Taser police breaking law, says Amnesty

Human rights organisation Amnesty International has written to justice secretary Kenny MacAskill urging him to stop the trial immediately on the grounds that it was "clearly unlawful" under European law, and hold a public consultation on the role of Tasers in policing.

Strathclyde Police's six-month scheme, which started last month, has issued 30 ordinary police officers with the electroshock weapons, which work at 50,000 volts.

Amnesty's legal review of police use of the weapon, carried out by Aidan O'Neill, QC, said a European Court ruling implied that governments had a duty to define the circumstances in which police could use force and guns, and, under firearms legislation, Tasers were classed as weapons.

He also said that Scottish ministers were required to give written authorisation before any new schemes to arm police officers could take place, and that such authorisation had been obtained for the Strathclyde pilot.

So far, Mr MacAskill has insisted that the use of Tasers is an "operational matter" for police.

Yesterday, however, both Labour and the Lib Dems called on Mr MacAskill to answer Amnesty's call.

Labour's community safety spokesman, James Kelly, MSP, said: "Kenny MacAskill cannot simply duck his ministerial responsibilities. He must take charge of the situation and explain in no uncertain terms the legality of the pilot."

Liberal Democrat Justice spokesman Robert Brown, MSP, added that Mr MacAskill must take the "policy responsibility" for Tasers. He said: "In England it is the Home Secretary who signs off use of Tasers among police forces, and we want to see this happen in Scotland.

"In the light of the doubts about the legal position, the Taser pilot should be halted forthwith until the legal position is sorted out."

Green MSP Patrick Harvie, MSP, called the Taser pilot "inappropriate and potentially illegal".

Tam Baillie, Scotland's Commissioner for Children & Young People, said clear guidelines about the use of Tasers would benefit both children and police officers: "Police and Scottish ministers cannot wait until there is a Taser tragedy involving a child to take action on this."

Diego Quiroz, policy officer at the Scottish Human Rights Commission, said that they did not believe that a "human rights framework" setting out the responsibilities of public authorities, such as ministers and the police, had been put in place.

They also demanded that the justice minister "should assure himself of any evidence that a further Taser roll-out will comply with human rights obligations".

But the Scottish Police Federation, which represents officers under the rank of superintendent, claimed Amnesty was "scaremongering" about police use of Tasers. Chairman Les Gray said: "We believe Tasers will make a significant contribution to protecting the public. It will also help reduce the number of assaults on police officers."

In a statement, Strathclyde Police said: "Only 30 officers have been trained to use Tasers and there will only be four officers in the Strathclyde Force area carrying Tasers at any one time. The pilot will be fully and independently evaluated."