Home
Can't see the film? Watch it here.
Our police are one of the few in the world who don't regularly carry guns. But in potentially life threatening situations they still need to regain control and stop dangerous behaviour in its tracks.
After trials of 50,000-volt Taser stun guns, the Home Office has recently announced plans to put up £8million worth of funding to introduce 10,000 more of the stun guns for use in all police forces throughout England and Wales. Up until now only specially trained firearms officers could use them - but the funding means that soon up to 30,000 officers on the beat could be trained in their use.
Anita Rani followed up on the announcement. The police representatives she spoke to are keen on their introduction - as they believe the stun guns are effective in violent situations and that the weapon has "a very very low risk of injury".
But Amnesty International are sceptical of the scheme - their research suggests that more than three hundred people have died in America as a result of being Tasered. They say that they are worried about handing out potentially lethal electro shock weapons to non specialist officers because that's when misuse is likely to happen.
Should the police carry stun guns? Have your say below.
Comments
I have a heart condition: if am "tased" will I die?
Complain about this comment
No, the police shouldn't. When will the police wise up to the fact that the public support of the police is steadily sapping away as they grab more and more extreme powers with the acquiescence of polticians who have forgotten that they represent the citizens of this country and not the police. But when the police consider all citizens suspects, as they do now, then the spineless polticians also consider the citizens as suspects. The police and the politicians forget where their power originates from, the people. No longer does Peel's comment apply "the police are the public and the public are the police."
Complain about this comment
Police officers cannot talk wrongly to a criminal these days without getting in trouble so don't worry, we won't tazer people like they do needlessly in America! All officers will be fully expertly trained so i look forward to the training.
Complain about this comment
This is very worrying. Why do the police need Tazer guns when no one carrys a real gun? I think they are arming the police now because of the coming civil strife and riots. Jackie Smith is a dangerous woman
Complain about this comment
According to your female presenter...Tasers are " less worse" than other methods ??
LESS WORSE ? what a grasp of the English language she is displaying here...as an ex BBC man myself she might sign up for Foreign language lessons soon as english would appear tp be her second language when on air !!
Complain about this comment
Why introduce them now? Is the government preparing to deal with the possibility of civil disobedience on a grand scale with a recession that is going to get worse and will be used for riot control! The odds are low for this bet!
Complain about this comment
They should not!! The whole point of the Police was to tell them apart from the Army!! Give them guns and there is no difference...
Complain about this comment
My daughter is a police officer. I think that if her job can be made easier then she and other trained police should be able to use the new technology.
Sylvia
Complain about this comment
Adrian,
If you are doing nothing wrong, then you have nothing to fear.
Good people - not tasered
Naughty/violent people - tasered and restrained and quite rightly so.
Paul Clunn.
Complain about this comment
keith in eastbourne - this is appalling there can rarely be situations where officers are placed in serious danger and when they are they have firearms - this is another part of the increasing police state - will they use it on me when i refuse to have an ID card I wonder. great show none the less.
Complain about this comment
Tasers are a brialliant idea fr police officers. the situations they could find the selves in... out numbered and out weaponed aswell. the tasers dont have 2 be used however they will give the police something in an emergency situation. i think its the best idea for a long time
Complain about this comment
Having seen the police over-react, particularly at peaceful demonstrations, I am vehemently opposed to the issue of tasers to them. If they have them, they'll use them, and abuse them.
A report came out today of the police's total overkill policing of this summer's Climate Camp protest - if they have them, they'll use them on protesters, either directly, or as a threat!
In a rather sad way, I'd sooner see them armed - at least they have to justify every use of a gun.........
Tasers are actually incredibly dangerous, and have been responsible for many deaths worldwide.
Complain about this comment
I was appalled by the story of the man who suffered a diabetic coma and was tasered. If the police using them are so highly trained, why weren't they trained to spot that? After all, if he wasn't responding, he wasn't much of a threat, was he?
Complain about this comment
One fact that doesn't seem to be mentioned is that Tasers carry a single-round shot, and that when fired it also scatters thousands of confetti "dots" that have a unique number that can identify where the Taser round originated, and so consequently who fired it.
I was horrified to see that a diabetic like myself was "Tasered" whilst in a coma. Police officers should be accountable every shot used and if the cause isn't justifiable, they should be banned from using one again.
Rob Neal
Walthamstow
Complain about this comment
Taser guns are still guns and we know that a lot of people have died in America due to their use.
As shown in your video a man was Taser'd when he was in a coma!! What reasoning process did the police go through when they did this?
I am afraid that we cannot trust our police force to use these responsibly in day to day society and the risks are too great. I would be afraid to go out of my own home.
Complain about this comment
As highlighted in the article, what happens when these are used on persons who are incapacitated e.g. through a fit of some sort? Additionally, what effects can this have on someone who has been fitted with a pacemaker - I would imagine that the electrical current will interfere with the functioning of the pacemaker. To date, the figures are that 300 people have died as a result of being "tasered".
That said, would this be considered against a suspected terrorist? Jean Charles De Menezes may have faired better had he been immobilised through the use of a Taser, and not shot at close range. Like most things, I guess there are arguments for and against
Complain about this comment
It's a good idea! Things are getting crazy in the UK with more and more murders, more and more terrorism and more and more people carrying knives. Why should they be scared of the police - they can rarely do anything! Whereas a taser, as people have said, is extrememly painful - if it doesn't stop someone from commiting a crime the first time I'm sure why won't want to get "tasered" for a second time!
Complain about this comment
I have grave concerns over this - as with your previous poster I have a heart condition. Any electric shock would do certainly more severe damage to my heart and could potentially kill me!
There are a huge number of people in this country with unknown electrophysiological problems with their heart, who, if tazered are much more at risk of suffering adverse effects.
I would seriously oppose any of the British Police forces gaining more of these weapons.
Complain about this comment
When will a police officer know when is the right time to use a taser?, a sober man is being unreasonable and a drunk man is being the same......will the same rule apply to both men or is it left to the officers descrection ?
Complain about this comment
It seems to me that the police can't win... first people don't want them armed and then when armed police shoot someone who IS armed people don't want the victim killed. So, Taser's are the answer? Nooooo I hear we don't want people taser'd... "Don't Taze me bro" - The police need every available non lethal weapon there is AND sadly some lethal ones too. "Tazering" a suicide bomber would be counter productive? I leave that to the imagination
Complain about this comment
Having watched my husband die of an electric shock ,this measure fills me with horror .
We don't need barbaric methods of control in this country .
Complain about this comment
Today’s criminals are getting ruthless and our cops need to action, any news of guns of any type is welcome by me!
Don’t want to get shot... don’t be in the wrong side of the law. Simple.
Complain about this comment
I'd volunteer to get "tased" if it stopped Bette from singing!
Dan - Scarborough
Complain about this comment
When I was young, the Police commanded respect. Now, with so many wrongful killings, wrongfull arrests, racialism etc. etc. all the Plice can command is a trigger. Very very sad.
Complain about this comment
If I get tazered, will it recharge my mobile phone?
Complain about this comment
I object strongly to Smith the Home Secretary arming police officers with tasers. I would not trust many police with water pistols let alone tasers. What they want to do is quell the revolution that will begin if Labour continue building their Police State.
I believe the Police will misuse these tasers, and on that subject I heard that they mentioned using them "on saturday nights when there are a lot of drunks". So instead of dealing with the problem they will now taser drunk teenagers.
Complain about this comment
Dear OneShow,
Also must agree with Bilzen, can we get someone who can actually talk to present serious issues?
P.
Complain about this comment
I'm a police officer For the BTP and we already use Captor as an incapacitant, yes taser's are painful, so is captor and the effects of captor can last more than an hour, with taser's you recover very quickly. I for one am for them, if you a law abiding person why would you worry?
