MPS 2020 Taser Uplift

Increase the total number of officers trained in the use of Taser to 10,000 across the MPS. The intention is to achieve this uplift within two years, from April 2020 to 2022. A corresponding increase in the physical number of Taser devices is required.

The use of Taser often results in a reduced use of force when compared to other traditional tactics and may also reduce the likelihood of injury to subjects and officers. The mere presence of Taser, and the ‘red-dot’ tactic when aimed, is an excellent deterrent and de-escalation tool, 91% of Taser uses across the MPS in 2019, did not result in Taser actually being fired.

The decision to uplift the number of Taser officers is essential to protect the most vulnerable members of the community and deliver a proportionate and accountable service to the communities we serve. The focus of this increase will be on the Emergency Response and Patrol teams, the 24/7 officers most likely to be deployed to violence and knife related crime necessitating additional protection for the public, subjects and officers. A small uplift on proactive teams, Roads Policing and Dog section was also agreed to provide enhanced tactical options officers in high risk roles.

The Deputy Mayor for Policing and Crime is asked to:

a) Approve the funding to purchase Taser devices and the associated equipment, at a cost of £7 million in 2020/21, £5.8 million in 2021/22 and ongoing costs of £6.9 million thereafter. All costs are within approved MPS budgets

b) Approve acceptance, if successful, of the bid for Home Office funding for assistance in purchasing devices and warranties only. The MPS have bid for approximately £1.9 million.

c) Delegate award of a call-off contract for five years to purchase Taser devices and the associated kit and equipment (£5.4 million) to the Director of Commercial. (This is included in the overall funding request)

d) Delegate award of a call-off contract for five years to purchase Taser cartridges (7.2 million for Taser uplift and £4.6 million annual ongoing) to the Director of Commercial. (This is included in the overall funding request)

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1. Introduction and background

1.1. With the demands placed on officers, the nature of the incidents they may have to respond to and the current picture with regards to violent crime, it is important that the MPS are satisfied appropriate measures are in place to protect our officers and staff. Taser is widely recognised across UK policing and within MPS as such a measure

1.2. The overall strategic objective is to increase the total number of officers trained in Taser to 10,000. This increase will be focused within Emergency Response Policing Teams (ERPT), Roads and Transport Policing Command (RTPC) and Dog Support Unit (DSU).

1.3. By increasing Specially Trained Officers (STOs) within these teams the MPS will enhance the availability of Taser across London. In order to achieve the required effect, the MPS will need to procure new Taser devices to increase by 2,151 overall, and increase the number of Taser trained officers by 2,855. There will be a very significant training requirement to achieve this.

1.4. This case for change and the plans to increase Taser availability have been announced internally and externally by the MPS Commissioner.

2. Issues for consideration

2.1. With increasing demands placed on officers, the nature of the incidents they may have to respond to and the current threat picture (indicating a steady rise in knife and violent crime), It is important that the MPS are satisfied that appropriate measures are in place to protect the public and our officers/staff.

2.2. Taser is a tactical option which plays an important role in keeping officers and the public safe and has been shown to have saved the lives of officers and public alike.

2.3. The objective is to increase the total number of officers trained in the use of Taser to 10,000 across the MPS. The intention is to achieve this uplift within two years, from April 2020 to 2022. A corresponding increase in the physical number of Taser devices is required to ensure a 2:1 ratio officer to devices is maintained. The project requirements are listed below;

o Train an additional 2855 Taser officers across the MPS.

o Purchase sufficient Taser X2 and T7 devices, cartridges, consumables and associated hardware for operational use and to facilitate training.

o Create a dedicated instructional and delivery Taser Team of 60 officers and staff.

o Secure suitable facilities for additional Taser training.

o Provide additional facilities for Taser storage, issue and return on BCUs.

2.4. The uplift to 10,000 taser trained officers will provide a greater geographical spread of Taser specially trained officers (STOs) to respond swiftly and dynamically to violent incidents where Taser may be deployed as a tactical option

2.5. A de-escalation of violent incidents due to the mere presence of Taser reduces injuries to the public and police officers alike

2.6. Increased public confidence and reassurance where incidents are resolved by well-equipped officer deploying with a Taser.

2.7. Property Services Department are fully engaged with this project and are assisting with the provision of storage, training and facilities from within the MPS estate.

3. Financial and Commercial Comments

3.1. The total cost of the uplift including purchasing the Taser devices and the associated equipment, is £7m in 2020/21, £5.8m in 2021/22 and ongoing costs of £6.9m thereafter. All costs are within approved MPS budgets. A bid has been made to the Home Office for £1.9m and if successful will reduce these costs in 2020/21.

