TASERs within Greater Manchester Police

The request was partially successful.

Dear Greater Manchester Police,

Apologies for the errors in the first request. This is the correct version of the request:

Please provide the following information (if the information is not available or needs clarification then disregard the question):

1. How many police officers routinely carry a TASER?

2. How many police officers are trained to use a TASER?

3. Which departments/units (e.g. Dog Section, Roads Policing Unit) contain officers who routinely carry a TASER?

4. In regard to question 3, how many police officers work in these departments/units and how many police officers carry TASER in said
departments/units.

5. Out of all police officers in Greater Manchester Police, what is the percentage of police officers who routinely carry a TASER?

6. Please state the methods in which the TASER is carried by police
officers (e.g. belt holster, TAC Vest holster, leg holster)

7. What colour is the personal protection vest worn by officers in each applicable department?

8. Does the colours of the TASER in Greater Manchester Police vary?

9. If yes to question 6, please state the colour variations.

10. If no to question 6 please state the colours of the TASER used by Greater Manchester Police (e.g. yellow and black, blue, black)

11. How many TASERs does Greater Manchester Police currently hold?

12. How many times was the TASER used in the following modes in 2012;
a. discharge;
b. arced;
c. drive-stun;
d. red-dot;
e. aimed;
f. not stated

13. How many times was the TASER used by each applicable department/unit within Greater Manchester Police in the following modes
in 2012;
a. discharge;
b. arced;
c. drive-stun;
d. red-dot;
e. aimed;
f. not stated

Yours faithfully,
Tyler James

Greater Manchester Police

Dear Tyler James

many thanks for your email below.  The opening lines would indicate that
the below is an 'amended' request, however I cannot locate your previous
request referred too - could you please clarify?

Kind regards

Philip

Philip Humphreys
Information Compliance & Records Management Unit
Greater Manchester Police
Tel 0161 856 2529
Follow us on twitter @gmpolice

From: Tyler <[FOI #162377 email]>
To: FOI requests at Greater Manchester Police
<[Greater Manchester Police request email]>
Date: 22/05/2013 15:32
Subject: Freedom of Information request - TASERs within Greater Manchester
Police

--------------------------------------------------------------------------

     Dear Greater Manchester Police,
   
    Apologies for the errors in the first request. This is the correct
    version of the request:
   
    Please provide the following information (if the information is not
    available or needs clarification then disregard the question):
   
    1. How many police officers routinely carry a TASER?
   
    2. How many police officers are trained to use a TASER?
   
    3. Which departments/units (e.g. Dog Section, Roads Policing Unit)
    contain officers who routinely carry a TASER?
   
    4. In regard to question 3, how many police officers work in these
    departments/units and how many police officers carry TASER in said
    departments/units.
   
    5. Out of all police officers in Greater Manchester Police, what is
    the percentage of police officers who routinely carry a TASER?
   
    6. Please state the methods in which the TASER is carried by police
    officers (e.g. belt holster, TAC Vest holster, leg holster)
   
    7. What colour is the personal protection vest worn by officers in
    each applicable department?
   
    8. Does the colours of the TASER in Greater Manchester Police vary?
   
    9. If yes to question 6, please state the colour variations.
   
    10. If no to question 6 please state the colours of the TASER used
    by Greater Manchester Police (e.g. yellow and black, blue, black)
   
    11. How many TASERs does Greater Manchester Police currently hold?
   
    12. How many times was the TASER used in the following modes in
    2012;
    a. discharge;
    b. arced;
    c. drive-stun;
    d. red-dot;
    e. aimed;
    f. not stated
   
    13. How many times was the TASER used by each applicable
    department/unit within Greater Manchester Police in the following
    modes
    in 2012;
    a. discharge;
    b. arced;
    c. drive-stun;
    d. red-dot;
    e. aimed;
    f. not stated
   
    Yours faithfully,
    Tyler James
   
    -------------------------------------------------------------------
   
    Please use this email address for all replies to this request:
    [FOI #162377 email]
   
    Is [Greater Manchester Police request email] the wrong address for Freedom
    of Information requests to Greater Manchester Police? If so, please
    contact us using this form:
    [1]https://www.whatdotheyknow.com/help/cont...
   
    Disclaimer: This message and any reply that you make will be
    published on the internet. Our privacy and copyright policies:
    [2]https://www.whatdotheyknow.com/help/offi...
   
    If you find this service useful as an FOI officer, please ask your
    web manager to link to us from your organisation's FOI page.
   
   
    -------------------------------------------------------------------

To contact the police in an emergency call 999 or to contact Greater
Manchester Police for a less urgent matter call 101.
For the latest news and information about your Neighbourhood Policing Team
visit www.gmp.police.uk. You can also follow us on Twitter:
www.twitter.com/gmpolice or find us on Facebook:
www.facebook.com/GtrManchesterPolice , Flickr: www.flickr.com/gmpolice or
YouTube: www.youtube.com/gmpolice

This e mail carries a disclaimer, a copy of which may be read at:
   
http://www.gmp.police.uk/emaildisclaimer

References

Visible links
1. https://www.whatdotheyknow.com/help/cont...
2. https://www.whatdotheyknow.com/help/offi...

Dear Greater Manchester Police,

The opening lines were mistakenly added, I apologise for the error.

