Taser troubles

More than 14,700 police are now armed with tasers. Figures due out tomorrow will show that in 2009 there were 3,500 taser deployments, rising to more than 7,000 a year in 2010 and 2011. The police have now been instructed to refrain from using the weapons at point blank range after a surge in complaints, reports The Guardian and The Times. The Independent Police Complaints Commission will soon be publishing a review into the use of Tasers, focusing on their use in confined spaces and against vulnerable people.