Call for plastic bullets at all police stations

All police forces should be equipped with guns that fire plastic bullets as a matter of urgency to help save lives, the head of the Police Complaints Authority (PCA) said yesterday.

Most of the 43 forces in England and Wales are in the process of training specialist officers to use the baton guns as a non-lethal weapon but many have yet to carry the new equipment routinely.

Sir Alistair Graham, the chairman of the PCA, criticised the Metropolitan Police Authority for being "slow" in allowing the weapons as a less lethal option than firearms.

Baton guns fire 9cm by 3cm plastic rounds that deliver a powerful punch and can knock down a person at 100ft (30 metres) but can kill if fired incorrectly at the head or heart rather than the belly. They have been fired twice in Britain, the first time being in north Wales in February. The victim, a man armed with an axe, was hit in the abdomen and required hospital treatment for internal bleeding.

The introduction of plastic baton rounds is part of a search to find a weapon that can disable a violent armed person without killing them. In the past 12 months, five people have been shot dead by officers in England and Wales.

Launching the PCA's annual report, Sir Alistair said: "Further alternatives to firearms must be found so that police officers have a range of less lethal options.

"We welcome the introduction of the baton gun as an addition to conventional firearms in suitable situations ­ two lives have already been saved by it. We would urge all forces to take up this option, when appropriate, after issuing clear standing orders to officers as to how and when the equipment should be used. It is dismaying to hear that at least one police authority has been slow in allowing officers to deploy baton rounds."

Sir Alistair was referring to the Met, where the police authority recently delayed approving their deployment pending further information. "How would the authority justify the shooting of somebody when the less lethal alternative was languishing in the armoury?" Sir Alistair said. "How would it be justified under the Human Rights Act and the need to protect human life?"

He stressed there should be research into other less lethal options. Several forces are considering electric stun guns that fire a dart to knock down a person. Other weapons considered include rubber bullets filled with CS gas and pepper spray, and water cannon.

In February, a man in north Wales who allegedly claimed he had a "chopper" and was going to kill his children was shot in the abdomen with a baton round by police. He was suffered internal bleeding.

The PCA dealt with 7,556 complaints cases last year, down from 8,880 the year before. The rate of individual upheld complaints against the police upheld rose markedly from 11 per cent to 15 per cent. Complaints leading to a misconduct hearing rose from 232 to a record 401.

The number of deaths in police custody rose from 32 to 36 after two years of sharp reductions. Another area of concern is the rise in deaths during police chases. Forty-four people died last year, up from 25 the year before.