Complain about this comment
No, the police should NOT carry taser guns, they are lethal weapons!
What happened to the time when the police worked for the people instead of against them??! We are becoming as violent here as they are in the United States & it's very scary indeed!!!
Complain about this comment
There was an incident at UCLA while I was studying there. A student was tased by campus security for not having his student ID. After the shock he was left lying on the floor and they demanded he get up. Due to being tased he had been left immobilised and couldn't get up immediately so they tased him again before dragging him out the door. A large number of students witnessed the incident (video clips are on youtube) and were yelling for them to stop. I think there is a huge danger here of authorities taking tasers for granted. Exactly what situations do they need them for? Does it really warrant this kind of number of stun guns being present on the streets. I think it says something that the London Met are reluctant to take up the offer of them when the London crime rate is one of the highest.
Complain about this comment
How are the police able to Taser a person when according to the law they are not allowed to assault a person,isn't this worse than going back to the days when a police officer could give someone a clip around the ear rather than arrest them, I totally disagree with these weapons being given to the police,I drive a taxi and am more likely to be assaulted than the police.
George
Complain about this comment
I am a serving police officer and i am all for EVERY officer being trained and issued with a taser.
What the public forget it all police officers are already issued with a spray which is classed as a firearm. However this spray does not always work. I have been assaulted many times while working. I have even ended up in hospital, protecting the public.
Police would get intense training in the use and they would have to explain why they were used.
What the every day public do not seem to understand is that the people we deal with are more violent and dangerous than ever before. Police need the tools to protect the public, and to protect themselves.
Complain about this comment
Policing being armed and actually allowed to use force? wow about time to be honest. Kids these days think they can get away with anything, i think after they have met mr tazer they'll think twice before doing anything bad again. Plus with a major depression looming, more crime is surely to follow, tazers will help the police keep the crime figures down
Complain about this comment
I don't plan on being tasered but I have epilepsy (too much electricity in the brain). What affect would this have on people like me? If all police start carrying tasers in the UK, it won't be long before all police start carrying guns.
Complain about this comment
As a law abiding citizen and as a soldier in the british army, i think that all police officers should be issued taser guns as a deterent to criminals and as a means of self defence.
At the end of the day, if you dont break the law, you shouldn't worry about the police having this weapon in their arsenal as it wont be used on you.
Complain about this comment
I think those tasers sound great. I'm a teacher, can we start rolling them out to schools?
Complain about this comment
Because others have them that means we need them too? Do the police have a better reason than that? I think we should be glad we are one of few countries who don't have weapons like these.
Complain about this comment
I am an officer who is Taser trained and authorised. The criteria for the use of taser is strictly laid down and is not something that is used freely. It is another method available to protect members of the public and the officers. Whilst the use of taser does cause the subject pain on the whole this does not last and causes no lasting injury. Taser will resuce the number of injuries sustained by officers arresting violent people and will keep us out on the streets doing what the public want us to do
Complain about this comment
What a rubbish report. Why are we asking an American for some rubbish comment about this. Where is the informed comment.
Having served as a Police Officer maybe I would have got more respect if I had something which would cause some damage.
I got fed up with people who would not do as they were told. I did not want to abuse people just enforce the law and not be abused whilst doing it!
When you are willing to put your life on the line on a daily basis and have a threat of being stabbed or beaten to death by manics and be armed with a small stick of wood then please feel free.
I prefer to have a proper means of defence. Also if you have a heart condition maybe you should behave!
Complain about this comment
Some idiot on your show was asking about the cost of tasers!
What about the cost of a policemans life or serious injury?
Complain about this comment
my partner is a police officer, when the tazers do come onto the streets it will make me feel a lot more content to know that he that bit more safer on duty when dealing with criminals.
Complain about this comment
Surley if people obey police orders then they will not get tazered. In which case, everyone has the choice whether to obey or disobey and get tazered for doing so. All police will have training to use them so I think it's a great way of inforcing the law.
Complain about this comment
Having a daughter as a police officer, I will be extremely happy to see her able to defend herself with a taser. She would be well trained in its use, and hopefully it would act as a deterrent as much as firearms do in the USA.
Complain about this comment
I have been told that these tasers cost £500 each and every time you use one it costs £40........Great.!
Complain about this comment
Yes they should and I would support them being trained with armed weapons. There is no respect for the law and when people take no notice of the law or are in possession of weapons they have given up their human rights. It is about time the police had some powers finally! Criminals these days have more rights than the innocent.
Complain about this comment
Listening to the BBC One show it always amazes that the people who have the biggest objections against police officers having protection are those who never have to face violence themselves, ie Bett Midler!
Complain about this comment
Just remember the Brazillian that was shot dead by specially trained Policemen. Accidents will happen!
Complain about this comment
I think tasers are a brilliant idea, think every police officer should be given one. Everyone complains that the police never do anything and thats because i dont belive they have enough power anymore with all the over the top human rights rubbish we have in this contry.
With the streets getting more and more unsafe, I think it will bring some much needed fear into the idiots that want to cause trouble.
Adrian in Nottingham
Complain about this comment
Look at how the UK has changed for the worse since Labour got into power. We are now living in a virtual police state and yet rather than backtracking Smith is keen to arm the police so that they can quell the masses and continue to vote themselves massive pay rises.
Complain about this comment
The police have to deal with some aggresive people who are often extremely drunk or high on drugs (or both). These people often can't be reasoned with and behave in the most dreadful manner.
Most people know how to behave themselves and have nothing to fear from the police and I can't see this changing that fact. The human rights lot always winge and wine about ANY measures to make the police's job easier and yet society is getting less orderly and more violent. Maybe this is the sort of measure that will make some people moderate their behavoir or face the consequences of behaving like an animal.
Complain about this comment
Def not right,What about people who have pacemakers, Is there any effect on the pacemaker?
Another erosion of our civil rights
Complain about this comment
I believe that in todays society with greater and more violent crime that greater measures are required to combat this. If people don't want to get tasered .... don't misbehave. The police have a difficult enough job so much so that lesser criminal activities go unchecked!
Complain about this comment
Yes, maybe Jean Charles de Menezes would still be alive if they had used this instead of a gun. It should be carried instead of guns but only by trained officers.
Complain about this comment
We are being told that the possibility of taser guns causing injury is "very low." That, surely is unacceptable. The possibility to cause injury simply should not exist.
If a police officer with a taser gun isn't going to get closer to a civilian than 21 feet, how can he or she accurately assess the risk from that civilian? We heard on the show of the chap who was tasered for being in a diabetic coma. I have a friend who has very severe epilepsy and I can envisage a scenario where he is behaving "oddly" and not responding to police commands because he is having a fit. Up close an officer would see he wears medi-alerts to his condition but they wouldn't know from 21 feet away. And what about civilians with heart conditions and pacemakers? What risk are they at from these things?
I suspect that these things are going to forced on us and the powers that be will only start to apply sense to the matter after somebody has died.
Complain about this comment
No mention about people like me with an implanted cardiac device (ICD). Being shot with a taser will cause it to fire and probably kill me. How can anyone know I have one without checking.
Complain about this comment
It will not take the villains long to arm themselves with TASARS. How does a stunned policeman use a TASAR and more to the point how does he make an arrest?
Complain about this comment
The One Show should IMMEDIATELY tell the viewers to type into youtube "don't tase me bro" or simply the words "police use taser" and see exactly how tasers are already being used.
They are largely NOT being used as an alternative to firearms, but as an extremely painful form of coercion. People in handcuffs are being tased, people who are not armed are being tased. People who are causing no obvious problem at all, are being tased.
Youtube is PACKED with videos of these incidents.
