Police use of Taser statistics, England and Wales, 2015
Updated 11 August 2016
© Crown copyright 2016
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1. Introduction
This release contains statistics on police use of Taser from the 43 Home Office police forces in England and Wales for 2015. Taser use is recorded against seven categories: ‘Drawn’, ‘Aimed’, ‘Arced’, ‘Red-dot’, ‘Drive stun’, ‘Angled drive stun’ and ‘Fired’. Definitions on each of the Taser use types are set out in the user guide.
Drawn is known as the lowest use. Drawn, aimed, arced and red-dot are known as non-discharges as the Taser does not make contact with the subject. Drive stun, angled drive stun and fired are known as discharges; fired has the most physical impact and can result in incapacitation.
Presented in this release is the number of Taser ‘uses’ as opposed to the number of Taser ‘incidents’. This is to ensure full transparency on Taser deployment as more than one Taser may be used at an incident. Every time a Taser is used, for the purposes of this report, only its highest use is recorded. For example, if a Taser is drawn, aimed, arced, red-dot and then fired, only fired will be recorded.
The user guide provides additional information on the statistics in this release. It also includes a glossary, sections on data quality and revisions.
The statistics in this release can be found in the ‘Police use of Taser, England and Wales, 2015 tables’.
2. Key facts
- In 2015 there were 10,329 uses of Taser by police representing a 2% (234) increase on the previous year.
2.1 Discharge
- Of the 10,329 Taser uses, 19% (1,921) were discharges; a decrease of 3% (-68) from the previous year.
- Of the 1,921 discharges, 90% (1,730) were fired and 10% (191) were drive stun and angled drive stun.
- The proportion of discharges decreased by one percentage point to 19% when compared with the previous year.
2.2 Non-discharge
- Of the 10,329 uses of Taser, 81% (8,408) were non-discharges; an increase of 4% (303) on the previous year.
- Red-dot was the most common use and accounted for 51% (5,238) of the total use in 2015.
- The proportion of non-discharges (81%) increased by one percentage point when compared with the previous year.
3. Taser use by type in 2015
There were 10,329 uses of Taser in 2015; red-dot was the most common use accounting for 51% (5,238) of all uses. The least common use was angled drive stun which accounted for 1% (87) of the total use.
The proportion of non-discharges accounted for 81% (8,408) whilst discharges accounted for 19% (1,921) of the total Taser use in 2015.
3.1 Figure 1: Police use of Taser by type, 2015, England and Wales
Source: Home Office. ‘Police use of Taser, England and Wales, 2015 tables’: Table 1 Note: Percentages have been rounded
The proportion of discharges across all 43 forces ranged from around one tenth to one third of uses. Figure 2 shows the number of forces and their proportion of discharges for 2015. The majority of forces (37%) discharged their Taser between 0-15% of the time. Only three forces discharged their Taser over 30% of the time in 2015. The average discharge use across all forces in 2015 was 19%.
3.2 Figure 2: Number of forces by the proportion of discharges, 2015, England and Wales
Source: Home Office. ‘Police use of Taser, England and Wales, 2015 tables’: Table 2 Note: Percentages have been rounded
4. Trends in Taser use between 2010 to 2015
In 2015 there were 10,329 uses of Taser by police, a 2% (234) increase on the previous year. The number of discharges decreased by 3% (-68) when compared with the previous year. The number of non-discharges increased by 4% (303) also when compared with the previous year.
Figure 3 shows a rise in Taser use from 2010 to 2013. This rise was mainly due to an increase in the number of non-discharges. The overall increase in Taser use coincided with the roll out of Taser to Specially Trained Units (STUs) for all 43 Home Office police forces which was completed in 2013.
4.1 Figure 3: Police use of Taser by type, 2010 to 2015, England and Wales
Source: Home Office. ‘Police use of Taser, England and Wales, 2015 tables’: Table 1
Note: Total figures exclude ‘not stated’ however 2013 and 2015 had zero ‘not stated’. 2013 was the first year in which all 43 Home Office police forces in England and Wales completed the rollout of Taser to Specially Trained Units – see appendix.
The ‘Police use of Taser’ release is an Official Statistics output produced to the highest professional standards and free from political interference. It has been produced by statisticians working in the Home Office Science Unit in accordance with the Home Office’s ‘Statement of compliance with the Code of Practice for Official Statistics’ which covers our policy on revisions and other matters. The Chief Statistician, as Head of Profession, reports to the National Statistician with respect to all professional statistical matters and oversees all Home Office National Statistics products with respect to the Code, being responsible for their timing, content and methodology.