IOPC Taser Report “Oversteps The Mark”

1 June 2020

The Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) has “overstepped the mark” with its latest report that calls for greater scrutiny on Taser, Essex Police Federation has said.

The IOPC report claims that stakeholders have raised concerns over the “disproportionate use of Taser against black people and those with mental ill health”. It doesn’t say who has raised these concerns.

It has called for more transparency around how and when Taser is used and “more research to understand issues of disproportionality”.

Essex Federation Chairman Steve Taylor said: “Unfortunately, with alarming frequency, at the hands of the IOPC [officers are] scapegoated and pilloried for doing their best in really tough, difficult situations. I’m not surprised to see they’ve again overstepped the mark in terms of their view.”

He added: “The IOPC time and time and time again get it wrong and inflame situations, inflame public tensions.”

Steve said that it was “absolutely fair” that policing was held to account. He said: “The legitimacy of the force that police officers are called on to use is vitally important. That legitimacy is built up through training, through experience and through justification when called on to use the force. It’s right and proper that that’s the community that we live in. We’re not a police state. We’re not above the law.

“But is it too much to ask that the body responsible for investigating the police has the confidence of the police? Because the IOPC does not have the confidence of my members in Essex. And that’s not fair on society in general. Confidence in the wider police service suffers when they get it wrong.”

The Police Federation of England and Wales’ Conduct and Performance Lead Phill Matthews said: “We do not recognise and disagree there is a disproportionate use of Taser against BAME communities or people with mental ill health – and we are certainly not aware of any concluded cases where an officer has been criticised on their use of Taser by the IOPC.

“But of course, we will wait and see if any recommendations or findings come out of its investigations, and if so, we will work with the IOPC to change policy.”

He added: “We remain convinced that Taser is an essential piece of equipment which saves the lives of both officers and members of the public. We are very much still a country that polices by consent. And given the huge number of incidents police officers attend, the number of times Taser is used remains very small. The mere presence of the equipment is often enough to de-escalate situations, making it extremely effective.”