And as for the commenter who has a heart condition and asked "would I die if I got tased". All I can say is, the police clearly didn't check the diabetic victim for a medical alert bracelet.
The police deemed him tase-worthy because he was merely unconcious.
Good luck to anyone with a pre-existing heart condition.
Complain about this comment
I think tasers handed out to routine patrol officers would be madness. You will always find trigger happy Police who abuse their positions.
Bob.
Hove
Complain about this comment
A good person to ask about tasers and stun guns is the deMenzes boy who was illegally and accidentally killed by trigger happy police. Oh, he is dead, we can't ask him his opinion.
I for one would rather be taserd by accident or for real, than shot with multiple lead bullets.
I am not a criminal or likely to be one, so am never likely to be tasered. Only criminals dont want police to use them! If I was to be mistaken for a criminal, I would prefer not to be shot. We are always hearing stories about accidental shootings so perhaps we should ask victims families about Tasers, and I would assume that they would have preferred that their dead relations had been taserd rather than shot!!!
James, Radstock, Somerset.
Complain about this comment
I am a police officer and I totally agree with the Taser, it offers us a new tool to deal with very violent prsioners, which causing harm to ourselves or the public. I have been present when Taser has been employed on several occassion, each time the subject will see the red dot and comply. This is a great deterrent which is much needed.
Complain about this comment
Ironic isnt it weve had the electric shock training collars banned from being used on dogs but we have to put up with the government granting the permission for officers to carry and use tazers on people !!
Complain about this comment
Having, as a whole family, recently being the target of irresponsible policing and use of pepper spray! It is extremely scary to think that these 'weapons' may be used by insufficiently trained or supervised 'rogue' officers.
The police already have too many powers, in my opinion. In fact recent events with our local police force have caused us as a whole family to plan moving away from the UK.
Complain about this comment
Im here from Australia on hols and I dont agree with tasers they have them in Oz yet they still shoot people with firearms. You can buy them online for $299US
Complain about this comment
History has shown serious mistakes have been made by trained firearms police. To widen the use of tasers to the wider force is ridiculous.
Thec SAS are training our firearms officers and they are seriously concerned with competance levels after training!
Complain about this comment
Like CC TV and every other ‘anti crime’ weapon introduced in the UK in recent years. The Taser will convince more of the population that it is dangerous to walk the streets unarmed; Just what we need, a little more paranoia.
Complain about this comment
23 yrs ago H.O. scientists declared the taser too dangerous to be issued to police officers as they can result in the death of innocent people don't always work can increase the violence of the mentally ill and significantly increase their strength. kill the person with heart problems epilectic fit sufferers and many more. If the darts dont pierce flesh they do not work have to used at very short range. this equipment is far to dangerous to be issued to the average officer and could seriously expose the user to extreme violence in response. all farmers who have witnessed the use on mad cattle can confirm what can happen
Complain about this comment
I'm a serving officer of 8 years experience. We are facing increasingly violent situations, having knives and other weapons brandished at us on an ever more regular basis. I would carry Taser, as I think I always have the choice as to whether I use it or not. I have carried my CS incapcitant spray for the whole of my service, but have never used it. To me, Taser is another tactic that would help keep the public and officers safe, and that can't be a bad thing. Yes, it has limits, yes, it probably does hurt when used, but so does being hit with a metal baton. I don't know what my force's position on Taser is yet, but think that the first and most sensible thing would be to introduce it in phases, training more specialist officers in it first prior to handing it out to everyone. It would be good to have a car on every division equipped with it, so the station has the capability to respond to situations as and when they arise.
Complain about this comment
my husband is a police officer, so dont want to say where i'm from. however, i've had my doubts about the tazer. but if it means keeping the police safer then it has to be done. im just sad that it has come to the stage where the good old fashioned policing is not enough to control some of the people around nowadays.
Complain about this comment
My younger sister has a sever type of epilepsy.
The last time she had a fit she spent 6 weeks in hospital, 2 of which in intensive care after a 12 hour seizure.
Has there been any record of tazers setting off Epileptic fits?
Complain about this comment
How about we less about the offenders who will be tazed and more about the victims and police officers who get attacked and stabbed by the offenders.
Everyone seems to worry about the offenders human rights and seems to forget about the victims. The sooner the police are armed with tazers the less amount of stabbings and assaults on police who have to work the streets everyday
Complain about this comment
We are all living in a fascist police state. They are arming the police in order to contain the people when the rioting starts.
Complain about this comment
i have epilepsy and what if i was an inocent bystander and got hit with the taser or someone with a heart condition, i dont think they should be handed out to all police officers
Complain about this comment
It was interesting to hear the police talk about "well trained officers using the taser" followed by the man who was tased for being unresposive! If he was in a coma why was he tased?I think the taser will be used as a matter of course rather than a last resort. we will all be vulnerable.
Complain about this comment
How dangerous is the use of the Taser when a person has a Pacemaker?
Complain about this comment
A taser-gun is a weapon AGAINST criminals! In my book is any weapon the right weapon against criminals
Andreas London
Complain about this comment
I have a pacemaker that is more than just a top up. If I got tasered surely it could quite easily kill me. At least with a gun there may be more care taken one would hope.
Complain about this comment
Absolutely not. They are NOT proposing giving them to specially trained officers, they will not release the money to train these officers and we've already seen how the police can not be trusted to handle weapons like these.
If the police can not be trained to recognise someone in a diabetic coma then they CERTAINLY can not be trusted with weapons like these. We already have existing firearms units and arrangements - these should be allowed to use Tazers as an alternative to conventional firearms, however they should not be offered to regular officers. With batons and similar weapons, the officer has discretion over the force applied this is not true with Tazers. Having been baton charged by the police I can tell you that used properly result in far fewer injuries and misuse. Tazers are too dangerous and as we have already seen get used to indiscriminately to be issued to general police officers even with the so called "extra training". The money should be spent on better training on how to recognise things like diabetic coma and respond appropriately. I have also been on the receiving end of an armed police response (bus driver overreacting after a night on the town) and the level of training and experience the office showed enabled him to resolve the situation without even the threat of resulting to violence or firearms use - THIS training would be more useful to most officers than a Tazer which they will not be properly trained, nor can be properly trusted to use.
If this is approved, it will be yet another nail in the coffin for freedom and liberty in this so called "free" country. We've already lost our rights to protest parliament without being arrested - what next... our lives to untrained armed police?!
Complain about this comment
What if the police used 'bully boy' tactics and just tased someone with a heart problem for example - who would be liable if that person died??
Complain about this comment
I agree that the use of taser should be closely monitored, as it will be anyway, hence people reacting so strongly when they do not have to correct information to hand, every deployment of a taser is treated as a full scale firearms incident! there will not be indescriminate deployment and usage without account.
As for the above arguement! the police are the public ? well get in the real world, this is why there is the current errosion of respect and discipline,with people getting no/short jail terms for major crime!
Think of it like this: just because certain members of the public cannot keep their hand to themselves and are a constant burden on the system, it doesnt make the police treat everyone as a criminal!
Its people who are annoyed with the system that join the police to make the difference! get on the right side of the law you lefty.
Im all for deployment, every other european country is fully armed. This is a good middle ground.
Complain about this comment
Police officers are accountable for every shot.
The Taser has literally saved lives where circumstances have been so severe that lethal force could (and would) have been used.
There are more people than you think carrying guns and lots are carrying knives.
Taser is a better option than brutal force of a baton!
Taser does not kill people with heart problems. It temporarily disrupts muscle function
Complain about this comment
Tazers are VERY bad. The are a violation of human rights. Police cannot be trusted with them. Their use will simply breed acceptance of less and less rights. They are weapons against the people paid for by the people!! We really are not that bad!!!!!!!
