Serious concerns over approach to Taser training for sergeants

23 December 2021

Sergeants trained and experienced in the use of Taser are being forced to stop using the devices after a ‘nonsensical’ decision by the Force not to fund a one-day refresher training course for them.

West Midlands Police Federation chair Rich Cooke, who wants to see all officers trained and equipped with Taser if they want to be, says the Force’s decision comes at a time when the recent assessment by Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire & Rescue Services found the West Midlands had the highest rate of firearms offences (24.5 per 100,000 population) and knife crime offences (1.55 per 1,000 population).

“As a Federation we have serious concerns about the current approach,” says Rich, “The current level of risk faced by our frontline officers of all ranks is there for all to see. We want all our frontline colleagues of any rank to be afforded the protection Taser is proven to provide. We know that in 9 out of 10 cases where Taser is present there is no violence – so we could be preventing many of these assaults or worse.

“Put simply, Taser could save an officer’s life. Sergeants are often the only officers free to support colleagues at back up shouts, they are mostly single crewed in some of the most violent streets of the UK. This is the least they deserve, but to prevent sergeants who are already trained and have years of experience using the tactic from undertaking a simple one-day refresher course, on grounds of cost, is nonsensical to me.”

In the press today, West Midlands Police and Crime Commissioner Simon Foster has described how according to official data 173 cases of assaults on West Midlands police constables were recorded last December, despite strict Covid restrictions being in place for part of the month.

The incidents include 19 that were recorded in a 48-hour period between Christmas and New Year, which saw an officer sexually assaulted and another officer rushed to hospital after ingesting blood from a person with Hepatitis C while trying to stop a bleed.

Another incident saw a 34-year-old man jailed for six months after admitting attacking a police officer on Christmas Day.

The figure has been described as “completely and utterly unacceptable” by the PCC.

He added: “We all know policing is a job with serious risks, but these numbers are too high.”

Last Monday, following numerous contacts from concerned sergeants around the Force, Rich and Federation branch secretary Tim Rogers questioned the Chief over the decision made in November to cease providing refresher courses to sergeants in front facing roles who are already trained. This means when their training times out, they will have to stop carrying Taser.

The Force says its approach to Taser is set by the Force Strategic Threat and Risk Assessment (STRA) 2021-22 which concluded that consideration had been given to allowing sergeants to carry Taser. But it was decided the greatest need was within frontline officers most likely to be deployed to most incidents that warrant the use of Taser and this will invariably be the frontline PCs across the forward-facing departments.

However, on 18 November it was confirmed that sergeants will not be trained in Taser. Some sergeants will carry Taser for a short while longer until their training authority runs out.

“The reason provided was that there was not sufficient funding to train all the sergeants,” says Rich, “There will be a review of the STRA for 2022-23 and it is vital that the Federation is an integral part of that process. We cannot understand how despite facing unrivalled levels of serious violence in West Midlands it is our officers who are exposed to additional risk, when even rural forces like Northants have allowed all frontline colleagues to carry taser, if they wish.

“We will, of course, continue to participate in consultative forums with the Force and put our views forward. We are currently collating examples of where officers have encountered danger or worse where Taser would likely have made a vital difference.”