Commenting on the latest national six-monthly Taser figures issued today, Staffordshire’s Police and Crime Commissioner Matthew Ellis said:
“It’s part of my job to ensure the police act appropriately in the way Taser is used in Staffordshire. That’s why two months ago I asked the independent Ethic, Transparency and Audit (ETA) Panel to conduct a thorough review of Taser use after a report by the Independent Police and Complaints Commission (IPCC) showed that Staffordshire appeared to have the highest use in the country in 2013.
“I asked the ETA Panel to get beneath the statistics in order to understand the context behind them. Their review provided fresh perspective and more detail than the IPCC’s report which did not differentiate between Taser use as a deterrent without discharge and actual discharge of Tasers. Unfortunately it meant the IPCC report allowed for a misleading picture of Taser use in Staffordshire to be portrayed.
“I’m satisfied that police in Staffordshire keep the discharge of Taser to a minimum and in very specific circumstances. As with bodycams, the use of Taser as a deterrent actually reduces potential violence often stopping trouble before it starts. The upshot of the review was that Taser discharge rate in Staffordshire was significantly lower than most other places – as are the rate of complaints from the public about Taser use.
“I have held Staffordshire Police to account publicly before where there have been issues to address but in the case of Taser use my view is that, far from being a problem, the use as a deterrent is useful for reducing potential injuries in difficult circumstances.
“I also widened the ETA work to looking at other aspects of Taser procedures and that led to important recommendations to enhance transparency further including that bodycams should be used to record Taser warnings and incidents to provide a clear unequivocal record of each use. Improvements to the procedures around recording Taser use to a central depository have also been recommended meaning faster reporting.”
For more details on the ETA Panel, and to read its Taser report in full, visit http://www.staffordshire-pcc.gov.uk/eta
