Taser use (FOI Ref: 508/26
FOI Request Reference: 508/26
Thank you for your request for information, received 21/2/2026.
Request
Please provide the following information regarding the use of Conductive Energy Devices (Tasers) by West Midlands Police for the last five calendar years (including the most recent year for which data is available):
- Frequency of Taser Use
For each of the last five years, please provide the total number of incidents in which a Taser was used, broken down by:
- Taser drawn (red-dot/aimed)
- Taser arced (warning arc)
- Taser fired (probe discharge)
- Taser used in drive-stun/contact mode
- Any other recognised Home Office categories of Taser usage
- Officer Deployment Information
For each of the last five years, please provide:
- The number of officers authorised to carry Tasers (AFOs and non‑AFOs if applicable)
- The number of individual officers who discharged a Taser at least once
- The number of incidents where multiple officers used or drew Tasers in the same event (if recorded)
- Contextual Information (If Held)
- Any available breakdown by local policing area (LPA) or district
- Any available breakdown by incident type (e.g., violent crime, mental health incident, domestic incident), if recorded in routine reporting
Response
Our data is not organised in such a way as to allow us to provide this information within the appropriate (cost) limit within the Freedom of Information (FOI) Act (see ‘Reason for Decision’ below).
Although excess cost removes the force’s obligations under the Freedom of Information Act, as a gesture of goodwill I have supplied information, relative to your request, retrieved before it was realised that the fees limit would be exceeded. I trust this is helpful, but it does not affect our legal right to rely on the fee’s regulations for the remainder of the request
- Frequency of Taser Use
For each of the last five years (year by year please), please provide the total number of incidents in which a Taser was used, broken down by:
- Taser drawn (red-dot/aimed)
- Taser arced (warning arc)
- Taser fired (probe discharge)
- Taser used in drive-stun/contact mode
- Any other recognised Home Office categories of Taser usage
Our data is organised in financial year.
Please note that from Jan 2024 onwards our recording systems changed.
|
2020/21 |
2021/22 |
2022/23 |
|
|
Red Dot |
1,432 |
1,016 |
908 |
|
Drawn/Aimed |
609 |
722 |
739 |
|
Fired |
329 |
245 |
221 |
|
Angled Drive Stun |
9 |
6 |
2 |
|
Total |
2405 |
2009 |
1879 |
1st Jan 2024 - 31st Dec 2024
|
Red Dot |
705 |
|
Drawn |
345 |
|
Aimed |
253 |
|
Arced |
15 |
|
Fired |
115 |
|
Angled Drive Stun/Direct Contact Mode |
2 |
|
Total |
1435 |
1st Jan 2025 - 31st Dec 2025
|
Red Dot |
834 |
|
Drawn |
391 |
|
Aimed |
352 |
|
Arced |
14 |
|
Fired |
117 |
|
Angled Drive Stun/Direct Contact Mode |
0 |
|
Total |
1708 |
1st Jan 2026 - 21st February 2026
|
Red Dot |
72 |
|
Drawn |
56 |
|
Aimed |
44 |
|
Arced |
1 |
|
Fired |
9 |
|
Angled Drive Stun/Direct Contact Mode |
0 |
|
Total |
208 |
- Officer Deployment Information
For each of the last five years, please provide:
- The number of officers authorised to carry Tasers (AFOs and non‑AFOs if applicable)
2022 - 1091 officers trained
2023 - 1124 officers trained
2024 - 1202 officers trained
2025 - 1211 officers trained
Current - 1386 officers trained
The above figures were recorded at different times each year.
- The number of individual officers who discharged a Taser at least once
Exemption Section 12 Cost
- The number of incidents where multiple officers used or drew Tasers in the same event (if recorded)
Exemption 12 - Cost
- Contextual Information (If held)
- Any available breakdown by local policing area (LPA) or district
|
2020/21 |
2021/22 |
2022/23 |
|
|
Birmingham NHT |
162 |
131 |
110 |
|
Coventry NHT |
100 |
89 |
28 |
|
Dudley NHT |
17 |
10 |
9 |
|
Sandwell NHT |
29 |
26 |
53 |
|
Solihull NHT |
7 |
6 |
87 |
|
Walsall NHT |
32 |
14 |
8 |
|
Wolverhampton NHT |
23 |
15 |
6 |
|
Traffic/CMPG |
200 |
275 |
186 |
|
Operations |
234 |
232 |
222 |
|
Response |
1230 |
1138 |
1165 |
|
Other |
106 |
52 |
