Taser a vital piece of kit available for all officers who want one

26 August 2021

Taser is a vital piece of kit and the Chief Constable of Humberside has pledged to provide one for any officer requesting and successfully completing the training.

That’s the message from Humberside Police Federation which has defended the use of Taser following a critical report from the Independent Office for Police Conduct. 

The watchdog raised concerns with Taser guidance, training and scrutiny and issued 17 recommendations for improvement. 

However, policing representatives have dismissed the research, after it emerged that only 101 out of 100,000 recorded Taser usages were examined. The Police Federation of England and Wales said the review was “statistically insignificant”. 

Rob Grunner, Humberside Police Federation Secretary, said: “I used to supervise our Taser training as an Inspector so I am fully aware of the training that goes in before an officer is signed off to carry the device live in public. 

“They are heavily trained and then tested on their use of the National Decision Making Model and then placed into scenarios entirely based on real life examples where their decision to deploy or not deploy taser is scrutinised.”

All officers receive regular Taser refresher training and any Taser deployment is reviewed by the Taser training team, Rob said. 

He added: “It is vital for the public to note that Taser provides the opportunity for maximum control of a subject without having to resort to PAVA and the ASP baton, both of which can cause lasting physical harm. It is a short term method allowing officers to gain control and minimise harm to both the subject, themselves and the public.

“The report by the IOPC is based on 0.1% of all Taser deployments. How you can say this is a fair and balanced analysis of usage of the device? The fact that the IOPC did not even consult with police who use Taser means it is a biased and unfair review.” 

The review also raised concerns around the police use of Taser on children and vulnerable people. But Rob said: “Children have been shown to have capacity to cause serious harm especially when armed with weapons. Officers are not usually in possession of the subject’s date of birth and full medical history when attending an incident so cannot know exactly how old and what issues they may be suffering from. Incidents are dynamic and requiring swift action to contain the threat and ensure no harm comes to anyone. While it can be seen to be disproportionate to use Taser on a child there is far more to it than this.

“Taser is a vital piece of kit and the Chief Constable of Humberside has pledged to provide one for any officer requesting and successfully completing the training. This is a significant financial commitment between the devices and training and indicates how highly thought of they are as tool to safely police our local communities.”