Tasers Used 145 Times On Children In A Year
Thursday 21st May 2014
An LBC investigation has found police in England used tasers nearly 150 times on children under the age of 16 in 2013.
Some children as young as 12 were found to have been tasered.
The investigation found Met Police used tasers on under 16s the most (37 times in a year), more than twice as often as any other force in the country.
Taser use is defined as a police officer's taser being drawn, aimed, arced, red dotted, drive stun, angled drive stun or fired.
The investigation found London's police force actually drew tasers 13 times in 2013.
37 police forces out of a possible 43 responded to LBC's Freedom of Information request which asked:
"How many times have tasers been used in your force on people under the age of 16 in 2013?
"How many times have tasers been used in your force on people under the age of 16 in 2013?
Examples of why tasers were used include when an under 16 caused damage and threatened hospital staff, and when a youth was thought to have been in possession of a weapon.
