Stop Tasering our children! Police told to restrict use in custody settings
Scotland's Children and Young People's Commissioner has called on police to immediately stop using Tasers and PAVA incapacitant spray on children in custody settings, warning that use-of-force incidents against young people are not being properly recorded. A report from Commissioner Nicola Killean found gaps in data on disability, age, ethnicity and sex, meaning Police Scotland's policies on tactics such as Tasers, spit hoods, bite guards, strip searches and physical restraint could not be properly scrutinised. Killean said every statistic represents a real child who may have suffered a traumatic experience, and stressed that any use of force must follow a rights-based approach.
The review, covering Police Scotland data from 2023-24, found Tasers were used 43 times against children, including 16 cases involving children with mental health issues and ten involving those with a learning disability or autism. There were 262 strip searches of children in custody, spit hoods or bite guards were used 148 times, and "empty hand" techniques such as strikes and takedowns were recorded 1,313 times. Killean made 21 recommendations, including better centralised data recording and an independent working group to review guidance against human rights standards, with Police Scotland urged to work with the Scottish Government to secure the resources needed.
- Commissioner urges end to Taser and PAVA spray use on children in custody
- Report cites 43 Taser uses and 262 strip searches on children in 2023-24
- 21 recommendations made, including better recording of children's data
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Scotland's Children and Young People's Commissioner, Nicola Killean, is an independent official whose job is to check that children's rights are respected, including in dealings with the police. She has been examining how Police Scotland treats children held in custody, focusing on tactics such as Tasers, PAVA spray (a form of incapacitant spray), spit hoods, bite guards, strip searches and physical restraint.
Her review looked at Police Scotland's own data from 2023-24 and found that these measures were used against children hundreds of times, including cases involving children with mental health conditions, learning disabilities or autism. It also found that record-keeping on who these tactics were used against, including age, disability, ethnicity and sex, was patchy, making it hard to properly check whether the police are acting fairly and proportionately.
This matters because it raises questions about how vulnerable young people are treated when they come into contact with the justice system, and whether current oversight is strong enough to catch problems. The Commissioner has put forward a set of recommendations for change, and it will now be up to Police Scotland and the Scottish Government to decide how to respond.