Call to give PSNI officers more Tasers as report shows they drew guns 254 times in six months

The PSNI should consider making Tasers much more readily-available to its officers, a report has said.
By Adam Kula
Published 10th Sep 2020, 00:00 BST
Updated 10th Sep 2020, 09:53 BST
Tasers shoot out prongs which deliver an electric jolt; this is a Taser being demonstrated by an officer in northern England recentlyTasers shoot out prongs which deliver an electric jolt; this is a Taser being demonstrated by an officer in northern England recently
Tasers shoot out prongs which deliver an electric jolt; this is a Taser being demonstrated by an officer in northern England recently

It was just one of many recommendations containined in the 31-page report, published today, from Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire & Rescue Service.

The report, titled “An inspection of how well the service treats its workforce and the people of Northern Ireland”, asked three questions:

Does the service inspire public confidence?

Is the behaviour of its workforce ethical and lawful?

Does it inspire the confidence of its workforce?

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In each case, it gave the PSNI a three-out-of-fourstar “Good” rating.

When it comes to weapons, it says: “Most frontline PSNI officers aren’t issued with conducted energy devices (or CEDs, such as Tasers).

“Those devices are less lethal than the firearms issued to all PSNI officers for personal protection purposes.

“Without immediate access to CEDs, frontline PSNI officers who respond to serious incidents involving dangerous people have fewer options available to them to resolve the incident with the minimum use of force...

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“We did not think it was logical that operational officers (particularly those working in frontline uniform response roles) in the PSNI aren’t routinely equipped with CEDs as well as conventional firearms.

“Statistics on the PSNI website show that in the six months between April 1, 2019 and September 30, 2019, PSNI officers drew their firearms on 254 occasions. This is a 15% percent increase compared with the same six-month period in 2018...

“While the use of CEDs isn’t without risk, it is relatively lower.”

But the report says issuing them widely “would attract a high level of interest from communities”.

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It adds: “So, we recommend that the chief constable consult widely on any proposed changes and communicate the public safety benefits of such an approach, before any changes are made.”

~ On community relations, the report says: “There are signs that the historically difficult relationship between the PSNI and some Catholic communities is improving.

“In some areas, officers are now more able to carry out neighbourhood policing using marked police vehicles and organise meetings with community leaders. More schools are now receptive to working with the PSNI’s school liaison officers.”

But it also notes that there are two Protestant officers for every one Catholic one.

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~ The report says officers are not consistently recording incidents where force has been used on the PSNI computer system, and that the force needs to monitor how it uses stop-and-search powers.

~ In terms of staff relations, the inspectors had this to say: “At the time of our inspection, the PSNI had a policy requiring officers and staff to disclose any personal relationships with each other.

“While disclosure may be necessary or advisable in some circumstances (such as where one party supervises the other), the service hadn’t considered the disproportionate effect that might have on LGBT officers and staff who had not shared their sexuality or gender identity in public.

“Requiring them to disclose such relationships would force them to reveal their sexuality.

“We recommended that the PSNI revise the policy.”

MORE FROM THIS REPORTER:

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