Police officers in Hertfordshire used a pepper spray more than 300 times in 2022-23, according to latest 'use of force' data.

A report – to be presented to the Hertfordshire Police and Crime Panel on Thursday (June 22) – highlights 12,876 records of 'use of force' by police officers, relating to 8012 separate incidents.

The vast majority of those records relate to the use of handcuffs (8980) – with or without co-operation.

But it also contains data that shows that TASERs were drawn by officers 608 times in 22/23 – and 'discharged' 27 times.

Meanwhile PAVA, a synthetic pepper spray, was used by 343 times by officers – and 'drawn' 162.

In addition batons were drawn 59 times – and used 30.

The data is contained in the annual report of the Hertfordshire Independent Use of Force Scrutiny Panel, which is made up of 29 volunteers.

During 2022/23 the panel looked at 58 pieces of footage from body warn videos, which included 'use of force'.

Using a 'red, amber, green' classification, they found the majority – 51 – to be 'green' and four 'amber'.

But three incidents were rated as 'red'. One was in the category of an incident where ' the level of force does not appear proportionate to the risk faced by the officer."

And a further two in the category where 'the level of force appears significantly greater than that necessary to protect the officer or the public and the panel had additional concerns'.

In a foreward to the report, panel chair Chris Cowdrey said: "Overall, in the vast majority of incidents reviewed, we have found that police officers use of force was lawful, proportionate, and justified.

"In instances where we had concerns, we recorded them and provided feedback to the appropriate senior police officers for follow-up actions.

"In all cases, the Constabulary responded positively, outlining the measures taken to rectify the situation."

And in his own forward Police and Crime Commissioner David Lloyd said: "In Hertfordshire, just like anywhere else, maintaining and improving the confidence of our communities is a top priority.

"I find reassurance in the findings presented by the Panel in

this report, which demonstrate that the majority of incidents involving the use of force were proportionate, justified, and carried out in accordance with the law.

"Equally important is the attention given to those incidents that fell short, ensuring that the officers involved receive

appropriate training to prevent any recurrence.

"The Constabulary greatly values the work of the Panel and have established a clear feedback loop to ensure the Panel's insights are shared with front-line officers and trainers."

Meanwhile the report also provides a breakdown of the Community Safety Partnership area where each of the 'use of force' reports took place.

According to the data, the are with the most reports was Watford, with 1612, and the area with the fewest was Three Rivers, with 437.

There were 1569 reported in Stevenage, 1549 in Dacorum, 1393 in Welwyn Hatfield and 1207 in Hertsmere.

In St Albans there were 1148, in East Herts there were 1087, in Broxbourne there were 675 and in North Herts there were 671.

• In their report the Hertfordshire Independent Use of Force Scrutiny Panel highlight 'excessive bad laguage' used by some officers.

Suggesting it is one of the 'common threads' they identified in 2022/23, the report highlights an incident where it made the situation worse.

"The panel understands that in a stressful situation officers may swear," says the report.

"However the panel has reviewed multiple incidents of excessive bad language used by officers that does not help to de-escalate a situation, and instead heightens the tension of the incident."