ABSTRACT
This chapter focuses on the law, policy, and training around projectile electric-shock weapons. I start by outlining the law and guidance in England and Wales and put this into international context by looking at international norms, standards and policies around the use of such weapons worldwide. I then discuss and critique training in England and Wales, drawing on unique access to College of Policing Lead Instructor TASER Training and training in three forces in the jurisdiction. In offering this analysis, my intention is not to disparage the training curriculum in its entirety, nor to criticise the trainers, many of whom are dedicated to providing high-quality training. Indeed, there are some positive elements to the training in England and Wales and some resonance to claims that it is amongst the best in the world. Ultimately, however, training, law, and policy guidance are largely empty of specifics about when the weapon should be used, and about the threshold for appropriate use, and contain few specifics on, for example, use on vulnerable groups. Instead, they devolve such critical decisions down to individual officers, whilst giving them little information about when such use may be appropriate to help inform their decision making.
