Specialist officers armed with the tasers can now be deployed to any prison across the adult male estate where a serious situation is unfolding under a new trial
Prison officers will be able to use police tasers in jails for the first time after the launch of a major trial today to tackle spiralling violence.
Specialist officers armed with the devices can now be deployed to any prison across the adult male estate where a serious situation is unfolding.
The move comes after Hashem Abedi, a terrorist involved in the Manchester Arena bombing, viciously attacked three prison officers at HMP Frankland in April. The inmate threw hot cooking oil and stabbed three prison officers with improvised blades at the high security jail in County Durham.
Tasers, which generate 1,500 volts of electricity to incapacitate a person, will only be used by a specialist national team, known as the Operational Response and Resilience Unit.
READ MORE: Manchester Arena bomb terrorist ‘stabs three prison guards & throws hot oil over them’
The tactical teams, based in Kidlington, Oxfordshire, and Doncaster, South Yorkshire, can be deployed across the country to help in complex and serious incidents, such as barricades and those involving multiple perpetrators. The trial will run until enough data has been collected to decide if tasers should be more widely used.
It follows an announcement in June to roll out protective body armour to those working in high-security settings with the most dangerous prisoners. Officers already have access to batons and Pava spray, a synthetic form of pepper spray, in men’s prisons in the public sector.
Official data shows rates of assaults on prison staff reached record levels last year, rising by 13% in the 12 months up to December 2024. Recent government analysis found offenders are 20% more likely to be involved in assaults in overcrowded jails.
Multiple inmates are often locked in cells designed for one person for more than 22 hours a day, with rats, mould and leaks plaguing dilapidated prisons. Campaigners called for more action to address the root causes of violence, including unsafe conditions and a lack of purposeful activity.
Pia Sinha, chief executive of the Prison Reform Trust, said: “Violence is a symptom of overcrowded, under-resourced, and purposeless prisons.
“Tasers and stab-proof vests may help staff feel safer and, in extreme situations, contribute to restoring order with minimal force. But we must not confuse these reactive measures with a strategy to reduce violence at its source.
“The real drivers of prison violence—unsafe conditions, lack of purposeful activity, and poor mental health—can only be addressed through improved safety, decency, and respect.”
Andrew Neilson, director of campaigns at the Howard League for Penal Reform, said: “Staff in adult prisons already have access to batons and PAVA spray. And yet, we know from previous findings that staff use of weapons does not reduce violence, and undermines positive relationships between staff and those in prison.
“Rather than adding to the pressure in overcrowded and overstretched prisons, the best response to rising levels of violence is to offer productive and positive regimes, that see people in prison getting access to work, education and other rehabilitative activities.”
The Prison Officers’ Association (POA) said it welcomed the move, but added the Government needed to address the roots of violence in jail. “The POA will always support any initiative that will help protect our members,” a spokesperson for the trade union said.
“However, as welcome as this initiative is we need to address the reasons why prison officers need Tasers in the first place. We urgently need action to address overcrowding, understaffing, drugs and the other root causes of prison violence.”
Justice Secretary Shabana Mahmood said: “This Government will never tolerate violence against our brave prison officers, and we will not allow our jails to be controlled by fear or disorder. We’re already rolling out protective body armour and by trialling Tasers we’re making sure staff have the tools they need to keep themselves safe.”
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