Does Taser Use Breach Human Rights?
Date:
1st July 2013
Sophie Khan on a recent Law Society debate
Does
Taser use breach fundamental human rights? That was the question at a
Law Society Public Debate Series event held on June 24, 2013.
The debate was well timed and the first real public interaction on the use of Tasers since they were introduced into the UK in 2003. Since 2008, the number of Taser-related incidents has increased dramatically across the country, especially those involving the vulnerable. Last year, in Kent, 50 per cent of Taser use was on those suffering from a mental-health disorder and, following a Freedom of Information request by OpenWorld News, it was discovered that a 12-year-old girl from St Helens had been Tasered by Merseyside Police in 2011.
Children fall within a specific risk group, which means that Tasers should only be used on them if there is no other feasible method of restrain them. This is a hard test to satisfy. The elderly, those suffering from epilepsy and pregnant women also fall within this group.
The debate centred around the question of whether Taser use breaches art.3 of the European Convention on Human Rights (protecting against inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment) and/or art.2 (protecting the right of every person to his or her life).
As I have previously mentioned ((2012) 177 JPN 343), the Taser is a firearm under s.5 of the Firearms Act 1968. It is not an “officer safety tool” like handcuffs or the baton. Tasers have the potential to kill and seriously injure people if they are misused. If they are misused, does that mean there has been potential breach of the human rights legislation? Any misuse of force could constitute a breach, but that applies more readily to the Taser, as the Taser has the ability to incapacitate an individual.
There is also a potential breach of human rights legislation if there is a lack of investigation or an inadequate investigation. Many of the individuals who have been Tasered complain to their police forces. However, a majority of the investigations are carried out locally by the force’s Professional Standards Department. There is no independent oversight into their investigations, so do they constitute investigations which are compliant with human rights?
Public bodies are under an obligation to carry out a full and proper investigation when complaints are made to them. If the complaints are about the infliction of pain, or if the Taser was used in a degrading or humiliating manner, then the complaint should be investigated independently. There is substantial case law to identify what amounts to a human rights compliant investigation, but the police, in my view, are failing to satisfy the test laid down by law and are potentially breaching human rights legislation.
Turning to the issue of training, does Taser training comply with the requirements under human rights legislation? At present Taser training is carried out over a three-day course, plus a one-day annual refresher. Unlike the training for firearms officers, who must prove their capability to use a firearm every six months, there is no regular training or certification process for officers trained in the Taser.
Without proper training, police forces in England and Wales are exposing themselves to potential breaches of human rights legislation, as there is a requirement on the state that law-enforcement officers should receive clear and precise instructions as to the manner and circumstances in which they should make use of Tasers.
Whilst it may be argued that specialist trained officers are receiving human rights compliant training, the same argument cannot be made about the training provided to non-specialist trained officers. In my view, there needs to be synchronization of the training as the number of Tasers across the country increases.
I have been told that the Home Office will be releasing its up-to-date statistics on the use of Tasers this September. The data, I understand, will show a significant increase in usage. This comes as no surprise to me as there has been a record number of Taser incidents reported in the news this year. The Taser is now being used as a weapon of first resort, rather than last. If that trend continues, the Taser will no longer be known for its acronym – of Thomas A. Swift’s Electric Rifle -- but for the headlines it continues to generate.
Author details
Sophie Khan, Solicitor-advocate specializing in Taser-related injuries at McMillan Williams and Panel Speaker at Law Society Public Debate Series event “Does Taser use breach fundamental human rights?” Tweets at @taserlawyer
http://www.criminallawandjustice.co.uk/features/Does-Taser-Use-Breach-Human-Rights
Does
Taser use breach fundamental human rights? That was the question at a
Law Society Public Debate Series event held on June 24, 2013.The debate was well timed and the first real public interaction on the use of Tasers since they were introduced into the UK in 2003. Since 2008, the number of Taser-related incidents has increased dramatically across the country, especially those involving the vulnerable. Last year, in Kent, 50 per cent of Taser use was on those suffering from a mental-health disorder and, following a Freedom of Information request by OpenWorld News, it was discovered that a 12-year-old girl from St Helens had been Tasered by Merseyside Police in 2011.
Children fall within a specific risk group, which means that Tasers should only be used on them if there is no other feasible method of restrain them. This is a hard test to satisfy. The elderly, those suffering from epilepsy and pregnant women also fall within this group.
The debate centred around the question of whether Taser use breaches art.3 of the European Convention on Human Rights (protecting against inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment) and/or art.2 (protecting the right of every person to his or her life).
As I have previously mentioned ((2012) 177 JPN 343), the Taser is a firearm under s.5 of the Firearms Act 1968. It is not an “officer safety tool” like handcuffs or the baton. Tasers have the potential to kill and seriously injure people if they are misused. If they are misused, does that mean there has been potential breach of the human rights legislation? Any misuse of force could constitute a breach, but that applies more readily to the Taser, as the Taser has the ability to incapacitate an individual.
There is also a potential breach of human rights legislation if there is a lack of investigation or an inadequate investigation. Many of the individuals who have been Tasered complain to their police forces. However, a majority of the investigations are carried out locally by the force’s Professional Standards Department. There is no independent oversight into their investigations, so do they constitute investigations which are compliant with human rights?
Public bodies are under an obligation to carry out a full and proper investigation when complaints are made to them. If the complaints are about the infliction of pain, or if the Taser was used in a degrading or humiliating manner, then the complaint should be investigated independently. There is substantial case law to identify what amounts to a human rights compliant investigation, but the police, in my view, are failing to satisfy the test laid down by law and are potentially breaching human rights legislation.
Turning to the issue of training, does Taser training comply with the requirements under human rights legislation? At present Taser training is carried out over a three-day course, plus a one-day annual refresher. Unlike the training for firearms officers, who must prove their capability to use a firearm every six months, there is no regular training or certification process for officers trained in the Taser.
Without proper training, police forces in England and Wales are exposing themselves to potential breaches of human rights legislation, as there is a requirement on the state that law-enforcement officers should receive clear and precise instructions as to the manner and circumstances in which they should make use of Tasers.
Whilst it may be argued that specialist trained officers are receiving human rights compliant training, the same argument cannot be made about the training provided to non-specialist trained officers. In my view, there needs to be synchronization of the training as the number of Tasers across the country increases.
I have been told that the Home Office will be releasing its up-to-date statistics on the use of Tasers this September. The data, I understand, will show a significant increase in usage. This comes as no surprise to me as there has been a record number of Taser incidents reported in the news this year. The Taser is now being used as a weapon of first resort, rather than last. If that trend continues, the Taser will no longer be known for its acronym – of Thomas A. Swift’s Electric Rifle -- but for the headlines it continues to generate.
Author details
Sophie Khan, Solicitor-advocate specializing in Taser-related injuries at McMillan Williams and Panel Speaker at Law Society Public Debate Series event “Does Taser use breach fundamental human rights?” Tweets at @taserlawyer
http://www.criminallawandjustice.co.uk/features/Does-Taser-Use-Breach-Human-Rights
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