Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment she has made of the risks to people fitted with medical electronic devices of the use by police of tasers; and what steps she has taken to mitigate those risks.

The medical implications of Taser use are independently assessed by the Scientific Advisory Committee on the Medical Implications of Less-Lethal weapons (SACMILL) SACMILL’s latest statement can be found at:

http://data.parliament.uk/DepositedPapers/Files/DEP2012-0729/96605%20Library%20Deposit.pdf

The police Authorised Professional Practice on Taser makes clear that before specially trained officers use Taser, there are a number of factors to be considered. These include whether there are any pre-existing medical conditions. The APP also states that all persons who have been subjected to the discharge of a Taser should be examined by a Forensic Medical Examiner (FME) as soon as practicable. Where officers believe that a person to whom a Taser has been applied has a cardiac pacemaker, other implanted device or pre-existing medical condition, an immediate referral should be made to hospital.

The guidance can be found at: https://www.app.college.police.uk/app-content/armed-policing/conducted-energy-devices-taser/