Taser use on children 'alarming' as Cheshire Police details revealed

Officers reported firing the electrical weapons in two of those cases.

The Children’s Rights Alliance for England says the recorded increase in use of Tasers against children by police forces across England and Wales is “alarming”.

The children’s human rights charity says “being threatened” with a Taser can be extremely frightening for a child even if the weapon is not fired, and has called for a ban on their use on young people.

Home Office figures show Cheshire Constabulary drew Tasers on children aged under 18 on 42 occasions in 2019-20, up from 25 the previous year.

The figure counts the number of times each officer involved in an incident used the device rather than the number of separate incidents or how many children were involved. The age recorded is that perceived by the officer.

Officers fired a Taser twice, although neither of those cases involved under-11s.

When fired, Tasers are designed to temporarily incapacitate someone by giving them an electric shock. A device can be fired at someone from a distance or held against their body to stun them.

Across the 43 police forces in England and Wales, Tasers were used on children on 2,818 occasions in 2019-20, up from 1,700 the previous year.

They were fired in 134 cases, none of which involved children under 11.

Louise King, director of the Children’s Rights Alliance for England, said: “The UN Committee on the Rights of the Child that monitors the UK's child rights obligations has been very clear that Tasers should be prohibited on children, and yet their use continues to increase at an alarming rate year on year.

“Even if a Taser is not actually fired, being threatened with one is still extremely frightening for children.”

The figures also show Cheshire Constabulary reported using a spit and bite guard on children on four occasions last year, all of whom were aged 11 to 17.

Chief Inspector Simon Newell said: “Taser is only used by trained officers when it is appropriate and safe to do so - taking into account all environmental factors and any potential risk that individual poses to the safety of the public, any risk to the individual themselves, and to the police officers attending the incident.

"The use of Taser as a non-lethal option of controlling a suspect in Cheshire is proportionate and justified. It allows police officers to safely control - or on many occasions, disarm a suspect who is in possession of a weapon.

"Often it is the least forceful method to resolve a dangerous incident safely. On the occasions that Taser is used, each incident is reviewed by an independent senior officer to ensure that its use was proportionate and necessary to the circumstances."

In 2018-19, the police force recorded six uses of the fabric hoods, which are used to protect an officer or someone else from spitting or biting.

They were used on children 548 times across England and Wales last year, up from 312 a year earlier.

This included seven cases involving under-11s.

Chief Inspector Newell said: “We have a duty of care to protect our officers, even more so with the threat of Covid-19, and Spit Guards provide a useful operational tool to help officers deal with violent and aggressive individuals.

“Assaults by spitting and biting can have long term and distressing implications for officers, who sometimes have to take medication for many weeks afterwards to prevent infection.

"Our staff have the right to be protected when dealing with violent individuals.

“Spit Guards are only used when prisoners spit at, or threaten to spit at, officers or other emergency services staff.

“Prior to using Spit Guards all officers complete an initial training course which is followed by annual refresher training.”

Ms King said there has been no rigorous assessment of the safety of using spit hoods and Tasers on children, despite evidence they can cause “serious harm and trauma”.

“We want the use of Tasers and spit hoods on children to be banned,” she added.

“At the very least, the Government must urgently publish clear guidance and training for the police to ensure the use of these devices on under-18s is avoided unless absolutely necessary.”

Overall, officers at Cheshire Constabulary recorded using some form of force on children on 1,327 occasions last year – 74% of those were for restraint, which can include handcuffing, restraining someone on the ground, or using specialist equipment to reduce the movement of someone’s arms and legs.

Other use of force can include using firearms, equipment such as batons, shields and irritant spray, and dogs.

Matt Twist, the National Police Chiefs' Council lead for self-defence and restraint, said force is “rarely used in the vast majority” of officers’ interactions with the public.

He added: “When it is necessary to use force – for example, when someone poses an immediate danger to others or themselves – it is used proportionately and lawfully.

“Most commonly, officers only use force to protect themselves from attack, which has been an increasing concern for chiefs in the last year as assaults against officers have increased.”

A Home Office spokesman said: “Our brave police put themselves in harm’s way to protect the public – it is vital they have the equipment and tactics they need to reduce crime and stay safe on the job.”