Complain about this comment
I can't believe the comments regarding a police officer going out and abusing their postion with the taser, ultimately the buck stops with them and we need to give them the nescessary tools to do their job and to stop violent people.
I am all for it,
Martin
Complain about this comment
personally i am in two minds. being a pasifist i am naturally against the use of any kind of equipment/ weapon that will harm another person. but i agree with the police officer in this clip when he said about tasers helping them to do their jobs. perhaps this should be taken to the public with some kind of opinion poll to see what majority will rule?
or perhaps better prevention tactics need to be taking in schools, to discorage people from the urge to committ crime from an early age.
Complain about this comment
All Police Officers are highly trained in the art of self defence and supression techniques. Why do we need to introduce Tasers? In highly dangerous situations, armed police are on instant call. Regular police officers carrying Tasers will be perceived as aggressive behaviour. Criminals will arm themselves accordingly to protect themselves from Tasers, putting innocent people more at risk. It will become the old schoolyard addage of "i've got a big stick", but then "i've got a bigger stick". Where will that end up?
Complain about this comment
What about Prison Officers?
Complain about this comment
I cannot believe that the police need this violent weapon. Just because the suggestion is that the tazer is lighter as one of the reasons that makes them preferable to a baton is dubious in the extreme
Laurie
Complain about this comment
Police officers are every day putting themselves at risk to protect ourselves. All to often we have seen how police officers and indeed ordinary members of the public are becoming increasingly exposed to violent crime. This is only an option to police officers who will be no doubt highly trained and will be considerate to the legal implications of the use of such an item. We must welcome this move as it prevents us from going down the road of other countries and fuly arming the British Bobbies. Surely this less lethal option is better than that of lethal force. I would feel safer knowing that every police officer was equipped with such protective equipment rather than relying on a specialist team based miles from my local police station.
Complain about this comment
I have a pacemaker would the taser gun affect me?
Complain about this comment
i think that taser guns are not a very good defence and should not be allowed to be used
from becky in blackburn
Complain about this comment
i do not agree with the police carrying stun guns.. they have been getting by fine all these years without it and i am pretty sure that some police officers will misuse it aswell. so its better in the publics interest that they do not carry them. just because american officers carry guns that does mean that we have to start following in anyones footsteps.. im pretty sure many of u have seen programmes showing police officers misusing there weapons.
Complain about this comment
No no no Police should not carry taser guns, we've already seen what the police are capable of with Jean de menezes in 2005, This will just allow them to abuse people under more mistaken identites.
This will possibly lead to more justified abuse. British police arent trusted with this kind of equipment!
Nadine South London
Complain about this comment
As a former firearms police officer the level of authority to draw a taser is the same as a firearm, thus before using appropriate training must be given. However there are many officers I wuold not trust to take their pen top off nevermind use a Taser
Complain about this comment
As a police officer, I am already armed with pepper spray, and have never known any colleague spray anyone unnecessarily, I very much doubt that Tazer will be used unless absolutely necessary either.
I do my best to keep people safe and have been seriously assaulted in the past.
I have a family that I go home to, any piece of equipment that helps me go home to them at the end of a shift is welcomed by me.
Complain about this comment
My experience of the police leads me to feel, some can not be trusted to use a powerful weapon. There has to be a checing proces toa void mistakes and corruption.
Complain about this comment
yes i think they should as a side arm baton is not much use against someone carrying a firearm, if nothing else its a good deterrant
Complain about this comment
I feel that as they authorise it the Home Secretary etc should know what it feels like too.
Complain about this comment
I also have a heart complaint and although I do not expect to ever be tasered, there is the possiblity that some poor soul could die because of this, I also work in the legal profession and I do know that all police are not the same some are not responsible people at all, this is what I worry about. It is alright saying that you can complain after the event, but you should not be placed into a situation where your life is at risk.
Complain about this comment
I am epileptic and diabetic, can the police use these tasers on people that can disturb the nuero electrical activity in the brain and potentially cause a seziure which may result in physical injury to the tazered person? As surley as these tasers discharge an electric charge and could affect nerves and brain electrical activity. Could someone please advise if this is the case. I'm not a crininal nor do I intend to be but if some police accidently use the taser on someone with these conditions who have done nothing wrong how does the tasered person stand. Thank you. A 33 ur old male Glasgow.
Complain about this comment
Yet again the Police have come up with a ridiculous reason to keep the masses under control.
As with Jean Charles De Menzies and using the terrorist laws to arrest an MP, not to mention using the terrorist law to remove a heckler from a Labour party confernece. Someone innocent (or certainly not worthy of this treatment) will get hurt, maybe killed
Another big problem is that the Police have no idea if the person the taze has any medical conditions.
Britain is not that dangerous and we already have special firearm units.
NO TO TAZERS!
Keith
Complain about this comment
No they should not have to rigth to carry tasers. The police in london will just us it on people my age just because we get a little bit lippy. the police are already to heavy handed in london . Last year in yeats close nw10 obn the police strip searched a 15 year old friend of mine in a block of flats in front of everyone so if they can do that imagin what they will do to us when they get those things and i no if the police ever did that to the teenagers in london and the big citys like london it will cause riots and i would be in the front line
charlie rom
Complain about this comment
I don't see any good use of teaser guns.
It terrifies me if police approches a deaf person, totally oblivious to anything going on, will they use teaser?
Imagine that!
In America, the problem like that usually ends in tragedy, so no thank you!
Complain about this comment
How can affluent famous people possibly understand what it is like to live in the city where feral behaviour is rife!
Behave like a crazed animal and suffer the consequences.
Our police force has been made totally impotent, do viewers not what documentaries on street crime. Our police are there to protect and serve. Let them do their job and the country will be a safer place for al of us!
David
Worcester
Complain about this comment
DEFINITELY NOT! (unless there is a written guarantee that any policeman that tasers anyone who isn't a real threat should be tasered to death)
Obviously Paul Clunn (comment 9) didn't watch the show tonight (or he is a copper - the only people in favour of tasers).
On the other hand, let the police have tasers and watch the tiny bit of respect the public still have for them disappear.
Complain about this comment
This to me isnt the best idea in some ways. If someone that is aimed at one of these could DIE or have a permenant heart or respiratory condition.
If the police are now being trained to use one of these. How does it work when they need to catch someone in a crowd?
Complain about this comment
What seems critical to me is what rules of engagement are going to be imposed.
For example if the public were told that the police were being equipped wth stun guns and the would be used only to arrest armed criminal suspects who refused to lay down their weapon and be arrested peacefully, I think the public would be very supportive.
The story of West Yorkshire Police tasering a man for not answering their questions when he was in a diabetic coma is an absolute disgrace and demonstrates why rules of engagement need to be set nationally.
Complain about this comment
I have had a pacemaker defibrillator since i was 35, but i look very fit. How would a tazer affect me?
Phil Dawson
Complain about this comment
i believe that with the introduction of tazers that the home office are impling that our police are unskilled but the fact of the matter is is that our police is the best in the world you look at how they have dealt with terrorism, knife crime, gun crime and organised crime. i do not have to say much else because we do not have gangsters roaming streets and indimidating all people as a nation we need to stand tall and fight this perpetrators like we did in the war with our British spirit!!!
Complain about this comment
Its about time we gave the police some sort of equipment that will alow the bobby on the beat to deal with street crime as it happens, its all well and good having speaciel units that carry them but they are not always around or avalible.
Street crime and crime in general is running away with itself and we seem to be doing nothing to stop it, not on the streets and not in the courts.
If it was down to me we would have the death penalty and the police would all be armed.
For a parent who's son is diabetic, dont see what that has to do with anything.
Complain about this comment
I don't suppose that the police will go mad shooting everyone if they have tazers but it does invite serious and unnecessary accidents.
Complain about this comment
There are to many do-gooders in this day, age hence the state of society.
