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The Use of Taser Weapons by New South Wales Police Force

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The Use of Taser Weapons by New South Wales Police Force The use of Taser weapons by New South Wales Police Force A special report to Parliament under section 31 of the Ombudsman Act 1974. November 2008 The use of Taser weapons by New South Wales Police Force A special report to Parliament under section 31 of the Ombudsman Act 1974. November 2008 Our logo has two visual graphic elements; the ‘blurry square’ and the ‘magnifying glass’ which represents our objectives. As we look at the facts with a magnifying glass, the blurry square becomes sharply defined, and a new colour of clarity is created. Any correspondence relating to this review should be sent to: The use of Taser weapons by New South Wales Police Force NSW Ombudsman Level 24, 580 George Street Sydney NSW 2000 General inquiries: 02 9286 1000 Facsimile: 02 9283 2911 Toll free (outside Sydney metro): 1800 451 524 Tel. typewriter (TTY): 02 9264 8050 Web: www.ombo.nsw.gov.au Email: [email protected] ISBN 978-1-921132-29-2 © Crown Copyright, NSW Ombudsman, November 2008 This work is copyright, however material from this publication may be copied and published by State or Federal Government Agencies without permission of the Ombudsman on the condition that the meaning of the material is not altered and the NSW Ombudsman is acknowledged as the source of the material. Any other persons or bodies wishing to use material must seek permission. 19 November 2008 Level 24 580 George Street Sydney NSW 2000 Phone 02 9286 1000 The Hon Peter Primrose MLC Fax 02 9283 2911 President Tollfree 1800 451 524 Legislative Council TTY 02 9264 8050 Parliament House Web www.ombo.nsw.gov.au Sydney NSW 2000 The Hon Richard Torbay MP Speaker Legislative Assembly Parliament House Sydney NSW 2000 Dear Mr President and Mr Speaker I submit a report pursuant to s.31 of the Ombudsman Act 1974. In accordance with the Act, I have provided the Minister for Police with a copy of this report. I draw your attention to the provisions of s.31AA of the Ombudsman Act 1974 in relation to the tabling of this report and request that you make it public forthwith. Yours sincerely Bruce Barbour Ombudsman Foreword The purpose of this report is to bring to the attention of Parliament and the community the findings of a recent investigation into the use of Taser weapons by members of the New South Wales Police Force. The report of that investigation is attached. Police have the power to use force in certain circumstances. This power is essential to enable officers to effectively carry out their mission of working with the community to reduce violence, crime and fear. However, there is significant public interest in ensuring that when force is used, this occurs in a way that is reasonable and proportionate. It is also important that any weapons used by police are, as far as possible reliable, effective, and do not subject officers and members of the public to unreasonable or unintended risk of harm. Taser is a proprietary name but is now commonly associated with a specific type of less lethal weapon designed to administer an electric shock on contact to cause incapacitation and/or submission of a person. The decision to investigate the NSW Police Force use of Tasers was made in part, because officers in specialist units had been using Tasers for five years, without any substantial review of their use. There also was a significant spike in Taser use by those units in 2007. At the same time, there were increasing reports from overseas raising significant concerns about Taser use including the potential for unjustified and excessive use of Tasers, the inadequate regulation of Taser use and their possible contribution to a number of deaths. The purpose of our investigation was to determine whether the policies, procedures and training requirements around police use of Tasers were appropriate and comprehensive; whether the use of Tasers by officers was reasonable and effective; whether it complied with legal and policy requirements; and whether there were any issues or concerns with Tasers or their use by officers. While we found that Tasers appear to have been a useful option for officers in the specialist units to achieve effective resolution of dangerous and high risk matters, we are of the view that the training materials, policy documents and accountability measures used by NSW Police Force should be significantly improved to ensure the use of Tasers is as safe and effective as possible. During the latter part of the investigation, the Commissioner of Police with the support of the then Minister decided to extend the use of Taser weapons to general duties officers acting as duty officers and supervisors in all local area commands from October 2008. The NSW Police Force is in the process of training and authorising some 2,000 general duties officers to use Tasers. It is likely that the number of incidents where Tasers are used will significantly increase in the future as a result. Already there have been a number of uses since the roll out. Unlike the general use by the specialist squads over the past five years, four of the first five uses by general duties officers have been in the ‘drive-stun’ mode. Using a Taser in this mode may place officers and people being subjected to a Taser application at greater risk, and has been found to be most susceptible to excessive use by police. The risks of using Tasers are far higher when used by general duties officers compared to specialist units given that general duties officers receive significantly less training about managing high risk incidents, and they do not work in well rehearsed team environments. In order to ensure that Taser use is safe, effective and consistent it will be imperative for these officers to receive clear, comprehensive and consistent guidance about Taser use. That is currently not the case in my opinion. There is no common standard operating procedures (SOPs) for Taser use across the NSW Police Force. Instead there are multiple SOPs used by different units and general duties officers. Furthermore, while the current SOPs give general guidance on the types of situations in which Taser use is authorised, they do not give adequate guidance about the situations in which they should not be used. The SOPs also do not give adequate guidance about the use of Tasers on potentially vulnerable individuals and in high risk environments. This poses an unacceptable risk to both officers who use the weapons and the general public. The roll out of Tasers to general duties police has been the subject of widespread media publicity and is justifiably a matter of high public interest. Given the expanded use of Taser weapons, it is essential for the training, policies and procedures governing Taser use to be clear, comprehensive and consistent, and for officers to be strictly accountable for weapon usage. The attached investigation report comprehensively deals with these issues and makes 29 recommendations to improve the current use of Tasers by NSW Police Force to achieve better accountability and safe use. Given the continuing uncertainty about the medical risks that Tasers may pose, and the risks surrounding use of Tasers by general duties officers, the use of Tasers by police should be carefully scrutinised into the future. I consider it is in the public interest that there be a further two year review of Taser use by an independent authority and that there be no further roll out of Tasers to general duties officers until such a review is conducted and the findings reported publicly. Such a review will help to ensure that police use of Tasers is lawful, reasonable and appropriate, and that any matters that arise as a consequence of Taser use by general duties officers are properly addressed. Bruce Barbour Ombudsman Contents Executive Summary ......................................................................................I Chapter 1. Introduction ..............................................................................1 1.1. NSW Ombudsman investigation ............................................................................................................. 1 1.2. Methodology ............................................................................................................................................. 2 Chapter 2. Background ..............................................................................7 2.1. Use of force in policing ............................................................................................................................ 7 2.2. The Taser ................................................................................................................................................. 8 2.3. Advantages and limitations of the Taser ................................................................................................ 9 2.4. The effectiveness of the Taser .............................................................................................................. 10 Chapter 3. Concerns about the Taser ......................................................13 3.1. The risk of death following electric shock by a Taser ........................................................................ 13 3.2. The risk of injury following electric shock by a Taser ........................................................................ 20 3.3. Mission creep ......................................................................................................................................... 21 3.4. The possibility of Tasers being misused ............................................................................................
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