Featured in The Sunday Times Magazine - Don't tase me bro!
http://www.thesundaytimes.co.uk/sto/Magazine/article1397444.ece
Sunday, 22 June 2014
Interview on Roberto Perrone's Show on BBC Three Counties - 8 April 2014
08/04/2014, Roberto Perrone - BBC Three Counties Radio http://bbc.in/1eeAtO5
Interviewed on Taser use across the Three Counties.
Interviewed on Taser use across the Three Counties.
Interviewed on BBC Radio Berkshire - 8 April 2014
08/04/2014, Andrew Peach - BBC Radio Berkshire http://bbc.in/1sv8LR1
Interviewed on BBC Radio Berkshire the Taser use across South of England.
Interviewed on BBC Radio Berkshire the Taser use across South of England.
Interviewed on The Breakfast Show at BBC London 94.9 - 8 April 2014
Police tasers and Peaches Geldoff, The Breakfast Show with Penny Smith and Paul Ross - BBC London 94.9 http://bbc.in/1huEWXV
Interviewed on the increased Taser use by Metropolitan Police.
Interviewed on the increased Taser use by Metropolitan Police.
Quoted in Daily Mail - Police used Tasers 28 times EVERY DAY last year sparking fears the stun gun is being mis-used on 27 March 2014
Quoted in Daily Mail:
Sophie Khan, legal director of Police Action Centre: 'The statistics show that there is an ongoing issue with the use of Tasers by police, especially as the statistics suggest that the Taser is being used as a compliance tool which is in direct contravention of the Taser Policy and Guidance.
'Now that up-to-date figures have been released the Home Office must take steps to address the concerns that have been repeatedly raised about Taser use to ensure we have policing by consent and not policing by compliance.'
Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2590703/Police-use-taser-guns-surged-28-times-EVERY-DAY-year-sparking-fears-mis-used.html#ixzz35O0972FD
http://www.standard.co.uk/panewsfeeds/police-use-of-tasers-up-by-a-third-9230184.html
Interviewed on Clive Bull Show on LBC 97.3 - 6 March 2014
Interviewed on the Clive Bull Show about the increased use of Taser on children.
Police Taser Use On Children Soars 500%
Taser use on children by the Metropolitan Police has increased six-fold over the last four years.
Officers fired the weapon at children 131 times between 2008 and 2012.
LBC's Senior Reporter Tom Swarbrick says: "The figures come from the Children's Rights Alliance for England who say officers from all but nine boroughs in London fired tasers on children.
"In 2008 there were only 9 instances but that rose to 53 in 2012. nearly half of all the instances came from just four boroughs: Croydon, Southwark, Lambeth and Lewisham."
A child in Lambeth is 30 times more likely to be tasered than a youngster in Richmond.
The Met Police insist that the rise is in line with the increased usage of tasers across the board.
A statement read: "The increased use of Taser on under 18-year-olds is in line with the general increase in the use of Taser across the board which is as a direct result of the fact that over the past year taser-trained officers are now present on all 32 boroughs.
"It is important to note that in the majority of cases the presence of a Taser (drawn, aimed, red dot, arced) is sufficient in bringing a violent or potentially violent situation to a swift conclusion.
"All officers authorised to carry Taser are thoroughly trained, and use it in accordance with all the relevant guidelines.
"The situations in which Taser is considered for use, along with existing tactical options, are those involving violence or threats of violence with such severity that officers would need to use force to protect the public, the subject themselves and their colleagues.
"Taser creates space between the subject and police, reducing the need for physical contact and also the risk of unintended or unnecessary injuries to all parties.
"Every use is recorded and monitored."
http://www.lbc.co.uk/police-taser-use-on-children-soars-500-87012
Interviewed on Good Morning Wales - 30 January 2014
30/01/2014, Good Morning Wales - BBC Radio Wales http://bbc.in/1kbPWgr
Interviewed on the rise in Taser use by Welsh police forces
Taser gun use by Welsh police forces is cause for concern, charity says
Police forces say the Taser often acts as a deterrent
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-wales-25957591
http://www.southwales-eveningpost.co.uk/Tasers-defuse-high-risk-situations-8221-involving/story-20530441-detail/story.html
Interviewed on the rise in Taser use by Welsh police forces
Taser gun use by Welsh police forces is cause for concern, charity says
Police forces say the Taser often acts as a deterrent
A rise in the number of times police were authorised to use Taser guns is a cause for concern, said a charity.
Gwent, North and South Wales police forces authorised Taser use 1,748 times in 2013, compared with 1,271 in 2012 - a rise of 477.
But the number of times Tasers were fired in Wales has remained relatively static over the last three years.
Police forces said Tasers could be successful in deterring violence in high-risk situations.
Last year a Taser was fired 49 times in Wales, resulting in six reported injuries.
Tasers work by using an electrical charge to disrupt signals from the brain to the muscles causing temporary paralysis which lasts a few seconds.
The number of times officers were authorised to use a Taser rose by more than a third in 2013, according to figures obtained by BBC Radio Wales from three out of the four police forces in Wales. Dyfed Powys Police did not provide figures for authorisations.
The Police Action Centre (PAC) - a charity which represents about a dozen people in the UK who have been injured by a Taser - said the increase in authorisations represents a change to a style of policing by force.
"The figures are concerning because the level of violent crime remains the same and there's no real increase in the level of crime across the country - and that applies to Wales as well," said Sophie Khan, a solicitor advocate and legal director of PAC.
"But the number of authorisations continues to increase, and Tasers should only be used if there is a life-threatening incident to a member of the public or police - and that would involve a rise in violent crime and that isn't happening in this case."
Ms Khan said that in the USA and other countries there was a style of policing by force while in the UK the tradition was of policing "by consent".
She added the figures showed that police officers in Wales were using Tasers outside life-threatening incidents and there were questions as to whether the use was lawful.
Supt Gary Ashton, from North Wales Police, said while the number of Tasers had not increased within the force, more staff had been trained in their use.
"The Taser is brightly coloured and overtly worn by officers and therefore clearly visible when they attend incidents," he said.
"Taser officers attending some incidents of disorder report that because members of the public are aware the officer has a Taser, and presumably are aware of the effects, they are more amenable to officer requests."
Assistant Chief Constable Julian Williams, from South Wales Police, said the Taser provided an "additional tool to defuse high-risk situations involving extreme violence or the threat of violence".
"In the majority of incidents, the mere threat of its use has been enough to deter assailants and ensure a peaceful resolution of the incident," he added.
A spokesperson for Gwent Police said officers who used Tasers were specially trained in line with national guidelines. Each situation where Tasers were used was risk assessed, and deployment was granted by an authorised individual.
"The number of times the Taser has been fired is a relatively small number and this shows that the mere presence of a Taser acts as a deterrent to a potential offender," said the force.
"It should also be noted that not all violent incidents warrant the authorisation of a Taser and that there are reductions in the numbers of firearms incidents."
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