North Yorkshire Police use Tasers 214 times in a year

A report published by the Independent Office for Police Conduct has raised serious concerns around the unnecessary or unsafe use of the devices by forces across England and Wales, particularly against non-white or vulnerable people and children.

The report from the police watchdog made 17 recommendations to bodies including the Home Office, the College of Policing and the National Police Chiefs’ Council, calling for improvements to the national guidance, training, scrutiny and monitoring of Taser use.

The latest Home Office data shows that North Yorkshire Police drew Tasers 214 times in the year to March 2020, though officers only discharged the electric shock weapons on 33 occasions.

The figures count the number of times officers involved in an incident used their Taser rather than the number of separate incidents.

Deputy Chief Constable Phil Cain, of North Yorkshire Police, said Taser offered a less lethal option to protect both police officers and members of the public in violent situations.

He said: “Often just the sight of a Taser being drawn, but not discharged, is enough to calm a situation and prevent violence escalating. For example, in the first three months of this year in our area, there were 88 occasions when a Taser was used, but they were only actually fired nine times.

“Police officers are confronted with difficult situations every day. They walk towards danger when others walk away, thinking and acting quickly to keep people safe. They are trained to use force proportionately, lawfully and only when necessary.”

Where ethnicity was recorded, the figures for North Yorkshire Police show that white people were involved in 206 incidents of Taser use over the same period, compared to four involving black people, though this largely represents the local population, according to the latest estimates at police force level.

A Home Office spokesman said: “Our police officers must be equipped with the resources, tools and powers they need to keep themselves and the public safe – including Taser."