This article is from the source 'guardian' and was first published or seen on . It last changed over 40 days ago and won't be checked again for changes.
You can find the current article at its original source at http://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2015/oct/13/black-people-three-times-more-likely-to-have-taser-used-against-them
The article has changed 6 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.
| Version 1 | Version 2 |
|---|---|
| Black people 'three times more likely' to be Tasered | |
| (about 1 hour later) | |
| Black people are three times more likely to have a Taser used against them than white people, according to figures that have sparked alarm among race relations campaigners. | |
| The electroshock stun guns have been used by police thousands of times in the past five years, with a rise in its use against children, Home Office data showed. | The electroshock stun guns have been used by police thousands of times in the past five years, with a rise in its use against children, Home Office data showed. |
| Tasers were used – meaning they were drawn, aimed or fired – by police 38,135 times between 2010 and 2015, a BBC freedom of information request revealed. However, in 80% of cases the weapon was not discharged. | Tasers were used – meaning they were drawn, aimed or fired – by police 38,135 times between 2010 and 2015, a BBC freedom of information request revealed. However, in 80% of cases the weapon was not discharged. |
| In more than 12% of cases in which ethnicity was recorded – more than 36,000 of the 38,000 incidents – the person against whom the devices was used was black and of African-Caribbean origin or of mixed white and African-Caribbean origin. Black people make up only about 4% of the population. | |
| A Taser was used against people under the age of 18 in 522 cases, compared with 349 times in 2010. There were 158 cases last year involving children under 16, the figures showed. In one case in Hampshire, a police officer removed his Taser from the holster in an incident involving a nine-year-old boy. | |
| In another, a Taser was drawn against a 91-year-old man, according to the Home Office figures. However Suffolk police said they could find no record of it. | |
| Responding to the latest figures, Lee Jasper, a former director of policing and equalities for London, warned of escalating tensions between police and minority communities. | |
| Pointing to the collapse of Operation Shield, the mayor of London’s flagship gang policing strategy, and the revelation that the Metropolitan police had not upheld any of 240 complaints of racism against its officers last year, he said there was plummeting confidence in police in London boroughs. | |
| Jasper also pointed to recent research by Release that showed prosecutions for drug possession offences were disproportionately targeted on black and minority communities. Despite an overall fall in the number of youths in custody, the proportion of black and mixed race youths in jail rose 37.5% and 50% respectively between 2012 and 2014. | |
| “When you take these figures in context, the conclusion that you come to is that there is a resurgence in systemic, institutionalised racism in the police service, and within the Met police in particular,” Jasper said. “All we need is a bit of hot weather and on inappropriate stop and search or death in custody and we could be looking at a return to [the riots of] 2011.” | |
| A spokesman for the Campaign Against Police and State Violence, whose research revealed the Met’s record on complaints of racism, said it was clear that the police have a problem with black people. | |
| “This racial bias cannot be blamed on individual rotten apples, the consistency of disproportionate racist outcomes means that the entire barrel is suspect,” he said. “Even the head of Metropolitan Black Police officers Association last year stated that she believed the police are ‘institutionally racist’. | |
| “We need radical structural reform of the police and the criminal justice system, not merely tough talking against officers using racial slurs. Many members of the black community have little faith that the police can be anything other than racist, this is further evidence to that.” | |
| The latest figures come a year after Theresa May ordered an in-depth review of the use of force by police amid particular concerns that physical restraint and Tasers were being used against mentally distressed people. | |
| Announcing the review, the home secretary cited evidence from the London assembly that showed up to 30% of people Tasered by the Metropolitan police were emotionally or mentally distressed, and 50% were from black or other minority ethnic backgrounds. | Announcing the review, the home secretary cited evidence from the London assembly that showed up to 30% of people Tasered by the Metropolitan police were emotionally or mentally distressed, and 50% were from black or other minority ethnic backgrounds. |
| As the use of the stun guns steadily grows, opinions about their value remain divided. The Home Office describes them as “an important tactical option to help specially trained police officers resolve potentially violent situations safely”. | As the use of the stun guns steadily grows, opinions about their value remain divided. The Home Office describes them as “an important tactical option to help specially trained police officers resolve potentially violent situations safely”. |
| In February, the Police Federation voted for all uniformed officers to be issued with Tasers. However, Amnesty International says they are a potentially lethal weapon, which should be withdrawn from use by non-specialist firearms officers. | In February, the Police Federation voted for all uniformed officers to be issued with Tasers. However, Amnesty International says they are a potentially lethal weapon, which should be withdrawn from use by non-specialist firearms officers. |
| The pain of being hit by a Taser is “difficult to describe”, according to one expert in police use of restraint and pain techniques. “It totally and utterly floods every area of your consciousness,” he said, on condition of anonymity. | |
| “It really is extreme. I suffered the typical effects of going quite rigid. It is like your muscles contract into one mass. Immediately I could feel myself starting to fall. When the current was switched off, the muscles relaxed again. With the Taser your body is flooded with a painful sensation.” | “It really is extreme. I suffered the typical effects of going quite rigid. It is like your muscles contract into one mass. Immediately I could feel myself starting to fall. When the current was switched off, the muscles relaxed again. With the Taser your body is flooded with a painful sensation.” |
| Last week police shot a man after attempts to subdue him with a Taser failed. | Last week police shot a man after attempts to subdue him with a Taser failed. |
| The Press Association contributed to this report. | |