RESTRICTIONS ON THE USE OF TASERS

That this House is alarmed that the use of Tasers in England and Wales has doubled to more than 7,000 a year; notes that the Taser is a potentially lethal weapon delivering more than 50,000 volts; points out that whereas firearms officers receive months of training and are constantly reassessed, Taser-trained officers get just three days' training; is concerned that an officer in Lancashire who Tasered a blind man is not being charged by the Crown Prosecution Service; is particularly concerned about their use in confined spaces and against vulnerable individuals; believes that the weapon should not be seen as a natural extension to a police officer's equipment and should be kept in the hands of only a small number of specially-trained officers; and calls on the Secretary of State for the Home Department to restrict the issue and use of such weapons to just a core of specially-trained officers.