TASER use has fallen by 11 per cent at South Yorkshire Police.<\/p>\n
There were 73 uses of the less lethal weapon in 2013, down 9 from 82 the previous year.\u00a0This was a marked departure from the national picture; across England and Wales Taser use had increased by 27 per cent.<\/p>\n
Neil Bowles, chairman of South Yorkshire Police Federation, said: \u201cMy view is that it should be issued more widely.”<\/p>\n
He added: “In South Yorkshire we have already gone beyond specialists. At least a third of response teams have now been trained to use it and can be authorised to carry it. I would like to see those numbers grow.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe figures related to Taser deployment do not just mean they have been actively used. As soon as you draw it, it can be a deployment. Drawing a Taser and red-dotting someone can be the biggest deterrent going. Anybody who realises that they are just about to be Tasered soon stops whatever it is that they are doing.\u201d<\/p>\n
In England and Wales, from the first six months in January 2012 – where Taser was used 3,871 times – its use has increased within each six month period up to July 2013 to December 2013, where it was used 5,381 times.<\/p>\n
The most common use of a Taser in each of the last two years was \u2018red dot\u2019, where officers use the laser on the device but do not actually fire it. This accounted for more than half, 51 per cent of use.<\/p>\n
Officers can now also take part in a survey on Taser being hosted by the Police Federation of England and Wales.<\/p>\n
The survey asks where an officer works, are they single crewed and how many times in the last two years have they felt that their life was in serious danger as a result of a threat by a member of the public, whilst on duty?<\/p>\n
It also asks \u201cassuming appropriate training is available, should Conducted Energy Devices (Taser) be issued only to authorised firearms officers, to a further increased number of specially trained officers, or to a wider group of front-line officers?\u201d<\/p>\n
It also asks for the experiences of officers who already use Taser.<\/p>\n
You can take part in the survey here<\/p>\n