Police draw Taser against kids 38 times
TASERS were drawn against children 38 times in Greater Manchester last year, new figures have revealed.
A 14-year-old boy was the youngest teenager officers ‘red dotted’ with the device.
Red dotting is where the Taser is aimed at a person showing up as a red dot – as a warning. The Freedom of Information request showed that in Greater Manchester, police fired Tasers twice at under 18s, once at a 16-year-old boy and once at a 17-year-old boy.
A 16-year-old boy was drive stunned – where the officer holds the Taser against the target without firing the projectiles, and is intended to cause pain without incapacitating the target.
The figures show that overall Tasering in Greater Manchester has dropped slightly, with 40 incidents in 2015, and 42 in 2014. This comes as GMP plans to double the amount of officers trained in the use of the devices.
Police chiefs say this is in reaction to the recent terror attacks in Manchester and London. This will bring the number of officers able to use them to 1,100.
There were 597 incidences of Tasers being used against children across the UK in 2016.
Oliver Sprague, Amnesty International UK’s arms control director, said children are at a ‘much greater risk of serious harm from being subjected to this weapon.’ She said: “With young people, given the clear risks of using a Taser against them, it must truly be a weapon of last resort, subject to intense scrutiny by the appropriate authorities with the most robust safeguards in place to protect children in these situations.”
Chief Superintendent John O’Hare said: “The Taser can be a valuable and effective option for police officers dealing with potentially volatile situations where its use is necessary to protect the public, police or the individual themselves.
“Tasers allow us to respond to situations where otherwise we may have to deploy firearms.
“The use of a Taser is governed by national guidelines and experienced officers make an assessment of the threat and risk presented to them before any decision is made.
“Each time a Taser is deployed, we review that use to ensure policy has been followed and to identify any concerns.”