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A third of incidents that required police officers to draw a taser during an eight-month trial involved a person having a mental health crisis.
From March to November this year, police officers aimed their tasers 22 times, although they were only fired three times. Of those 22, seven related to a “mental health crisis or episode."
However, the police say this is to be expected and aiming a taser “is a proportionate and safe way of resolving incidents where an individual may have otherwise taken action to seriously harm themselves."
The results of the trial have been released as part of a proposal by the Home Affairs Minister to allow more full-time police officers to carry tasers.
Previously, only firearms-trained officers have been allowed to carry them. However, last November, the States agreed to a one-year trial to assess the impact of non-firearms officers, who were trained to use tasers, carrying them.
Now Deputy Gregory Guida, who replaced the late Len Norman as Home Affairs Minister over the summer, says the trial has been a success and the extended use of tasers should become a permanent fixture.
Pictured: Home Affairs Minister Gregory Guida: "Excellent relationship between police and community".
However, he is proposing that the one-year trial should be cut short, arguing that, if it did end at the end of April, as the States decided, the process would then be delayed by the June election.
The trial was proposed specifically to assess who tasers had been used on, particularly if they were under 18, with a mental health issue or if the officer had been on their own.
Reporting on its findings, Deputy Guida said: “There is good evidence from the trial period that taser has not been disproportionately used on those under 18 or on ethnic minority groups and that use by lone officers makes up a small percentage of incidents.”
He added: “It is an unfortunate fact that the State of Jersey Police are required to deal with an increasing volume of calls to those in distress as a result of mental health problems.
“While these incidents are very often resolved without any use of force, on a very small minority of occasions the use of Taser is a proportionate and safe way of resolving incidents where an individual may have otherwise taken action to seriously harm themselves.
“The seven incidents in which taser was drawn during a situation involving a person undergoing a mental health crisis or episode, represent only a small fraction of the total mental health incidents that SOJP attended during the trial period (the States of Jersey Police have attended or directly managed 816 mental health incidents so far this year, as at the 24 November).
“This is reflective of the fact that the use of taser to resolve such situations is only done as a last resort, when really necessary.”
Concluding that the Assembly should approve the transition from pilot to permanent, the minister said: “It is clear from this trial that concerns around a sharp increase in the use of taser by police officers under the new deployment model have not materialised.
“Rather, the States of Jersey Police has used Taser with professionalism and discretion, and in compliance with best practice, to protect the public and ensure officer safety.
“[I have] absolute confidence that extending the arrangements that have been in place since March 2021 will not damage the excellent relationship between our police force and the community that they serve.
“It will, however, ensure our police force have the correct tools to do their job and keep us all safe.”
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