Sign in. It’s quick, free and it’s up to you.
An account is an optional way to support the work we do. Find out more.
THE POLICE FORCE in England and Wales risks “losing its legitimacy” due to its disproportionate use of Taser electric shock weapons against black people, a watchdog cautioned today.
The warning comes just months after the high-profile manslaughter trial of a former police officer over the death of black ex-Premier League footballer Dalian Atkinson.
Atkinson died in 2016 after Benjamin Monk discharged his Taser against him three times, once for 33 seconds, and kicked him twice in the head.
He was sentenced to eight years jail in June.
In its report, the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) said that “black people were disproportionately involved in our independent investigations involving the use of Taser”.
The report was based on 101 independent probes of incidents involving Tasers carried out between 2015 and 2020 in England and Wales.
It found that 22% of the people Tasered were black and 71% were white. The proportion of black people in England and Wales is around 3%.
IOPC director general Michael Lockwood said Britain’s ethnic minorities “deserve a clear and transparent answer” on the disproportionate use of Tasers against them.
“Policing has to change and be more responsive to community concern or risk losing legitimacy in the eyes of the public,” he said.
The watchdog’s warning comes on top of recent government figures which revealed that black Britons are nine times more likely to be stopped and searched than their white counterparts in England and Wales.
Ethnic minorities are also under-represented within the police forces, particularly in senior ranks.
The IOPC also raised concerns about prolonged and repeated use of Tasers, saying that almost a third of incidents could have been de-escalated.
Lockwood added that police had a duty to justify the use of Tasers to the public, particularly in cases involving children and people with mental health problems.
Six of the 94 people in the cases examined were aged under 18.
Incidents involving Tasers have increased in recent years, from 17,000 in 2017 to 2018 to around 32,000 in 2019 to 2020, according to Britain’s interior ministry.
The IOPC recommended improving police training and increasing scrutiny of Taser use.
To embed this post, copy the code below on your site
Didn’t release any figures on how many uses were not proportionate to the situation though? Race baiting
@Rocky: defo. Using a percentage of usage v population and demographic is so basic. It makes it sound like its not situation based and just random use. Lazy stats
@Rocky: Here’s the report:
I noticed that 24% of people with mental illness or learning disabilities, who were tased, were Black.
“Of the people involved in these cases, 42 were White (72%), 14 were Black (24%), two were Asian and one was of mixed ethnicity. Seventeen (29%) were aged 25 or under, including four who were under 18 (7%). Half of the individuals (29) were between 26 and 45 years-old, 15% were aged 46 to 55 and only two were over 55″
Why?
The report says that police were more likely perceive a Black person with a mental illness or a learning disability as more aggressive, stronger, less compliant in encounters were a taser was used. But does this explain the difference?
Members of the Afro-Caribbean community in the UK are nearly 10 times more likely to develop schizophrenia than white people:
“… the lifetime risk of developing schizophrenia in siblings of second-generation (UK-born) African-Caribbeans is 17%, in first-generation African-Caribbeans it is 9%, and in white British patients it is just 2%.”
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2418996/
So UK Police many have to deal with more mental heath crises involving black people, it’s not necessarily due to bias.
The reason for high rates of schizophrenia is debated. One possibility is low vitamin D during pregnancy affecting the developing brain. The other possibility is higher rates of poverty and stress during childhood which triggers schizophrenia in those with a genetic vulnerability.
@Rocky: Surely the better measure… what % of the events where Taser were used were not appropriate.
The laziness of this research is a bit like “Report shows bank robbers unfairly targeted by police for crimes”
@David Jordan: thanks for the basic facts. Journalists should take note. Also the mental health issues were new knowledge for me. I checked out your claim about rates of Schizophrenia and was surprised to see it was correct.
@David Jordan: great to see the link to the source paper. Click bait headlines are becoming more common on here, there are so many potential biases in that study, to pick one figure like that and run with it is a worrying trend in journalism. Cops are being put on the back foot more and more, and giving licence to a new breed of scrote with no fear of reprimand for their carry on
@Simon Finglas: very true.
@Ger Murphy: yeah the example that came to my head was if there was an ethnic minority that represented say less than half a percent of a population. But were identified as responsible for 20% of detected burglaries. That somehow there is some sort of injustice here against this minority.
Don’t act the mickey and you won’t get tased. It’s not that difficult
@Gerry from the Block: why would the Independent Office for Police Conduct engage in race baiting?
@EillieEs: For the craic I’d say
@EillieEs: Ideological possession probably. If they’re anything like the police force anyway.
@Gerry from the Block: don’t be black and you’ll get tasered less
@Sean Salmon: also don’t be young and male and you’ll get tasered less. It’s almost like there’s something else at play here other than skin colour…
Do what the police ask and you won’t be tasered, simples
@Ian James Burgess: Advice to live by dude. Pity so many folk don’t do the simple thing..
@Gerry from the Block: Not gettin’ on board with this though. Injustices happen and should be acknowledged.
@Ian James Burgess: Police abuse power all the time, especially in this country. Your advice may work in the majority of cases, but oftentimes injustices are committed.
I watched the release of this report live on BBC earlier today. The headline is very misleading. The report did show that Tazers were drawn at a higher percentage on black people, but were actually used at a higher percentage on white people (i.e. discharged at a higher percentage on white people). This I have to say is lazy journalism and potentially rase bating. Can’t expect my comment to stay up too long.
@Alan Wright: Lazy commenting
Black British citizens, with African and/or African-Caribbean ancestry, are the largest ethnic minority population, at three percent of the total population. 3%
Alan do the math
@Jack Burton: it’s lazy reporting if you don’t include crime statistics. I’m sure most of these were young men but nobody’s making the argument that this is an issue…because everyone knows young men commit most of the crime.
I’d love to know why they were tased in the first place, and under what circumstances, rather than the color of their skin.
If the person is on drugs that person will need to tasered multiple times regardless of skin colour
@Liam Mc Meel: Only of they’re on the Charlie. The potheads will just giggle and eat some snacks..
@Gerry from the Block: Stoners are basically already tased
@Liam Mc Meel: But if that kills them? This is a domestic police force, not an army at war. I doubt any decent person wants to cause a fellow citizen’s death. The ones who do should be accountable.
Ok so lets see what percentage of the tasers were used in London and then give a similar racial breakdown. Im guessing not many people were tasered in chipping norton.
Cool statistic bro. Now do crime stats.
If a third of the deployments could have been deescalated, then are they not by definition non proportionate and therefore illegal. How many of this third have the commission investigated as assault with a firearm which they seem to be implying they are. How many files to cps arose or charges arose from this report?
I support the use of Tasors as apposed to being beaten senseless with a police baton, I’m sure most people commenting on the rights and wrongs of Taser use use have never been in the position of being verbally or physically threatened, but i do believe unless violence or a weapon is in use a Taser should not be used the police have Pepper spray buttons handcuffs etc that can be deployed before the use of Tasor. Look at how many times an officer has deployed a Tasor some will stick out more than others.
have your say