We need to take control again and hopefully the tazer will act as a deterant and not have to be used to often.
Its unfortunate, but since the do-gooders have stopped the use of the cane in schools and the fact that parents are no longer able to disiplin their own children there is no longer any respect.
People who do nothing wrong have nothing to fear.
Complain about this comment
Could someone please please explain to me why oh why the police found it necessary to taser an unconcious man. Surely the taser is meant for those who are a threat to the police or public.
Complain about this comment
When dealing with extremely dangerous and violent members of the public, (for example someone who is high on drugs with a weapon). The current Parver Spray, and baton are not effective. The spray has no effect on someone on drugs and the baton can only be used to defend, or in a specific way, as a mis-judged blow to the can be lethal. The Trazor offers a way of disarming such a person without out harm to the police officers, and only temporary discomfort to the attacker. I think the general public underestimate the real day to day danger that officers face and they are quite capable of using it responsibly. The baton after all is far more lethal, especially in the hands of the wrong person which can happen when wrestling whilst trying to arrest someone.
Complain about this comment
If you go out on the streets carrying guns blades or other weapons you can expect to get tazerd. I hope it realy hurts...
Complain about this comment
Working for the police I see on a daily basis the violence that officers face. First hand experience of the current Protective equipment ie, captor spray is not effective on every person and in confined spaces it has an effect on the officers deploying it.
I appreciate the concerns of your viewer who drives the bus but lets look at the big picture, the brittish streets are violent (Bette is misinformed) anything that stops violent people quick and without harm to the officer can only be a good thing, those that dissagree should go on a shift with the police on a saturday night before passing comment.
Steve, Chichester
Complain about this comment
What about DEAF PEOPLE like myself, my husband and our friends. If we do not respond its because we do not hear, so we get TASERED? If we are doing nothing wrong, we have nothing to fear? I am fearful now, for those with hearing difficulties.
Complain about this comment
I think that the police should use these weapons. The alternative of our police carrying guns isn' t one that I would like to see. If you don't want to tazared then stay within the law, but rmember if you don't your chances of survival are better than a gun shot.
Complain about this comment
My husband is a serving police officer and has been injured several times in the line of duty.
I think most people have their head in the clouds when it comes to the violence on our streets.
If the general public dont want all police routinely armed then Taser is the solution.
Complain about this comment
I am a serving Police Officer and welcome TAZER. If I was to strike someone with my baton, the injuries could be very serious or even fatal. At least with TAZER, these are less harmful. In the current climate, Police are faced with very serious situations on a daily basis and need to act quickly. As I Police a rural area, sometimes I could have to wait 40 minutes for specially trained firearms officer - I would have the ability to control a situation if I had TAZER!!!
Complain about this comment
I think anyone who has a disability should be very afraid. If trained armed police groups think it's okay to shoot an unarmed, non-agressive man in a diabetic coma, TWICE with 50,000 volts, then we should really worry about issuing these guns to all police.
Complain about this comment
i am profoundly deaf with a cochlear implant if a policeman shouted at me or instructed me from a distance i proberly would not understand them and if i was to be tasered for being non-co-operative there is a huge chance my implant would fail and i would not be abe to understand them at all and i would need another 8 hour operation to have a new implant
Complain about this comment
Im a bobby and you will be able to tell, for instance, : hang on, you heard only part of the diabetic coma story, he got on a bus and remembers nothing else, so every one discounts the possibility that something happened inbetween getting on the bus and being tasered. Is it me or was their a taser toting bobby on the bus and the bloke collapsed. Yes mistakes will happen, name a job that deals with the public where it doesnt.? Most people responding have no idea what my job involves, I invite the general public to spend a friday night in my boots, in fact Im on on Christmas Eve in a very popular seaside town centre, may main priority that day is to do the job and get hoome without bruises/ black eyes.
And as for bettes views, which are best a little niave, 10 years ago knife crime wasnt a major issue, cocaine was mainly done by rockstars / rich people and pubs shut at 11. Times have changed.
Complain about this comment
I AM A SERVING POLICE OFFICER. THE IMPLIMENTATION OF TASAR CAN NOT COME QUICK ENOUGH. NOT ALL OFFICERS WILL BE ISSUED WITH THE TASAR BUT IS TO BE MADE 'AVAILABLE'.
TASAR IS A DETERRANT AND WILL ONLY BE USED AS A LAST RESORT. MORE OFTEN I COME FACE TO FACE WITH VIOLENT PEOPLE WHO THINK NOTHING OF ASSAULTING ME. THEREFORE TASAR WILL OFFER A SAFE AND RESOUNDING END TO ANY VIOLENT SITUATION LEAVING THE OFFENDER DETAINED SAFELY FOR ALL CONCERNED.
BASICALLY IF YOU DONT WANT TO BE TASARED DONT PUT YOURSELF IN THAT POSITION.
IAN SOUTH WALES
Complain about this comment
It has been widley publicised that these things are harmless. If so then the police will not be able to charge some member of the public who makes or purchases one and fights back as it is a harmless device?
Complain about this comment
I have just watched your sensationalist report on taser issue to Police Forces in the UK.
It is sad to see people who never face violence, holding forth from the safety of a couch.
they will never face the risks Officers are sworn to take in the execution of the law.
Taser gives Officers a tool to protect the public and themselves without resorting to firearms.
Or would the panel prefer people to be struck with an ASP baton leaving a mark or fracture, or worse still, be shot?
Complain about this comment
Do Tazers have any adverse affects on pacemakers?!!
Complain about this comment
The police were first designated to be a SERVICE to the public and not a fearsome Force.
Most of the British public do not have guns and therefore guns should not be used against the public.
The police saying the police carrying tazers will be highly trained is not justifyed and with the more force the police are given the more likely they are to cause fatal mistakes. And they have made fatal mistakes (for example the brazalian chap who was killed in the tube station).
As the person who has diabetes said, he was tazered and arrested under the terrorism act; of which that has been abused. Precedent of this is Sally Cameron was arrested under the terrorism act in Dundee for walking on a cycling lane.
If they police are given further force, larger widescale problems will occour and people who are against this will be enraged causing further dis-cooperation with the police.
Complain about this comment
no i dont think that they should be allowed to carry these weapons.
i'm not convinced they would be used appropiateley.
and like the gent in the first post i worry that, whilst not being likely to get into trouble with the police, if they make a mistake and fire one at me for whatever reason, i suffered a head injury in an accident some years ago and do not like the idea of me being paralysed and falling to the ground in case i cause further damage as i collapse.
as the chap in the programme proves, the average person/pc are not always fully aware of what is going on with the person in front of them
Complain about this comment
They should have had them long before now. I think the youth of today may show the police more respect and be less inclined to become violent.
Complain about this comment
If it's going to save somebody likeJean Charles Menezes then it's a good idea.
On the other hand giving the most policemen these instruments unless properly trained is a bad idea
Complain about this comment
too many politically correct morons stopping the ability of the police to restrain villiains who have no respect for authority, drug fuelled or knife weilding idiots...have no sympathy for any of them incapacitate the scum them lock them away...too many nutters walking the streets due to wishy washy do-gooders defending these rabble
Complain about this comment
I'm all in favour of every police officer having a taser, anything that makes them safer is ok by me, to expect someone to face violence on a daily basis with just a stick these days is nothing short of rediculous.
As a law abiding citezen I don't expect I will ever be tasered.
Complain about this comment
one of the many aspects of the stun-gun question which bothers me is, if someone has an artificial heart valve, or pacemaker, surely use of this weapon could result in a person's death
Complain about this comment
Ironic isnt it weve had the electric shock training collars banned from being used on dogs but we have to put up with the government granting the permission for officers to carry and use tazers on people !!
shawn brighton not a criminal but an astmatic diabetic !!