Yours faithfully,

Tyler

Greater Manchester Police

Dear Tyler

our ref:  GSA 1945/13

I write in connection with your request for information which was received
by Greater Manchester Police on 23 May 2013 .  I note you require access
to the following information:

As per email below

Your request will now be considered in accordance with the Freedom of
Information Act 2000 (the Act). You will receive a response within the
statutory timescale of 20 working days as defined by the Act, subject to
the information not being exempt or containing a reference to a third
party.
In some circumstances Greater Manchester Police may be unable to achieve
this deadline.  If this is likely you will be informed and given a revised
time-scale at the earliest opportunity.
There may be a fee payable for the retrieval, collation and provision of
the information you request.  If this is the case you will be informed and
the 20 working day timescale will be suspended until we receive payment
from you. If you choose not to make payment then your request will remain
unanswered.

Some requests may also require either full or partial transference to
another public authority in order to answer your query in the fullest
possible way. Again, you will be informed if this is the case.
Should you have any further inquiries concerning this matter, please write
or contact the Information Compliance & Records Management Unit, on
telephone number 0161 856 2529

Kind regards

Information Compliance & Records Management Unit

From: Tyler <[FOI #162377 email]>
To: [email address]
Date: 22/05/2013 17:06
Subject: Re: Freedom of Information request - TASERs within Greater
Manchester Police

--------------------------------------------------------------------------

     Dear Greater Manchester Police,
   
    The opening lines were mistakenly added, I apologise for the error.
   
    Yours faithfully,
   
    Tyler
   
   

show quoted sections

Greater Manchester Police

1 Attachment

Please find attached the response to your recent request made under the Freedom of Information Act 2000.

Amanda Ratcliffe
Information Compliance & Records Management Assistant
Information Compliance & Records Management Unit
Information Services Branch
Greater Manchester Police
Tel - 0161-856-2529
Ext - 62531
Email - [email address]

Follow us on Twitter: @gmppolice

To contact the police in an emergency call 999 or to contact Greater Manchester Police for a less urgent matter call 101.
For the latest news and information about your Neighbourhood Policing Team visit www.gmp.police.uk. You can also follow us on Twitter: www.twitter.com/gmpolice or find us on Facebook: www.facebook.com/GtrManchesterPolice , Flickr: www.flickr.com/gmpolice or YouTube: www.youtube.com/gmpolice

This e mail carries a disclaimer, a copy of which may be read at:

http://www.gmp.police.uk/emaildisclaimer

J Roberts left an annotation ()

How many times was the TASER used in the following modes in 2012;

discharge 198
drive-stun 90

...........................................................................................

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)

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%).....Derbyshire 103 (9.2%)

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. 159

Table 9. Proportion of use of force and Taser use across geographical areas (GMP p162)

In the year ending on March 31, 2022, Home Office Statistics record that Tasers were utilised in a total of 34,276 incidents p25

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. p23

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

Indeed, the UN’s Committee Against Torture (2013, 2019) has twice commented on the UK’s Taser guidance and recommended more specificity. In its 2019 Concluding Observations 46 , it stated that the UK “should provide clear presumptions against the use of Tasers on vulnerable groups, such as children and young people, investigate the causes for their disproportionate use against members of minorities and prohibit their use in drive stun mode” (p111)

J Roberts left an annotation ()

Some interesting information in this HMICFRS inspection report of Norfolk Constabulary:

PEEL 2023–25
Police effectiveness, efficiency and legitimacy

An inspection of Norfolk Constabulary

24/9/24

'Figure 1: Proportion of use of force incidents resulting in subject injury across forces in England and Wales in the year ending 31 March 2023'

GREATER MANCHESTER POLICE is 'typical'.

Forces at the 'higher' end comprise Warwickshire (approx 11%), South Yorkshire (approx 10%), Merseyside, Suffolk, West Mercia, Norfolk, West Midlands and Surrey.

https://hmicfrs.justiceinspectorates.gov...

3.2 Data quality - how a use of force incident is defined

Police officers must record the details of any incident where they deployed force tactics through a use of force report. Where a situation involved more than one individual or officer using force, each officer who used force must complete one use of force report, per individual, detailing their own use of force.
...
In a situation where 3 police officers restrain an individual on the ground, and one of those officers then handcuffs the individual, there would be 3 separate use of force reports submitted (one by each officer). These reports would be counted in the publication as 3 ‘incidents’. All 3 reports would include the details of the incident (location, for example) and the persons’ details.'

https://www.whatdotheyknow.com/request/w...

Something from a report relating to Staffordshire Police that details how HMICFRS estimates uses of force:

'In year ending 31 March 2023, Staffordshire Police recorded 4,238 incidents where force was used. We can estimate how many uses of force should be expected by looking at the number of arrests. Each arrest would usually count as a use of force, so we would expect the number of times use of force is recorded to be at least as high as the number of arrests, if not higher. But over the same time frame, Staffordshire Police recorded 12,123 arrests. This would suggest the force is failing to record the use of force consistently, by at least 7,885 incidents.' p8

https://hmicfrs.justiceinspectorates.gov...

Afriyie v COP for City of London [2023] EWHC 1632 (KB)

'54. Handcuffing is not an automatic consequence of arrest. Handcuffs should only be used where they are reasonably necessary to prevent an escape or to prevent a violent breach of the peace: Lockley (1864) 4 F & F 155, cited in Blackstone’s Criminal Practice at D1.8. Where handcuffs are used unjustifiably, their use is a trespass even in an otherwise lawful arrest: Bibby v Chief Constable of Essex Police (2000) 164 JP 297.
...
118. Mr Hughes submitted that a conventional award for unlawful handcuffing in an otherwise lawful arrest is £500. I accept that this would have been an appropriate total award for (i) the alleged assault by PC Worster’s indication to the Claimant that he was going to handcuffed; and (ii) the alleged battery by the use of the handcuffs after the tasering, had these claims succeeded.'

https://caselaw.nationalarchives.gov.uk/...