Are the police using Tasers too much?

Widespread concerns have been expressed by the police watchdog over the use of Tasers in the past eight years.

A review by the Independent Police Complaints Commission has raised doubts about the use in police custody,  the use on young people and the method known as the ‘drive stun’ where the Taser is applied directly to the body purely for pain compliance.

Home Office figures show the non lethal weapon’s been used more than 10,000 times since 2003,  but no connection has yet been found to any of the 11 deaths that have occurred over that period, although investigations are still continuing into the deaths of Martin Baskeyfield, Jordan Begley and Andrew Pimlott.

IPCC analysis reveals that Staffordshire and Humberside were the most prolific last year when use was measured against the size of the force.

The commission upheld a third of appeals against findings by local forces on the grounds that too many accepted an officer’s justification at face value.

It instead found that the level of violence of the target didn’t justify the use of the Taser, or  it was pointed at the person from the start of contact with police officers, or it was pointed at the person when they posed no threat.

Watch Simon Israel’s report from September 2013 on a surge in Taser use.

Follow @simonisrael on Twitter.