London police officers' use of Taser stun guns increases by 88% in a year

 
Hit: Police used a taser on a teenage boy with learning difficulties
28 January 2014

Police use of Taser stun guns in London has rocketed in the last few years, figures showed today.

The number of times Met officers used the weapon rose by 88 per cent, from 378 in 2011 to 713 in 2012.

The latest figures also show Tasers were used 353 times in the first three months of 2013.

Scotland Yard says the increase is due to more officers in boroughs — a total of 3,700 — being trained to carry the 50,000-volt weapons, which it claims are safer than firearms, batons or dogs.

Police pointed out Tasers were fired only 112 times in 2011 and 136 times in 2012, and 43 times in the first quarter of 2013. Officers are logged as using the weapon even if they only draw it out of a holster.

A recent report to the London Assembly said the Met had failed to justify rolling out Tasers to boroughs.

Green Party member Jenny Jones, who obtained the figures, said Tasers might be used “when they would normally defuse situations by more peaceful means.”

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