THERE were fewer police operations involving firearms in Dorset last year but more incidents involving a "conducted energy device", such as a taser.

Figures from the Home Office show armed police officers were deployed 245 times by Dorset Police in the year to March.

This was a decrease of three per cent from the year before, when there were 252 firearms operations.

Across England and Wales, the number of police firearms operations stayed largely the same, with 18,259 in the year to March, and 18,245 the year before.

Most police operations do not involve the use of firearms, though armed officers are deployed in certain cases such as for incidents involving violent crime or to patrol high-risk areas.

But Liberty, a human rights charity, has raised concerns about the number of firearms operations carried out by English and Welsh police forces.

Emmanuelle Andrews, a policy and campaigns manager at the charity, said: "We agree that use of firearms should be rolled back, but it's important to remember that they are not the only dangerous weapons in the police's toolkit.

"Supposedly 'less lethal' weapons like Tasers can and do kill earlier this year, an officer was charged with grievous bodily harm after he shot a young black man, Jordan Walker-Brown, with a Taser, leaving him paralysed from the chest down."

The Government has encouraged police forces to deploy 'less lethal' weapons which aim to incapacitate suspects, rather than cause long-term harm as a means of reducing the number of firearms it uses.

Separate Home Office figures show across the two nations there were over 34,000 incidents involving a "conducted energy device", such as a Taser, in the year to March 2021 including 210 in Dorset.

This was an increase from 206 the year before, and nearly double the 118 in 2017-18, when data is first available.

Dorset Police Chief Inspector for armed policing Bryan Duffy said: "In early March 2020 the Home Office confirmed funding for the purchase of additional Conducted Energy Devices (CEDs) to support Dorset Police to meet the costs associated with offering training to all frontline officers who wish to volunteer to become a Specially Trained Officer (STO), commonly referred to as a 'Taser officer'.

"As a result, we have seen an increase in officers carrying Tasers and this has provided them with equipment to protect themselves, their colleagues and members of the public in some of the complex and challenging situations they may face in the course of their duties.

"It is worth noting that Taser use includes any incident where a Taser is drawn from the holster, a subject is 'laser dotted', the device is arced or it is discharged.

"Our officers are trained to consider any vulnerability that may affect an individual's reaction and the first response would always be to communicate with the person involved and encourage them to respond and follow officers' instructions.

"Where force is used, officers would seek to use the minimum necessary and this will depend on the circumstances.

"The use of force is continually scrutinised, and the use of body-worn video allows independent review and accountability in all instances."