Racism blamed for increasing use of 'potentially lethal' Tasers on Black Brits
Structural racism is behind an increased Taser use against Black people, a new report has found.
The independent report, initiated by the National Police Chiefs’ Council and commissioned by the College of Police, found there was growing disproportionate use of Tasers across the UK. Due to a myriad of complex factors Black communities often saw an increased use of Tasers on them, relative to other uses of force.
Researchers also sounded the alarm over officers viewing their Tasers amongst their least dangerous use of force options - recently, a number of deaths have been linked to Taser usage. Alongside that, use of the weapon was found to be "dehumanising and potentially lethal" for members of the Black communities often targeted.
Professor Clifford Stott, Professor of Social Psychology at Keele University, one of the co-authors of the paper, said: "Our research highlights how complex the situation is and that the drivers of ethnic disproportionality in police use of Taser are not merely about individual officer decisions, but linked to the inequality and the structural racism of British society. Hopefully our research will open up a broader debate about the way in which the solutions lie not just within policing, but also in addressing some of the fundamental realities and problems of the society we all live in."
The study was conducted by researchers from University College London, Keele University, The University of Exeter and Staffordshire University. They carried out over 150 interviews, reviewed body camera footage, observed Taser training and analysed police data.
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The report found that the most significant decision affecting use of the weapon wasn't individual racism. Instead it was where and how officers were deployed. Police tend to be deployed more into higher crime areas. These areas often have higher levels of poverty and a greater proportion of ethnic minorities amongst the population.
Tasers fire an electric current of 50,000 volts into the body, which is meant to temporarily incapacitate a suspect. It does this by interfering with their neuromuscular system.
The Guardian reported that its use has grown as well, from under 17,000 times from 2017-2018 to double that in 2021-2022. A registered use doesn’t necessarily mean it's fired as these figures include when it’s unholstered, or someone has the red dot of the weapon pointed at them. It is said to be discharged in around ten per cent of cases.
The study said: "A combination of institutional priorities, policies, practices, and demands mean that policing is concentrated into areas of deprivation, which in turn disproportionately impacts on people from Black and ethnic minority backgrounds relative to the White population.
"Given that police are more active in deprived neighbourhoods, this in turn makes Taser use in those areas more likely. Taser has become institutionalised as an organisational level response to perceived threat and risk, which increases its use in situations that previously have been resolved in other ways, such as through dialogue."
National Police Chiefs’ Council lead for Less Lethal Weapons Chief Constable Lucy D'Orsi QPM, said: “We know that there is disproportionate use of Taser on black people. In 2019/2020 black people were eight times more likely to have it used on them. Whilst figures from 2022/2023 stats have shown a reduction to 4.2 times more likely, it is vital that we question why that is and take action.
“We welcome the findings of the report and are committed to thoroughly reviewing the content so that we can make appropriate changes to have a positive impact on the lives of Black people. The use of Taser is very complex, but work is already underway to focus on the reports observations and recommendations.
“Police officers come to work to protect their communities and take split second decisions to keep the public and themselves safe. I firmly believe most people are grateful they never have to make such challenging decisions in the course of their work and am immensely grateful to those officers who volunteer to carry Taser.”
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