The Irish Council for Civil Liberties (ICCL) said they are “deeply concerned” at Gardaí being given tasers as part of a pilot scheme.
They said the move was a “significant and fundamental shift in community policing” and that “the speed with which this pilot has been introduced is incredibly concerning.
Joe O’Brien, Executive Director of ICCL, said “introducing tasers into frontline community policing marks a significant shift in our model of policing by consent – and it’s a shift which the public have not had any input into.”
“Members of An Garda Síochána say that tasers will help to keep them safe, but the number of gardaí assaulted on duty is falling[2] and international evidence and experience suggest that in fact tasers may exacerbate violent situations. The work of An Garda Síochána is extremely challenging and at times dangerous, and gardaí should be supported to be as safe as possible in their work, but introducing weapons onto our streets is not the answer.
“Furthermore, we are concerned that overlaying this taser pilot on top of the body-worn camera pilot which is already in operation is poor research practice. Conducting two pilots concurrently will confuse any results and prevent the robust evaluation necessary. If use-of-force patterns change during this six-month trial, it will be impossible to know which intervention caused the change.”
The ICCL said that international evidence on taser use demonstrates that they cause serious physical harm and psychological trauma and can even increase violence against police.
A 2017 studyfound that tasers may not be an effective deterrent to reduce violence and in some cases may increase assaults against police as people interpret a taser as an aggressor and perceive themselves to be in a hostile environment.
Per the ICCL, a 2021 review of tasers by the Independent Office for Police Conduct in England and Wales found that once more officers were trained in their use, the use of tasers increased, and that they were used disproportionately against Black people and other minority communities.
Emily Williams, ICCL Policing and Justice Policy Officer, added “while we welcome some of the safeguards that have put in place for taser use (including mandatory reporting to Fiosrú (the Office of the Police Ombudsman), a three-day training for gardaí deploying them, and the recording of their usage for oversight purposes) and the intention to subject their wider deployment to “rigorous evaluation”, we are concerned that any evaluation may not be published.”
“Public scrutiny and independent analysis of taser use, including any unintended consequences, are essential to ensure that they are used in a humane and rights-respecting manner,” she said.