Complain about this comment
to all those people with heart problems y r u so worried as you've done nothin wrong hav u
Complain about this comment
The only people who should be concerned by the police carrying Taser guns, are people on the wrong side of the law.
The police aren't going to go round the streets randomly shooting people.
My advice to you would be to be a law abiding citizen and you will have no worries.
Complain about this comment
They should use pepper balls like in the u.s.a (paintball gun that shoots pepper balls) stuns,blinds,and can drop a guy in a few shots
Complain about this comment
I don't see why on earth anyone in this country would want to introdcue teasers to our police force. This is not America and I think some people need to be reminded of that. Yes our society is not perfect but these things are dangerous and if our police officers can make the mistake of someone going into a diabetic coma who else will they teaser who hasn't done anything wrong? Or is it going to take a death of an innocent person for them to see that this is wrong?
Georgina Laing
Complain about this comment
http://www.infowars.com/subject_archives/ps/tasers_archive.htm
The above is an archive of over a hundred cruel and brutal uses of tasers by police. Many of them on children under the age of ten. One or two around the age of FIVE. Children in SCHOOLS.
The following article illustrates how doctors are announcing that tasers DO cause heart attacks and end lives.
http://www.infowars.net/articles/may2008/220508Tasers.htm
This organisation concerns the use of tasers in the UK.
http://www.taser.org.uk/
And this article makes for an interesting read too
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/tasers-used-300-times-last-year-886215.html
Complain about this comment
Stupid comments like "police officers will be going round tazering everyone, are ridiculous". We've had batons and spray for a while, and police officers don't use those indiscriminately! And for people who say we don't need them because nobody carries guns, are living in a dream world. I'm a police officer in 'affluent' Buckinghamshire and there are situations that arise there, that would require the use of a tazer!
Complain about this comment
What about Prison officers?
iam a serving prison officer and the home Office forget about us?We have to look after these potential violent people without the equipment the Police have?
All we have is a baton? and not all Prison Officers have that facility,we have to rely on our interpersonal skills and our collegues to deal with violent prisoners.The home Office wants to take a look at the Prison Service for once!!
Complain about this comment
Come on, Why do we have to go down this road? Surely to issue more violence and hurt will only receive more violence. We fight Knife crime but we do not issue knifes to the police YET?
Complain about this comment
after clapham when the police murded the wrong pearson .
i think they should not be armed with anything that can harm the people that enploy them
Complain about this comment
im sick and tired of hearing that these guns will be used by "specially trained policemen"...it was specially trained policemen that shot an annocent young man on a london tube
Complain about this comment
I am serving Police Officer and wish to remain 'anon'
The Taser Gun when fired throws out hundreds of alpha dots with an unique number specific to firing cartridge on the end of the weapon - therefore it is near impossible to fire the weapon without leaving evidence, it also records activations electronically within the weapon itself.
The Taser has never been listed as the sole cause of death for anyone that is has been used on - however with heart conditions and the use of illegal drugs Taser has been listed as contributing
Complain about this comment
Well i think they are a good deterrent and i am all for the police using them along with the proper training.
As a revenue inspector on the rail i see first hand the violence that the police have to deal with every day and to a lesser extent myself.
The police put themselves at risk every day and so anything that can protect or deter is a good thing.
However i think that it should only be used as a last resort and only by a trained person.
I think this move has come because of the increase in knife carrying and of course the increase of drink and or drug fuelled violence and i know if i was a policeman or policewomen i would feel a lot safer knowing i had a taser to back me up.
If we dont start taking some action against the rise in violence we as a country will end up like the wild west, i know the human rights people will be up in arms against it but the state we are in now is partly their fault with human rights somtimes bordering on madness.
Lets give it a trial and it it proves incorrect then withdraw them.
Complain about this comment
If the police authorities spent as much time teaching diplomacy to their officers as they do to using firearms and such things as tazers there would be very little call for there use. Over the last twenty years the police seem to lost the ability to talk to people, all they seem to be able to do is arrest them. I doubt if one in ten PCs these days can deal with stoppy people without recourse to violence. The old coppers spent a minimum of five years on the beat, on their own without instant back up, that taught diplomacy. I know that things move on but not always for the better.
Complain about this comment
With violent/knife crime on the rise what is the lone Policeman confronting a violent person with a knife meant to do.
Stand and die or protect himeself and the public.
I wish people and the pink and fluffy would get real and support those who protect the community, putting their lives on the line!
What does the US know of our society? or anyone elses for that matter.
Complain about this comment
Police are being given tasers because it is a safer option. Bette Midler made my blood boil commenting that the british police don't need tasers because criminals don't carry guns. Where has she been for the last 20 years, clearly not in the U.K. A police officer has a right to go home to his or her family each night alive and well. Just because the police are being issued with another option to protect themselves, the public and often the offender doesn't automatically mean it will be abused. Look at the rising rate of gun and knife crime and justify NOT issuing a more effective option. The days when police officers were respected and their requests met with complience are long gone, they need other options
Complain about this comment
In reply to "undercoverpc" comments , one name springs to mind Jean Charles De Menenzes,
There are to many hot heads in the police force.
Complain about this comment
No we should not allow the police to carry these weapons, the police at this time have more powers than is needed in Britain today. I have noticed over the last few years it is getting steadily worse with the attitude of the police, this zero tollerance that the police follow is undermining the respect people had for the police. this is just another thing they can do to make sure we dont argue, the vast majority would taser you rather than look at you.
Complain about this comment
I don't know WHAT the general public thinks our Police are?They are professionally trained,and have to go through months of rigorous training,then a two year assessed probation,before they are deemed responsible and capable enough to be classed as a full-blown copper allowed to patrol without mentor and to progress through ranks to his or her ultimate rank.In USA one has only to 'sign up' for police taining, officers are NOT trained as thoroughly as ours and unfortunately,most are of s very low intellect,specially in rural areas.
Give our fantastic Police credit for their restraint,professionalism,and capablities,we DON't live in a tin-pot banana republic like Brazil or Eastern Europe,we have still got best force IN THE WORLD.let them defend themselves from muderous attack with tazer
it stop criminals getting close enough to attack,the batons are hopelessly out of date
and do NOT
Complain about this comment
My son has a heart condition. How man more out there, with illnesses that would contra indicate there use.
No way should be have this.
Complain about this comment
over the past month the shop where i work has been broken into numerous times and i have first-hand witnessed police fighting with youths. If parents dont teach their children to respect the police then perhaps they should learn the hard way. Due to rise in knife (and gun) crime I think that responsible use of tasers should be encouraged in DANGEROUS situations, anything that protects the law [and us] should be welcomed.
Complain about this comment
re 120 - im sign language trained and we wont use for non cooperation, thats usa, we will use in self defence, their is ahuge difference. Plus ive seen taser and people even non english speakers and the very drunk undertand the taser red dot system.
Complain about this comment
There are no trained cops with guns, if there were, there would be no need for a shoot to kill policy, if they were trained, they would shoot to disarm, and a family would not be going to church to bury a loved one, they shoot to disarm in america, why not over here, disgraceful.
Complain about this comment
Okay... so i have been at demonstrations (my democratic right to do so being exercised) and i have been roughly treated on several occasions. A few times i have been arrested and later released without charge (to remove me from the situation usually, as no 'crime' had actually been committed).. anyway i now have increased chances of being Tasered. I am currently a pregnant woman and i am friends with epileptics and diabetics, as well as folks with heart conditions...
My point is that with the introduction of mainstream use of Tasers, each of us are at increased risk of serious injury, permanent personal damage and possibly even the loss of life.
I do not think the use of Tasers in non-specialised policing is a good idea at all.
