,
Raja Mati
Information Compliance and Records Management Unit | Information Services Branch | Greater Manchester Police
Openshaw Complex, Lawton Street, Openshaw, Manchester, M11 2NS
Follow us on Twitter: @gmpolice
Dear Raja,
Many thanks for your prompt and detailed response to my request.
Best wishes,
Terry Flemming
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J Roberts left an annotation ()
Independent report explores the potential causes of racial and ethnic disparities in the use of Taser
(Analysis by researchers from Keele University, UCL, The University of Exeter and Staffordshire University)
Key findings from the research suggest:
https://www.keele.ac.uk/about/news/2023/...
The Report:
Taser use and its association with social, ethnic and racial disparities in policing (TASERD)
https://www.keele.ac.uk/kpac/fundedproje...
Table 2. Taser usage levels across the force areas p149 (9 police forces and includes 'red dot' figures)
Drawn - Aimed - Arched - Red-dotted - Fired/angle-drive stun
eg. Fired/angle-drive stun
GMP 741 (14%).....Met 3,178 (9.40%).....West Mercia 89 (5.31%).....Gwent 88 (9.43%).....Bedfordshire 124 (9.99%).....Surrey 181 (8.81%).....West Yorkshire 202 (7.47%).....Hampshire 192 (14.20%)
Importantly, within the GMP study, analysis indicated that some police-recorded impact factors were themselves affected by ethnicity...For example, the results suggest that threats perceived by police officers due to the sex, size, and build of individuals might be amplified if those individuals are from a Black or Mixed background, and that prior intelligence might be more prevalent or readily available if they were from Black or Mixed background... p16
We also find that, even after controlling for all other factors, officers in the City of Manchester are more likely to use Taser compared to other geographical areas in GMP. p 156
This study relies on data from use of force forms and other auxiliary information provided by GMP. From January 2018 to December 2021, 56,954 cases of use of force were recorded, of which 5,293 (9.4%) referred to Taser. Ethnicity data were missing for the officers in 590 of these cases which amounts to approximately 1% of the sample. p 159
Table 9. Proportion of use of force and Taser use across geographical areas (GMP p162)
People perceived by the police to be ‘Black or Black British’ were 8.6 times more likely than ‘White’ people to experience Taser during use-of-force incidents. p 23
It is often suggested that BWV audits are an effective way forward regarding scrutiny and research-based analysis of CED use... However, mirroring the experiences of SGMs, the research team encountered acute difficulties accessing BWC footage for a variety of different reasons... However, even in our limited sample we observed several instances where use of Taser appeared to us to be contrary to the guidance provided in Authorised Professional Practice (APP) and training. p11/12
Concerns were also raised about the lack of follow up on IOPC recommendations. As one participant noted:
“When I read the IOPC’s 2021 study I almost wept because it identified everything that went wrong in [his] case. And nothing was learned, and nothing has changed… p 36