Headlines

UK Prisons Begin Taser Trial to Combat Record Violence

Published JUL 28 2025

Story

Above: A Taser demonstration at the Operational Response & Resilience Unit training site in Kidlington, Oxfordshire, on July 24, 2025. Image credit: Jacob King/PA Images/Getty Images

The Facts

The U.K. began its first-ever trial of Tasers in prisons on Monday, with specialist officers from the Operational Response and Resilience Unit (ORRU) in Kidlington, Oxfordshire, and Doncaster, South Yorkshire, equipped with the devices.
Sky News
Independent
The ORRU officers were issued with the Taser 7, in addition to their standard-issue batons and Pava spray, which is a two-shot weapon generating 50,000 volts when fired, dropping to 1,500 volts upon skin contact.
LBC
Independent
Speaking to reporters at Kidlington last Thursday, U.K. Justice Secretary Shabana Mahmood said that the initiative was in response to “completely unacceptable levels of violence” in British prisons.
LBC
GB News
According to Ministry of Justice data, assaults and serious assaults rose by 13% in the 12 months to December 2024 compared to the previous year, while assaults on prison staff rose by 15% to 10,605 incidents, a new record.
GOV.UK
The scheme also follows the attack on three prison officers at HMP Frankland in April by Hashem Abedi, the brother of the Manchester Arena bomber, and a separate assault on a prison officer by the Southport killer, Axel Rudakabana, with boiling water.
Chronicle Live
The Times (UK)
The trial is part of a £40 million ($53.7 million) security package announced in June, which includes window replacements, CCTV and control room upgrades, vehicle gates, biometrics and floodlighting, as well as £10 million for anti-drone measures.
GOV.UK

Sources Split

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RIGHT

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ESTAB

The Spin

Narrative A

The new trial will examine the potential role of Tasers in U.K. prisons. The scheme, which is entrusted to specialist officers, will collect much-needed data that will inform any future decisions the Ministry of Justice makes regarding the Taser’s roll-out, ensuring that the government makes the correct choices.

Hansard

Narrative B

While the Ministry of Justice’s Taser trial is welcome, more is needed to protect prison staff amid rising violence. The U.K. government must urgently consider the creation of "supermax" facilities for the worst offenders and immediately issue stab-proof vests to officers working in high-security prisons and segregation units.