11964 Tasers
I write in connection with your request for information dated 25th May 2020 and received by this office on that date. Below are the questions raised in your request and our response.
Please could I ask for the number of occasions in which a conducted energy device (i.e. a taser) was used in an incident by police staff between April 1st 2019 and March 31st 2020?
Could you state in how many of these incidents the CED/taser was discharged and how many times it was not discharged?
Could you also provide the same data for the time period April 1st 2018 to March 31st 2019 and also April 1st 2017 to March 31st 2018?
We have looked at the content of your request and must advise you that we consider the information is exempt under Section 21 of the Freedom of information Act 2000 (Information Accessible by other means. This exemption is a class based, absolute exemption and there is no requirement for us to consider prejudice or a public interest.
The information from 1st April 2017 – 31st March 2020 is available via the below link.
Please note any statistical data supplied in relation to Freedom of Information requests is a snapshot of data held at the time the request was received by the Freedom of Information office and is subject to constant change/updates.
The Cleveland Police response to your request is unique and it should be noted that Police Forces do not use generic systems or identical procedures to capture and record data therefore responses from Cleveland Police should not be used as a comparison with any other force response you receive.
If you are not satisfied with this response or any actions taken in dealing with your request you have the right to request an independent internal review of your case under our review procedure. The APP College of Policing guidance states that a request for internal review should be made within 20 working days of the date on this response or 40 working days if extenuating circumstances to account for the delay can be evidenced.
We have made every effort to ensure a response was provided within statutory deadlines, however due to current circumstances delays have been unavoidable. If your response was late we apologise for any inconvenience it may have caused. If we can be of any further assistance please do not hesitate to contact this office.