Calls for ban on police pointing tasers at children
Dr Croke expressed concerns about the UK government potentially authorising the use, including on children, of Taser 10 – a new 'more powerful' model – in the weeks ahead.
She warned of increased risks of physical harm and psychological trauma, with children describing tasers as frightening, painful and traumatising – even when not discharged.
Nearly a quarter of recorded taser use on children in Wales and England involved black boys aged between 11 and 17, according to a briefing for Senedd members.
Children with mental health conditions or additional learning needs and those from poorer backgrounds were also found to be disproportionately affected.
Dr Croke said: 'The decision to authorise Taser 10 will impact children in Wales.
'Wales can and must do better. Despite policing not being devolved, Wales is a children's rights, trauma-informed, and anti-racist nation.'
Urging the Welsh Government to lead calls for a pause on Taser 10, Dr Croke called for a wider ban on taser use against children or at least a strong legal presumption against.
Police in Wales and England deployed tasers on children 2,900 times last year, including five instances against children under 11, with 66 discharges – all on those aged 11 to 17.
South Wales Police pulled tasers on children the most (56 times) followed by Gwent (35, including two discharges), North Wales (12, one discharge) and Dyfed Powys (nine).
In the briefing, jointly prepared with Louise King from the Children's Rights Alliance England, Dr Croke warned tasers also pose a major risk to children's physical health.
The researchers wrote: 'Unlike earlier models, Taser 10 barbs must embed in the skin. Children's thinner skin and reduced body wall-to-organ distance significantly heighten the risk of deep tissue or organ injury."
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