3.2. Note that the costs above were calculated excluding Home Office funding, as confirmation of the grant is not expected until late March 2020. The grant award will straddle two financial years with 25% awarded in 2019/20 and 75% in 2020/21. Upon receipt of this grant the MPS will reduce the Taser budget accordingly in Year 1.

3.3. Note that the creation and implementation of a permanent Taser delivery and instructional team consisting of 46 instructors and 14 delivery & support team (BWT 60 total).

3.4. Conductive Electronic Devices (CED’s) are a controlled firearm and only products approved by the Home Office may be used by police forces. It is proposed that the Home Office National Framework for Conductive Electronic Devices is used as the route to market for the CED’s. The recommendation is to purchase the devices on a premium package (T60) which provides all necessary cartridges, batteries etc. including a 5-year warranty, as opposed to buying the items individually as this represents best value.

3.5. Whilst the framework currently only has the X2 device, it is expected that the T7 device will be approved shortly and included on the framework. However, the Home Office has agreed that the MPS can bid for the funds and buy either X2 or T7 devices, depending on whether the T7 is approved. The remainder of the equipment would be purchased from 2020/2021 financial year, using MPS funds. The Home Office grant, if awarded, would be off-set against Year 1.

3.6. The Home Office National Framework with Axon is the preferred route to market. This is a compliant route to market, with MOPAC as an eligible user of it. Their requirements are within the contracts financial and technical scope.

3.7. Crown Commercial Services guidance (2016) on the use of framework agreements provides that the duration of call-off contracts may extend beyond the term of the overarching framework agreement. It further provides that the duration of call-off contracts may be for longer than four years taking into account factors such as the time needed for their performance and where maintenance of equipment with an expected useful life of more than four years is included etc. This report recommends award of a call-off contract for a period of five years.

4. Legal Comments

4.1. MPS Directorate of Legal Services were fully consulted during this process and do not foresee any legal implication with the option proposed within this paper.

4.2. The Mayor's Office for Policing Crime is a contracting authority as defined in the Public Contracts Regulations 2015 ("the Regulations"). All awards of public contracts for goods and/or services valued at £189,330 or above will be procured in accordance with the Regulations. This report confirms that the request exceeds the £181,302 threshold and therefore the PCRs are engaged.

4.3. Paragraph 4.8 of the MOPAC Scheme of Delegation and Consent provides that the Deputy Mayor for Policing and Crime has delegated authority to approve business cases for revenue or capital expenditure over £500,000 or above; and accept all offers made for grant funding.

4.4. The MOPAC Scheme of Delegation and Consent (Scheme) provides the Director of Strategic Procurement has consent to approve the award of all contracts, subject to the agreed call in procedure. The Deputy Mayor for Policing and Crime reserves the right to call in proposals to award contracts valued at £500,000 or above.

5. GDPR and Data Privacy

5.1. The MPS is subject to the requirements and conditions placed on it as a 'State' body to comply with the European Convention of Human Rights and the Data Protection Act (DPA) 2018. Both legislative requirements place an obligation on the MPS to process personal data fairly and lawfully in order to safeguard the rights and freedoms of individuals.

5.2. Under Article 35 of the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and Section 57 of the DPA 2018, Data Protection Impact Assessments (DPIA) become mandatory for organisations with technologies and processes that are likely to result in a high risk to the rights of the data subjects.

5.3. The Information Assurance and Information Rights units within MPS will be consulted at all stages to ensure the service meets its compliance requirements. The programme does not use personally identifiable data of members of the public, so there are no GDPR issues to be considered. If the project uses personally identifiable data of members of the public at a later date DPIAs will be completed as needed.

6. Equality Comments

6.1. This business case has undergone initial equality screening. Due regard has been taken to the Equality Act’s Public Sector Equality Duty. Real consideration has been taken to assess equality impact caused by the proposed business changes.

6.2. Understanding the impact of Taser on officers as well as the equality impact of making devices widely available is essential. Taser use, training and availability has an impact across a number of protected characteristics which have been considered and mitigated where possible.

6.3. The decision to uplift the number of Taser officers is essential to protect the most vulnerable members of the community and deliver a proportionate and accountable service to the communities we serve. Tasers were first introduced into Boroughs in 2012. At the time, a comprehensive engagement process was undertaken in order to secure the support of local communities for this change of policy, as well as informing an assessment of the impact on equality and diversity. The MPS ‘Firearms and Taser Reference Group’ was formed, which still meets regularly to scrutinise the use of Taser by the MPS.

6.4. As there are existing Equality and Diversity assessments for the deployment of Taser the proposals in this paper do not significantly change the impact. The Firearms and Taser Reference Group have been briefed and consulted on this uplift.