WEST Yorkshire Police is using a rising number of force tactics – including police dogs – on children, figures reveal.

The Howard League said police forces across England and Wales should reduce the "worrying" rise in use of force incidents involving children.

Home Office statistics show West Yorkshire Police used force tactics on under-18s on 4,130 occasions in 2020-21 – with 34 involving children under 11.

This was up from 2,436 the year before, and 2,170 in 2018-19.

Last year, West Yorkshire officers handcuffed children 2,212 times, physically restrained them on the ground on 106 occasions and used 128 limb or body restraints.

Officers also recorded nine instances of firearms being aimed and 14 occasions when dogs were used – four of which resulted in dog bites being inflicted.

Across England and Wales, 77,000 use of force tactics on children were recorded in 2020-21 – including 551 on under-11s.

The number of tactics used on under-18s was up eight per cent from 72,000 a year before.

Andrew Neilson, director of campaigns at the Howard League for Penal Reform, said: “A steep rise in the police use of force against children is a worrying trend, particularly when the levels of children arrested remain thankfully low."

Officers across the two nations drew or fired TASER energy weapon devices 2,600 times on children in 2020-21 – with 43 uses logged by West Yorkshire Police. Of these, one saw the device discharged.

The Children’s Rights Alliance for England wants their use on children banned, or permitted in only the rarest situations.

West Yorkshire Police Assistant Chief Constable Catherine Hankinson, said: “West Yorkshire Police is committed to keeping the public safe and this means our officers will sometimes find themselves in confrontational or violent situations where they use a range of available tactics to resolve the situation.

“Our officers are trained to use the minimum level of force required to resolve an incident and are accountable for ensuring it is within the law and only applied when absolutely necessary. Officers receive guidance and training with the starting point being that they should attempt to resolve confrontations without the need to use force.

“It is important that the use of force by our officers is recorded accurately for transparency, and between 2019 and 2021 we improved our recording of these instances by almost a third. In 2021 we also introduced use of force reviews.

“The use of firearms, police dogs or TASER energy weapons are tactical options, which are only deployed in necessary situations where they can assist in bringing them to a safe conclusion for all concerned.

“We receive thousands of calls for service at West Yorkshire Police every day and in the vast majority of incidents our officers are not required to use force.”