Shropshire Star

Police forces in Shropshire and Powys defend Taser use

Police in Shropshire and Powys have defended their taser use as "proportionate, necessary and justified" in the wake of major concerns being raised at a national level by a police watchdog.

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Dyfed-Powys Police has been highlighted in a report as having the country's lowest use of taser per 100 officers with two - 26 out of 1,120. West Mercia Police used the stun gun eight times per 100 officers - with 179 total uses out of 2,131 policemen and women.

Both forces have responded after the Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC) raised worries at growing taser use by police and its use at point-blank range, despite the tactic being largely removed from officer training.

Neither West Mercia nor Dyfed-Powys were immediately able to say on how many occasions the stun guns had been used in "drive-stun" mode, when the weapon without a cartridge is held directly against the body. But the IPCC found across the UK the number was 287 last year out of 1,733 total times when the weapons were fired.

Kieran Bodill, spokesman for West Mercia Police and Warwickshire Police said across the alliance 236 officers and 169 firearms officers were trained to use tasers.

Karen Manners, assistant chief constable for West Mercia Police, said: "All officers equipped with tasers are highly trained in how and when to deploy and use them. This training meets current national standards and is regularly reviewed to ensure it is of the highest standard.

"On each occasion a taser is deployed, the officer concerned is required to document the justification for doing so.

"As with any form of less lethal technology there are risks associated with using a taser but robust training helps to minimise this risk."

Meanwhile, Dyfed-Powys Temporary Chief Superintendent Andrew John said the force used tasers 26 times in 2013.

He said: "All incidents where a taser is used are reviewed to ensure the use was proportionate, necessary and justified."

"The use of taser is only justified when officers in the course of their duty have reason to suppose that they may have to protect the public, themselves and, or the subject at incidents of violence or threats of such severity that they will need to use force."

The concerns were raised by the IPCC in a report, published yesterday (TUE), which looked at complaints and incidents relating to Taser use from 2004 to 2013.

The report said: "Consideration should be given to the fact that although cartridge-off drive-stun is no longer included in training, it is still being used. It is important to ensure that it is not used solely as a pain compliance tool.

"There is a risk, given the increase in taser use, that police officers could become increasingly reliant on using force to gain compliance. This is particularly apparent in drive-stun mode which generates a considerable number of complaints."

The number of uses of taser have risen steadily in recent years, from 3,128 in 2009 up to 10,380 in 2013.

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