Sadly within our culture it will only be after a few reported unnecessary deaths will we realise the folly of introducing the Taser as a means of arrest.
Do not cowtow to this draconian policing method - you never know when 'it could be you!'.
Complain about this comment
Slane666 - your views of law abiding and mine are fundamentally different. I assume you think that the diabetic on the bus was a law breaker and deserved to be tazered? What he needed was medical attention, not being attacked by a member of the police who will no doubt be legally protected for their mistakes / lack of training.
Some of us take the law to mean MORAL law, not the written law as changed and abused to suit the latest whim of the ruling classes to avoid them having to deal with more difficult issues. Need I mention SOCPA? Which is the most outrageous offense to pubic decency many of us have ever seen - it's made many law abiding people into criminals to no effect other than saving the government from often much justified criticism.
Complain about this comment
Here's a scenario...Lets say your brother/husband/son has upset someone in a petty dispute.
They ring the police and report that your relative is in the local pub with a sawn off shotgun in a carrier bag and have threatened to shoot you if you enter the pub.
The attending firearms unit thinks your relative has a live firearm and call them outside to the street.
Would you rather they were shot dead or tased?
I know which I would choose..(This has happened in real life )
Complain about this comment
i was in the police for over 14 years and am now permanently disabled after being assaulted on duty. if i had been armed with a taser the assault would undoubtedly not have occurred and i would still have my health. i am only 44 years old and will never be able to work again.
i think the taser is an excellent addition to police protection as long as it is used in the correct circumstances.
the same complaints from the countries bleeding hearts were made when CS spray was first issued and that is now accepted as just another piece of equipment.
unless you have been a police officer and subject to risk of serious assault on a daily basis you cannot comprehend the need for the taser or something like it. a non lethal method of incapacitation.
Complain about this comment
GIVE THESE PEOPLE TASARS AND THEY WILL USE IT AGAINST EVERY TOM DICK AND HARRY THAT UPSETS THEM. BE VERY AFRAID..........
Complain about this comment
I have a pacemaker and find the prospect of tasers in the hands of the police frightening. I am over 50 an ex fire officer and now, having graduated from university, a college lecturer. On saturday I was subjected to a personal search as I entered a football match in order to ensure I carried no drink or drugs. I know that I must fit some "risk" profile, but the logic behind targeting me as a suitable suspect to search leads me to think that the use of a taser against me could be a possible reality.I incedently had not consumed alcohol nor carried any illegal substance(although due to the low temperatures did have a hat on). I am more afraid than assured if the police have this weapon...
Complain about this comment
i believe that all of u r jumping on the band wagon as i am a diabetic and i am not worried about been tazored as i have nothing to hide
Complain about this comment
We have lived in Spain for many years and the crime rate here is a lot lower because the police carry guns and will assert there authority, Every one is quick enough to start with the human rights of the guy who just mugged an old granny or robbed a bank, but what i´m concerened about, and is never publisied is about the rights of the Police Officers in the U.K; they put there lives on the line every time they set foot out of the station, Maybe if the police had more repect in the uk they wouldnt feel the need to carry tazers!!?!?!?!!??!
Complain about this comment
Tasers are potentially fatal weapons; police with access to them should be given as much training as police with access to any other type of firearm.
It makes me frightened to think that these weapons could be issued to police officers who see them as a harmless alternative to other methods of enforcement.
- Fuchsia, Berkshire.
Complain about this comment
it seems from the blog the only people in favour of the taser...............
Surprise surprise is the Police or police family members.
Complain about this comment
I don't know WHAT the general public thinks our Police are?They are professionally trained,and have to go through months of rigorous training,then a two year assessed probation,before they are deemed responsible and capable enough to be classed as a full-blown copper allowed to patrol without mentor and to progress through ranks to his or her ultimate rank.In USA one has only to 'sign up' for police taining, officers are NOT trained as thoroughly as ours and unfortunately,most are of s very low intellect,specially in rural areas.
Give our fantastic Police credit for their restraint,professionalism,and capablities,we DON't live in a tin-pot banana republic like Brazil or Eastern Europe,we have still got best force IN THE WORLD.let them defend themselves from muderous attack with tazer
it stop criminals getting close enough to attack,the batons are hopelessly out of date
and do NOT protect against knives and hatchets[remember Keith Blakelock,anyone?] nad NO I'm Not and never have been a copper
Complain about this comment
The Taser is potentially a lethal weapon.
For someone in full health it may be only a 5sec burst of pain.
For someone with a heart condition, which the user cannot know about, it can be a fatal shock
Complain about this comment
Even as a 14 year old boy i can realise that the basic principles of the taser matches that of torture. extreme pain which vanishes soon after, its just torture!
Complain about this comment
This is how it will go in the UK
http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=qlUVGf8B2yc
Complain about this comment
This is the thin end of the wedge, the slippery slope to totalitarianism.
How long before the Police REGULARLY use Tazers on anyone they want to talk to, just in case?
Complain about this comment
As with all law enforcement measures these new WEAPONS will have their place.
That place is not in the hands of every officer on the street to use at will without oversight.
We have seen with the de Menezes inquest that officers have (in the words of the inquest judgement) been untruthful and one officer has admitted to tampering with his evidence after the fact.
Now we propose to give extensive use of possibly leathal weapons to every officer who may then simply lie after the fact to justify any impropper use of their weapon.
When the point comes that every officer is faced with deadly threat evry day we'll need to give every officer leathal force because it's required not simply because it's a handy thing to dish out a form of summary justice.
Complain about this comment
Is Bett Midler for real! The police NEED to carry some type of weapon now in this year of 2008! Crime in the UK has increased. Knife crime is normal. Criminals now carry weapons as a norm. We are no the police of yester year anymore, much as we'd like to be. It makes me angry to think that the public believe that all it takes to disarm someone with a knife or a gun, is to either rugby tackle them or hit them with an asp! I am a Detective Constable. I investigate crime that has been given to me and I interview prisoners that the uniformed officers arrest. I would hate to ever go out on the streets again in uniform and deal with the situations that they have to deal with on a day to day basis. I challenge any MP, Celebrity, or civil rights person to come out with front line police officers on a normal Friday/Saturday night duty to see for themselves what they have to deal with.
Complain about this comment
I am a serving police officer. Reading some of these posts, most members of the public are very 'out of touch' with the reality of what British police officers have to face on a day to day basis. The level of violence shown towards innocent members of the public by a select few on weekend evenings in the town where I work is shocking. We need tasers now.
What is that Bet woman talking about on the show tonight? What exactly does she know about policing in the UK? She should come out on duty with me at the weekends and see exactly what the British public are like to deal with.
Complain about this comment
This is wrong wrong wrong! Police needlessly hurt people they arrest who are innocent every day! And this will cause more pain! They say that the pain will go away but if you were punched and then it stopped throbbing would you just carry on and accept it? They are there to protect you but are now turning into an armed militia who if they go unregulated will become corrupt. People will die and that defies the object. They dont need tazers they just need to be better trained. Policing has become a joke since they tried to introduce more women by lowering the standards. This also defies the point as standards are there to make sure people are trained to protect us. They are not there to go and put more women there for a better image. Women as fine to join as long as they meet the same requirements and if they are not then that endangers the public and brings into force measures like this. Policing needs to be changed of there shall be casultys. Having them marching aroudn like natzis is not what britain needs!
Vote conservative.
Complain about this comment
Dont think any of the show members tonight will ever be in a position to have to deal with an armed violent criminal so try and keep this balanced. This country is falling apart with declining standards. Taser is just he start. We are now in an age when we dont have the luxury of listening to lets cuddle criminals brigade and they all need to get a grip on reality. try giving the support to those in the minority who you all ask to sort out your problems. I dont mean politians or solicitors.
