A boy was caught in Sutton Coldfield by police with a taser disguised to look like an iPhone, it has been revealed. The boy was arrested on suspicion of possession of an offensive weapon earlier this month and bailed pending further enquiries.

PCSO Daniel Walton told shocked attendees of the Reddicap ward meeting on Monday night about the discovery in his local policing update. He explained that the item looked identical to a regular iPhone but when an officer pressed a button on its side, it was clear the item was actually a taser.

He showed the LDRS a photograph of the item which was indistinguishable from the popular brand of smart phone. Speaking after the meeting Cllr Richard Parkin (Cons, Reddicap) told the LDRS: "I must confess that I’d never heard of a taser phone case before.

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"Apparently they were developed in the States to combat muggings and can deliver shock of up to 650,000 volts of electricity. They are illegal in this country; possession of a non-lethal taser is a criminal offence which I understand carries a maximum prison sentence of ten years.

"It doesn’t appear that they are very easy to get hold of in the UK but they have been smuggled into this country and used by organised gangs. They are also sold abroad and are legal in some US States.

"People who bring taser phones home from holiday may be unaware they are breaking the law, but it is an offence to possess one. My advice is if you have a taser phone case or a similar electroshock weapon to take it to your nearest police station immediately for it to be disposed of."

He added that he "commended" the efforts of PCSO Walton and the local Neighbourhood Police team's efforts to "get dangerous weapons off our streets". In his update, PCSO Walton informed residents the local policing team were experiencing pressures due to understaffing, with only two PCs and one PCSO in post.

Between them they cover the Trinity area which is about a quarter of Sutton Coldfield, including the Town Centre, with intermittent trainee officers. Cllr Parkin said: "Between 2019 and 2022 almost 900 officers were added to the West Midlands Police service, and the PCC [Simon Foster] confirmed that a further 450 neighbourhood officers are being added to the region this year with 256 apparently now in post.

A map showing the boundary of the Sutton Trinity neighbourhood policing team which covers about a quarter of Sutton Coldfield. Currently the team consists of just two police officers and one PCSO, plus intermittent trainee staff members. Credit: West Midlands Police.

"My plea to the PCC and Chief Constable is that we want some of these officers in Sutton Coldfield and that our Police Station should not be closed but must remain open with extra resources added to it." West Midlands Police are not issuing a photograph of the taser until the investigation is closed.

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