A Crime and Misconduct Commission evaluation of Taser use by the Queensland Police Service has found there is no evidence of widespread misuse, but further improvements are still required.
Deputy Director, Research, Dr Rebecca Denning, says the CMC was required to evaluate the implementation and effects of 27 recommendations arising from a joint QPS-CMC review in 2009 following the death of a man in north Queensland who was tasered.
‘So far, 24 of the 27 recommendations surrounding Taser policy and practices have been implemented and we are seeing signs of some improvement,’ Dr Denning said.
‘The frequency of Taser uses decreased considerably when the revised policy was introduced in September 2009, and we saw some reduction in the proportion of people who were the target of multiple or prolonged Taser discharges.
‘There was also a noticeable decrease in Taser deployments against handcuffed people and the Taser usage data indicated there was no mission creep in terms of officers using Tasers in less serious situations.’
However, according to Dr Denning there is still need for improvement.
‘Taser deployments since the introduction of the revised policy were generally more likely than before to involve a person suspected of having an underlying mental or physical health condition,’ Dr Denning said.
‘This is despite the revised policy highlighting the possible risks of Taser use against people in potentially ‘at-risk’ groups.
‘Additionally, we would like to see a further reduction in the number of people who are the targets of multiple or prolonged Taser discharges.
The CMC report also raises concerns that over 20 per cent of Taser uses were targeted at Indigenous people. They are more likely to suffer from illnesses such as heart and lung disease placing them at greater risk of harm from Taser deployments.
Dr Denning said that public interest in the use of Tasers remained high.
‘The community as well as the CMC wants to see high standards in how Queensland police use Tasers,’ Dr Denning said.
‘This evaluation, based primarily on QPS data, will provide a baseline against which we will continue to monitor the use of Tasers.
‘Our next review, which will focus on the key issues identified in our report, will gather information from a wider range of stakeholders and commence by the end of 2011. We also await the outcomes of the inquest into the death of Antonio Carmelo Galeano.’
The CMC has made 21 recommendations which focus on further changes to policy and practices, including improved monitoring of Taser use by the QPS.
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