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UK criticised over new police weapons

IRNA - Islamic Republic News Agency

London, Oct 1, IRNA -- Amnesty International has expressed grave concern that the Taser XREP projectile and X12 shot gun have been used by UK police without having gone through the official weapons testing and approval process.

“No new weapon or equipment should be used by the police until it has passed a rigorous and transparent safety, testing and approvals process,” said Oliver Sprague, Amnesty's Arms Program Director.

“The UK has in place some of the world’s toughest approvals and testing processes for new police weapons. What is the point of having such a robust system if Chief Constables are, it seems, able to bypass rigorous testing and approvals and deploy any weapon they see fit?” Sprague said.

The criticism comes after weapons distribution company – Pro-Tect Systems – has had its licence suspended following recent revelations that it issued the police with new Taser guns without Home Office authorisation.

Sprague, who is best known for his work on the international arms trade, said there were “serious concerns” over the accuracy and reliability as the weapons as well as the risk of causing unnecessary injury.

“The Taser XREP is far more powerful with a considerably longer 20-second shock cycle than the traditional Taser, which have also been previously criticised by Amnesty.

The London-based human rights group urged the Home Office to review its decision to enable Chief Constables to authorise the use of any weapon as long as its use is 'lawful, reasonable and proportionate', even if these weapons have not been thoroughly tested or approved for use.

It reported that results from a 2008 independent assessment funded by safety testing authorities in the UK, the USA and Canada have found the XREP projectile to be inaccurate with a high failure rate.

International standards on police use of force and weaponry encourage the development of “less lethal” weapons as well as stipulating that any such weaponry should be very carefully evaluated and controlled,” it also said.

Sprague argued that a weapon such as the XREP should not be in the UK police force’s arsenal until it has gone through all the necessary checks and is shown to be safe to use.

'If and when such approval is given, the XREP should be given only to specialist firearms officers and used when there in an imminent threat to life,' he said.