Children Tasered (256A/24)
Request
Could I receive stats on the total number of children under 18, as a whole, in the last 5 years who have been tasered? Would you also be able to provide the race/ethnicity stats for those groups too?
Response
Please find enclosed our response.
| Year | Number of under 18-year persons tasered | Race / Ethnicity |
| 2019 | 5 | 4 x White British
1 x Black Caribbean |
| 2020 | 8 | 1 x Asian
5 x Black 2 x White |
| 2021 | 0 | NA |
| 2022 | 0 | NA |
| 2023 | 8 | 3 x White
1 x Asian 1 x Black |
Figures have been extracted from Use of Force data where age is perceived to be under 18
Tasers are not drawn lightly by officers. They are used when there is a risk of violence towards members of the public − and sometimes that risk comes from under-18s.
In most cases tasers are drawn from their holster as a deterrent and not actually fired.
Our officers undergo detailed training, including scenario-based events to test judgement, accuracy and the procedural and legislative side of the equipment’s use.
All Taser deployments are subject of a thorough debrief by a supervising officer to ensure it was appropriate.
Please note that these data should be interpreted with caution. Comparing numbers of incidents/crimes can be misleading and does not necessarily indicate the likelihood of someone being a victim of crime. In addition, the number of incidents/crimes recorded in an area over a period of time can be influenced by a number of factors. Consequently, statistics on incidents/crimes for one period may not necessarily be a good indicator of future incidents in that area.
Every effort is made to ensure that the figures presented are accurate and complete. However, it is important to note that these data have been extracted from a number of data sources used by forces for police purposes. The detail collected to respond specifically to your request is subject to the inaccuracies inherent in any large-scale recording system. As a consequence, care should be taken to ensure data collection processes and their inevitable limitations are considered when interpreting those data.
The figures provided therefore are our best interpretation of relevance of data to your request, but you should be aware that the collation of figures for ad hoc requests may have limitations and this should be considered when those data are used.
If you decide to write an article / use the enclosed data we would ask you to take into consideration the factors highlighted in this document so as to not mislead members of the public or official bodies, or misrepresent the relevance of the whole or any part of this disclosed material.
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