2 |
1st Jan 2024 - 31st Dec 2024
|
Red dot |
Drawn |
Aimed |
Fired |
Arced |
Direct Contact |
Total |
|
|
Birmingham |
276 |
128 |
111 |
39 |
5 |
2 |
561 |
|
Coventry |
42 |
39 |
16 |
8 |
1 |
0 |
106 |
|
Dudley |
43 |
22 |
11 |
8 |
0 |
0 |
84 |
|
Sandwell |
97 |
30 |
34 |
14 |
5 |
0 |
180 |
|
Solihull |
21 |
7 |
5 |
6 |
0 |
0 |
39 |
|
Walsall |
58 |
37 |
27 |
9 |
2 |
0 |
133 |
|
Wolverhampton |
69 |
31 |
14 |
12 |
0 |
0 |
126 |
1st Jan 2025 - 31st Dec 2025
|
Red dot |
Drawn |
Aimed |
Fired |
Arced |
Direct Contact |
Total |
|
|
Birmingham |
411 |
188 |
157 |
59 |
5 |
0 |
812 |
|
Coventry |
65 |
50 |
32 |
5 |
2 |
0 |
154 |
|
Dudley |
95 |
41 |
32 |
10 |
0 |
0 |
178 |
|
Sandwell |
85 |
34 |
35 |
15 |
3 |
0 |
172 |
|
Solihull |
26 |
14 |
9 |
3 |
0 |
0 |
52 |
|
Walsall |
61 |
40 |
47 |
11 |
1 |
0 |
160 |
|
Wolverhampton |
86 |
31 |
39 |
14 |
2 |
0 |
172 |
1st Jan 2026 - 21st February 2026
|
Red dot |
Drawn |
Aimed |
Fired |
Arced |
Direct Contact |
Total |
|
|
Birmingham |
57 |
19 |
21 |
5 |
1 |
0 |
103 |
|
Coventry |
9 |
5 |
7 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
21 |
|
Dudley |
12 |
7 |
6 |
1 |
0 |
0 |
26 |
|
Sandwell |
9 |
10 |
2 |
1 |
0 |
0 |
22 |
|
Solihull |
0 |
3 |
3 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
6 |
|
Walsall |
9 |
6 |
3 |
1 |
0 |
0 |
19 |
|
Wolverhampton |
3 |
6 |
2 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
11 |
- Any available breakdown by incident type (e.g., violent crime, mental health incident, domestic incident), if recorded in routine reporting
Two additional pieces of information provided on attached sheet.
- Reason for Force
- Incident type
(Please note that officers may tick more than one box per incident)
|
Reason for Force |
20/21 |
21/22 |
22/23 |
2024 |
2025 |
2026 |
|
Protect Self |
2676 |
1863 |
1766 |
1357 |
1590 |
192 |
|
Protect Other Officers |
2328 |
1641 |
1561 |
1125 |
1270 |
167 |
|
Prevent Offence |
1595 |
1182 |
1128 |
839 |
943 |
109 |
|
Effect Arrest |
1160 |
879 |
907 |
715 |
851 |
115 |
|
Protect Public |
1294 |
986 |
939 |
762 |
881 |
97 |
|
Protect Subject |
997 |
672 |
600 |
461 |
527 |
59 |
|
Prevent Escape |
1008 |
392 |
280 |
249 |
359 |
53 |
|
Prevent Harm |
964 |
392 |
373 |
106 |
99 |
10 |
|
Secure Evidence |
705 |
406 |
415 |
320 |
414 |
43 |
|
Effect Stop and Search |
0 |
0 |
131 |
149 |
244 |
26 |
|
Method of Entry |
96 |
26 |
18 |
15 |
9 |
3 |
|
Effect Search |
567 |
264 |
6 |
22 |
25 |
3 |
|
Effect Search in Custody |
0 |
0 |
4 |
1 |
7 |
0 |
|
Accidental |
0 |
5 |
0 |
2 |
5 |
2 |
|
Remove Handcuffs |
6 |
4 |
0 |
1 |
1 |
0 |
|
Incident Type |
20/21 |
21/22 |
22/23 |
2024 |
2025 |
2026 |
|
Accidental |
Data Not Available |
0 |
1 |
0 |
||
|
Alarm |
1 |
0 |
0 |
|||
|
Assault |
49 |
65 |
3 |
|||
|
Crime |
656 |
1002 |
128 |
|||
|
Custody |
10 |
12 |
2 |
|||
|
Domestic |
108 |
129 |
21 |
|||
|
Fear for Welfare |
47 |
83 |
9 |
|||
|
Firearms Incident |
49 |
74 |
9 |
|||
|
Mental health |
67 |
69 |
10 |
|||
|
Non AFO |
274 |
274 |
0 |
|||
|
Public Order |
13 |
14 |
1 |
|||
|
Sexual |
1 |
0 |
0 |
|||
|
Suspicious Person |
61 |
101 |
13 |
|||
|
Traffic |
42 |
108 |
8 |
|||
|
Animal |
8 |
18 |
1 |
|||
|
Warrant |
29 |
32 |
3 |
|||
Reason for decision
Please note that researching each individual case would exceed the appropriate limit (FOIA, s.12).
Our data is not recorded in this format and would require an individual search of every reported discharge to retrieve the data. This would exceed the 18 hours for the purpose of the Act.
The cost of compliance with the whole of your request is above the amount to which we are legally required to respond, i.e. the cost of locating and retrieving the information would exceed the appropriate costs limit under section 12(1) of the FOI Act 2000. For West Midlands Police, the appropriate limit is set at £450, as prescribed by the Freedom of Information and Data Protection (Appropriate Limit and Fees) Regulations 2004, S.I. 3244.
Further information on section 12 of FOI is available here:
Additional information
For further information and data on West Midlands Police see our publication scheme and disclosure log.