Taser usage by Metropolitan Police dropped by more than 10 per cent in the first six months of 2014, new figures show.
Statistics released by the Home Office reveal that the electroshock weapons were used by police in Greater London 992 times between January and June this year.
This represents an 11.7 per cent decrease from the usage level – 1,124 – recorded between July and December 2013.
However, when a year-on-year comparison is considered, the usage remains almost the same: 986 compared with 992.
Police say that Tasers, which were introduced to some forces in 2004, are only used in situations “involving violence or threats of violence with such severity that officers would need to use force to protect the public, the subject themselves and their colleagues”.
Figures concerning Taser usage between January and June in the whole of England and Wales show that the weapon was used 5,107 times.
However, Tasers were only used to incapacitate someone 19 per cent of the time – an officer simply taking the weapon out of its holster also constitutes usage.
In 2013, Tasers were used by officers in England and Wales 10,380 times – a sharp increase from the 2009 level (3,218).
