The use of Tasers in policing

Police Scotland has a duty to protect life and to ensure the safety of its Officers and the public.  Specially Trained Officers (STOs) carry Taser as one of their options to protect people from violence.  When confronting potentially dangerous or violent individuals, frontline Police Officers have a duty to minimise the risk of injury or death to the individual themselves, the immediate community, and other Officers. 

Instead of using a baton to control situations where the threat of violence is high, technologies such as a Taser may be used instead. Taser allows the Police Officer to keep that distance and avoid direct physical contact.

Tasers are one of several tactical options that can be used when dealing with an incident that has the potential for conflict.

In Police Scotland, the carrying of Tasers is limited to that of specially trained Police Officers to ensure that its use is proportionate, ethical, transparent, and only used as a method of harm reduction when absolutely necessary.

Any use of force by an Officer must be the minimum amount necessary to accomplish the lawful objective concerned. 

It is recognised that a baton may cause injury to a potentially harmful individual, another member of the public or police Officer.

Compared to other uses of force such as PAVA spray (a safer alternative to pepper spray), baton, handcuffs or firearms, Tasers are least likely to cause long-term harm or injury to the subject.

The devices are mainly used to control individuals in incidents where the risk of violence is high. This is done to mitigate any further harm (i.e. injury or death) to that individual, as well as protect bystanders and Police Officers.

The Taser X2 device has been subject of rigorous independent medical testing. It is acknowledged that there is an increased risk to children and persons with a smaller stature and these increased risks are thoroughly covered within Taser training.

Figures provided for the last year indicate that from the 855 uses, 278 are passive uses (drawn only where the Taser has been removed from the holster as a precaution and then replaced without the need to point at the subject).  This equates to 32.5% of uses, when the Taser has not been pointed at the subject 

57.2% involved the Taser device being aimed/arced or red-dotted at the subject(s) in question and the remaining 10.3% of uses resulted in the device being discharged.

The flexibility to use these progressive approaches can be used to control a situation whilst minimising the risk of injury and harm.  Every time a Taser is discharged by a Police Scotland Officer, a “Use of Force” report is completed which records the need for its use and enables auditing of Taser deployment.

This report is sent to the Police Investigations Review Commissioner (PIRC) for independent scrutiny and potential review.  From the 88 discharges during 2023/24, PIRC investigated two that met their criteria for review. 

During both investigations the discharges were assessed by the PIRC to be necessary, proportionate and justified.

The statistics below from the period April 2023 – March 2024 provide an insight into Taser use by STOs across Scotland. In some incidents there may have been multiple uses of Taser and only one subject.

Analysis by Police Scotland’s National Taser Unit shows that from April 2023 to March 2024, 90% of Taser deployments involved male suspects. 92% of these individuals were aged   18-64.

In 79% of cases Tasers were used to protect officers or threatening individuals and prevent injury. 21% of use was to protect other citizens.

The existing other tactical options such as PAVA spray, handcuffs and batons, although effective in most circumstances, allow limited capability when confronted by subjects armed with bladed or other weapons or when attending potential incidents of extreme physical violence. 

The use of Taser is considered a potentially less harmful option, promotes early resolution and can prevent escalation.