Stop Tasers being given to ordinary police officers

Strathclyde Police have now completed a six-month pilot issuing Taser electro-shock weapons to ordinary officers. In the absence of any major public incidents, the pilot is likely to be branded a success, but Amnesty continues to challenge the necessity and the legitimacy of the scheme.

We have repeatedly highlighted that the move failed to adhere to human rights standards, and there is no evidence to justify such a major shift in policing policy. The Strathclyde pilot also never received political sign-off from Ministers, as required by the 1968 Firearms Act and as happened with new Taser deployments in England and Wales.

In addition the pilot was not governed by any overarching policy to ensure adherence to human rights standards, as demanded by case law from the European Court. With evidence from other countries suggesting that Taser use impacts most heavily on certain groups, such as those with epilepsy or mental health problems, an equalities impact statement should have been produced but never was.

Download a summary of our concerns over the pilot (pdf)

John Watson, Amnesty's programme director for Scotland, said: 'What has surprised me is the lack of political oversight of what is a major shift in policing policy. Scottish Government Ministers have washed their hands of the issue, directing all questions to the Strathclyde Police Authority. Yet the Chief Constable insists the Police Authority has no powers in the matter. So who exactly are the police accountable to when they bring dangerous weapons onto Scottish streets?'

Tasers are potentially lethal weapons, inherently open to abuse. Amnesty International believes that they have a role to play in policing but that they should be restricted to specially trained and accountable firearms officers for use as a lesslethal alternative to guns.

For more information about Amnesty's concerns over the Strathclyde Taser pilot, visit:

• Amnesty call for investigation into Strathclyde taser pilot
• Amnesty comments on apparent split over authorisation for police use of Tasers
• Amnesty calls for Strathclyde Taser pilot to be abandoned
• Read John Watson's Sunday Herald article on the dangers of Tasers - Published 6 February 2010 (PDF)