An armed officer with a Taser (circled) on duty when Dale Cregan, accused of murdering two policewomen, appeared in court . Three people are shot every day by police armed with 50,000-volt Taser stun guns, figures revealed last night. The potentially deadly devices were deployed in almost 4,500 confrontations last year, more than ever before. Spending on the weapons and their accessories doubled to £1.2million and police chiefs are considering whether to extend the availability of the devices even further. One chief constable said the murder of two women officers in Manchester last week throws the use of Tasers into a ‘new light’. Patrick Geenty, who leads the Wiltshire force, said the weapons are an ‘obvious’ alternative to arming more officers with conventional firearms. He said: ‘Officers feel the Taser gives them an extra bit of protection from some of the circumstances they find themselves in.’ Police are investigating whether one of the two Manchester officers may have tried to use a Taser to defend herself last week. A bright yellow Taser was found out of its holster and close to where PCs Fiona Bone and Nicola Hughes lay. Debate continues over the merits of the controversial American-made weapons. The potentially deadly devices were deployed in almost 4,500 confrontations last year, more than ever before . There are around 12,000 Tasers on the streets of Britain, mostly used by trained officers. The Police Federation, which . represents the junior ranks, wants the Government to spend millions to . increase the number to 36,000, enough for all officers on duty. But . critics claim the latest figures reveal a dangerous ‘arms race’ is . taking place and warned that increased availability could reduce control . of their use. Serious questions have been raised after the weapons were used in incidents involving the mentally ill, elderly and vulnerable. The . latest figures were revealed in a series of requests to every force . across England and Wales under the Freedom of Information Act. One of the weapons was found out of its holster close to the bodies of  Fiona Bone(left), and Nicola Hughes the two police officers murdered in Manchester . They show that Tasers were deployed . at least 4,461 times last year compared with 3,219 times in 2010, an . increase of almost 40 per cent. The . weapons were fired into suspects at least 1,081 times, an average of . almost three occasions every day, compared with 744 times in 2010. There . were huge variations in how often the weapons were used. Top of the . list was Greater Manchester Police, where they were fired 195 times, and . the Met, with 101 times. In smaller and rural forces, including Cheshire, Dyfed-Powys and Sussex, the number of discharges remained in single figures. Meanwhile . separate figures showed that forces doubled their spending on the . weapons, ammunition and related equipment to more than £1.2million a . year. The sum rose from £571,894 in 2009/10 to £1,255,483 in 2011/12. The . true figure is likely to be far higher because the Met, which accounts . for around a third of police spending, could not supply any details. West . Mercia Deputy Chief Constable Simon Chesterman, who has national . responsibility for Taser use, said the devices have avoided the need for . conventional guns in some situations. Concerns: Critics claim the latest figures reveal a dangerous 'arms race' is taking place and warned that increased availability could reduce control of their use . He said: ‘In more than half of cases, the mere threat of its use has been enough to deter violent individuals and ensure a peaceful resolution of the incident. ‘Every chief constable makes a decision, based on an assessment of the risks in their own area, to train and deploy a proportionate number of officers to use Taser so that the public are kept safe and their officers are protected as far as possible.’ But Amnesty International said Tasers should be used only where there is a threat to life or of serious injury and by a restricted number of highly-trained officers. A spokesman said: ‘Tasers can be a better option than guns but both in the UK and the US people have died after being shocked with them. ‘Amnesty International doesn’t want to see the UK hurtling even further down the slippery slope towards arming all officers with Tasers, or worse towards a situation like that in the US where they have been widely misused.’
The devices were deployed in almost 4,500 confrontations last year .
Murder of two women officers in Manchester throws their use into 'new light'
Critics claim increased availability could reduce control of their use .
An armed officer with a Taser (circled) on duty when Dale Cregan, accused of murdering two policewomen, appeared in court . Three people are shot every day by police armed with 50,000-volt Taser stun guns, figures revealed last night. The potentially deadly devices were deployed in almost 4,500 confrontations last year, more than ever before. Spending on the weapons and their accessories doubled to £1.2million and police chiefs are considering whether to extend the availability of the devices even further. One chief constable said the murder of two women officers in Manchester last week throws the use of Tasers into a ‘new light’. Patrick Geenty, who leads the Wiltshire force, said the weapons are an ‘obvious’ alternative to arming more officers with conventional firearms. He said: ‘Officers feel the Taser gives them an extra bit of protection from some of the circumstances they find themselves in.’ Police are investigating whether one of the two Manchester officers may have tried to use a Taser to defend herself last week. A bright yellow Taser was found out of its holster and close to where PCs Fiona Bone and Nicola Hughes lay. Debate continues over the merits of the controversial American-made weapons. The potentially deadly devices were deployed in almost 4,500 confrontations last year, more than ever before . There are around 12,000 Tasers on the streets of Britain, mostly used by trained officers. The Police Federation, which . represents the junior ranks, wants the Government to spend millions to . increase the number to 36,000, enough for all officers on duty. But . critics claim the latest figures reveal a dangerous ‘arms race’ is . taking place and warned that increased availability could reduce control . of their use. Serious questions have been raised after the weapons were used in incidents involving the mentally ill, elderly and vulnerable. The . latest figures were revealed in a series of requests to every force . across England and Wales under the Freedom of Information Act. One of the weapons was found out of its holster close to the bodies of  Fiona Bone(left), and Nicola Hughes the two police officers murdered in Manchester . They show that Tasers were deployed . at least 4,461 times last year compared with 3,219 times in 2010, an . increase of almost 40 per cent. The . weapons were fired into suspects at least 1,081 times, an average of . almost three occasions every day, compared with 744 times in 2010. There . were huge variations in how often the weapons were used. Top of the . list was Greater Manchester Police, where they were fired 195 times, and . the Met, with 101 times. In smaller and rural forces, including Cheshire, Dyfed-Powys and Sussex, the number of discharges remained in single figures. Meanwhile . separate figures showed that forces doubled their spending on the . weapons, ammunition and related equipment to more than £1.2million a . year. The sum rose from £571,894 in 2009/10 to £1,255,483 in 2011/12. The . true figure is likely to be far higher because the Met, which accounts . for around a third of police spending, could not supply any details. West . Mercia Deputy Chief Constable Simon Chesterman, who has national . responsibility for Taser use, said the devices have avoided the need for . conventional guns in some situations. Concerns: Critics claim the latest figures reveal a dangerous 'arms race' is taking place and warned that increased availability could reduce control of their use . He said: ‘In more than half of cases, the mere threat of its use has been enough to deter violent individuals and ensure a peaceful resolution of the incident. ‘Every chief constable makes a decision, based on an assessment of the risks in their own area, to train and deploy a proportionate number of officers to use Taser so that the public are kept safe and their officers are protected as far as possible.’ But Amnesty International said Tasers should be used only where there is a threat to life or of serious injury and by a restricted number of highly-trained officers. A spokesman said: ‘Tasers can be a better option than guns but both in the UK and the US people have died after being shocked with them. ‘Amnesty International doesn’t want to see the UK hurtling even further down the slippery slope towards arming all officers with Tasers, or worse towards a situation like that in the US where they have been widely misused.’
potentially deadly devices were deployed in almost 4,500 confrontations last year, more than officers in Manchester last week throws the use deployed in almost 4,500 confrontations last reduce control . of their use. Serious questions warned that increased availability could reduce