The number of times that Avon and Somerset police officers have used tasers has doubled in the last four years, at the same time as the government is seeking to increase the availability of the devices in what has been labelled a 'worrying erosion of safeguards'. Police in Avon and Somerset used Tasers more than 1,300 times in the last year, and it has been announced that volunteer officers are set to be armed with the stun guns.
Home Secretary Priti Patel announced at the Police Federation Conference on Tuesday, May 17 that special constables will now be allowed to carry Tasers, if authorised by their chief officers. Volunteers will receive the same Taser training as constables. There are around 8,900 volunteer officers in England and Wales, who have the same powers and uniforms as paid officers.
But statistics show that taser use has increased among officers in the Bristol area. In 2020/21, the most recent figures available, Avon and Somerset police officers used Tasers 1,316 times, up from 1,078 in 2019/20, 733, in 2018/19, and 643 in 2017/18.
