Exclusive: Bedfordshire Police used taser against 10 year old
The taser had been drawn, which is classified as a use-of-force incident, even if not fired.
New exclusive figures reveal that overall Taser use by Bedfordshire Police has been rising year on year, with the youngest person involved in an incident just 10 years old.
Last year there was 443 incidents of a taser being used which is 10.75% more than in 2024, according to figures obtained by Greatest Hits Radio news team.
One instance involved a 10-year-old, which is the youngest person the force has used a taser against.
Bedfordshire Police says ‘the taser was drawn only’, meaning it had not been aimed or fired.
Drawn is when a police officer removes a Taser from its holster and is classified as a use-of-force incident, even if not fired.
We’ve also found that the number of tasers being fired has sharply risen by 44% from 2024 to 2025.
Although on most occasions, firing a taser hasn’t been needed as there’s been 664 ‘red-dot’ instances – which is when an officer points the device at an offender with the laser sight active, placing a red dot on them without firing.
Red-dot can be a psychological deterrent used to de-escalate situations, indicating the target is marked and may be fired.
Chief Superintendent Ian Taylor said: "Taser use is one of several tools specialist-trained officers can utilise to help protect the public and themselves in situations that pose high risk of harm, often when weapons are present. In many cases, Tasers are drawn but not fired and can be a way to de-escalate tensions during an incident.
“Our control room operators will decide on the deployment of Taser-trained officers dependent on the incident and information known at the time. Deployed officers undergo stringent and ongoing training in order to carry a taser and are subject to enhanced vetting criteria.
“Every single Taser use, even if only drawn, is scrutinised on a monthly basis by our tri-force training department and independent use of force scrutiny panel ensuring use remains proportionate."