Assurance for Citizens

Police officers are required to operate in dangerous and challenging situations when carrying out their role to protect the public. Access to STOs carrying Tasers helps to manage these risks and protect the public.

Compared to other uses of force such as PAVA spray (a safer alternative to pepper spray), baton use, or firearms; Tasers are least likely to cause long-term harm. Taser devices are mainly used to control individuals in situations 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.

Despite the clear benefits of STOs carrying Tasers, it is recognised that there are risks associated with Taser use and these must be carefully controlled. There is some evidence to suggest that Tasers can trigger the ‘weapons effect’ – the psychological phenomenon in which the visual cue of a weapon in public-police interactions can lead to the increased aggression from both parties.

Analysis undertaken by Police Scotland shows that Tasers significantly reduce officer and subject injury rate compared to conventional police defence tools:

Baton used - 28% officer injury rate, 52% subject injury rate
PAVA Spray used - 24% officer injury rate, 16% subject injury rate
Taser used - 0.2% officer injury rate, 0.6% subject injury rate (2 officers and 3 subjects injured from the 620 times that Taser has been drawn).

It is also important to recognise that in some countries there have been concerning reports of Taser over-use in relation to vulnerable and minority groups (such people with mental health issues, problem drug users, and ethnic minorities).

It is vital that Taser use in Scotland is limited to specially trained police officers; is proportionate, ethical, transparent, and is utilised only as a method of harm reduction when necessary.

In order to ensure ethical and proportionate use of Tasers the Police Investigations and Review Commissioner (PIRC) investigate all Taser discharges as a matter of course. PIRC supported the operational introduction of Tasers by Police Scotland within their annual report 2018-19.

They affirmed that “in the vast majority of incidents where Tasers were used by STOs, it has allowed them to resolve incidents swiftly, increasing officer and public safety, which is very reassuring.

Moreover, our findings show a large number of occasions where officers have used Tasers in order to limit or prevent self-harming by people suffering from mental health issues, and in some cases have potentially prevented deaths.”