Complain about this comment
I'm afraid I'm on the side of the no thank you's.
If anyone thinks that mistakes never happen and that tasers could not be misused haven't learnt anything from the DeMenzes case.
Whilst tasers have a role this should be kept in a selected area of the police force where an alternative to firearms can be used such as the above case.
Complain about this comment
Is this not enough?
July 30, 2008
Iredell County sheriff’s deputy says a Statesville man who died after he was shocked with a Taser was in handcuffs at the time.
after the white washed de Mendezgate affair have we learned nothing...
Complain about this comment
Of course, the police are in favour of using tazers. Of course, the police want to be able to detain suspects for 42 days or even 90 days. Of course, the police want all sorts of powers. Of course, the police want to be able to rummmage around in MPs offices in Parliament. They get above themselves.
By trying to persuade our politicians that everybody is a terrorist, they make the situation more difficult and not less.
Complain about this comment
I have a pace maker, and cannot pass an airport screener or have an MRI scan.
What is a taser likely to do to me?
Chris Bowes
Complain about this comment
Please before you all make such negative comments, go and work with the Police as a Special Constable so you can experience what it is like to face violent uncontrollable people whose sole intention is to cause you harm just because you are a Police Officer. How many of you are expected to deal everyday with such people. The Police have no one they can call to sort out their problems for them. Many of you will never have faced any violence, and if you have would never want to face it again. Go and do it on every night shift in every town. Then tell me you are happy for the Police to be defenceless.
Complain about this comment
I have been tasered under control condition and at no time did it hurt. it just relaxed all your muscles and you went to the floor. The people that introduced this tool have all been tasered to know how it feels they even had professional medicalpersonnel in attendance when a famous interviewer attended to see what it felt like.
Why is it that people object to these being issued to police officers how would they feel when they have to face what police officers face this also includes security people who do a similar job and dont have the same protection as police officers.
Those that complain about these tasers should spend time on the front line with the officers. I believe that they are a less lethal option than deadly force. Mark950
Complain about this comment
Here is the Met's finest police officer using a tazer;
http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=qlUVGf8B2yc
Complain about this comment
Roger from Abingdon Oxox.
My company is developing protective clothing for use by people who may be at extra risk from Tasers like pacemaker users.
Complain about this comment
I have grave concerns about the use of the taser in the UK in future.
Those who have underlying heart conditions could be killed, and those who have epilepsy could mimic someone like the diabetic guy featured on tonights programme.
There are many loopholes in the legislateive process which will see people with genuine physical health probems potentially being taser'd.
This gun is barbaric, and yet another potential power trip for some officers, against drunk & disorderly people - and more expecially people with underlying medical conditions however well trained officers are to use it.
Complain about this comment
When are all you people out there going to wise up, the use of lethal weapons on the streets is like an epidemic so much so that a lot of the times the press don't bother reporting the story unless it has an appealing angle, the Police deserve to have a defensive weapon not just to protect their well being but to protect innocent members of the public...if a person in a public place was threatening your wife, husband, child, friend, relative etc would you want the officer to take a step backwards whilst awaiting backup that could be precious minutes away by which time your precious relative could become another victim or would you want the officer to fire his taser and disable the assailant, it is a preventative measure and all forces have strict guidelines on when it should be used and a lot of times simply by producing the taser is enough to make the assailant compliant.
Complain about this comment
As a special constable of 17 years' service, I'm dismayed that nobody researches the number of police officers stabbed on duty each year. The taser is yet another way of protecting those that protect us. Tasers can always be misused, as can everything else - but no mention has been made that they can be downloaded to a computer and details of all use recalled.
Complain about this comment
Re the Tazer guns; I think that they'd be useful once in a while only by a few well chosen & specially trained officers..but I'd be very worried about indiscriminate use when a police officer got upset or angry - they are after all, human first and police second! I've heard of many instances of police covering for one another when they've made an error!
I'm also worried about the many people that could be 'tazed' when they already have a life threatening illness such as diabetes or heart conditions etc....and the fact that receiving an electric shock in this way could kill or maim them!
Michelle - Ilford, Essex
Complain about this comment
I am all for helping helping the police to fight crime but, what is the point of us having a specialised fire arms dept if all police officers are going to be issued with a tazer.
Complain about this comment
hi
My wife is a police officer, she is an average size 10. would the public find it exceptable for her to confront a large heavy aggressive male on her own without a tazer. this is a regular senario up and down the country for many officers.
is it the publics expectation for police to be the publics punch bags.
Complain about this comment
I think stun guns are extreamly dangerous. People with epilepsy can be put in to an epileptic fit. I myself have epilepsy and worry very much about stun guns. If the police make a mistake and stun some one with epilepsy they could end up being sued. I also heard that they are extreamly painful, why would some one want to have that? You might as well bring back corporal punishment. I think it's a discraiceful idea
Complain about this comment
Thank you for highlighting this worrying issue which has been sneaked in without any real debate. I feel very strongly that tasers should be a measure which is widely available to the police. People have died as a result of being assaulted by tasers - especially the more vulnerable who have the right to be protected. All powers are exceeded at some stage - just look at the way the anti terrorist laws are being misused. Please please add your voice to stop this pernicious and continuing erosion of our human rights
Complain about this comment
I'm certain that Mr De Menez relatives would have preferred him to be tasered than shot. Thelevels of violence have increased dramatically and the public want to feel that they are protected and that criminals are stopped quickly. As for the cost - surely this will be offset. How much did the De Menez incident cost. As for people getting hold of these weapons bad as that would be surely that is better than them getting hold of real guns!!
Complain about this comment
This is a very worrying development and a further move to a police state. I disagree and ask for eveyone to oppose this move for the following reason:
The police have enough hardware at their disposal including batons and dogs. How much weaponary do they really need. This is a weapon which can be used as a means of abuse without visible evidence and should not be issued at all. As soon as any weapon is produced the police run a mile and call the firearms squad anyway so when would the Taser actually be used - my guess is on innocent people by overzealous, callous individuals who really only want experiment to see how badly they can hurt people and get away with it!!!
Complain about this comment
Give the Police some equality at last, how effectively can you tackle any kind of miscreant with a truncheon. Give back to the criminal some of the pain caused to their victims. If tazers were in use then Charles de Menezes might still be alive and we could have saved the millions that his inquest cost the tax payer. Human rights do gooders, get a life and give something useful to the community, and stop protecting the criminal element. "Oh please don't hurt them, please don't put them in jail" They are criminals (check meaning in dictionary) and should be punished.
Complain about this comment
DAVEPREID , yes.
Complain about this comment
It if serious concern to me that our police are costantly trying to 'Jack' up the weaponry to be used against the citizens of our country. Am I the only one that has recognised a greater degree of aggressiveness from todays police force.
I understand there is an element of society that pushes the boundaries of acceptable behaviour but today some of these elements are the police themselves. Someone will be killed who will later be discovered to be innocent, an enquiry will be heard and excuses and reasons offered. A life will have been taken, and lives irrepairably damaged and for what purpose.
We have armed response police and I support them, I will never support the use of weapons in the hands of uniformed thugs.
Complain about this comment
You have to remember that police officers place themselves in dangerous situations everyday of the week dealing with people that the general public wont approach or have nothing to do with.
If a man is attacking someone with a knife how many of the general public jump in to help? Not many, they just walk on past and call the police. Police will then attend and have to deal with them, A dangerous individual with a knife. With taser being in place there is less risk of the officer having to confront them up close and risk injury and potentially there lives. The use of tazer would apprehend the individual with no more injury. An a dangerous man detained an off the streets. Without tazers officers would have to wait for more units to arrive and specialist officers. They will have to cordon of areas to keep the public safe. This all taking time and man-power of probably 10 plus officers.
if officers are issued with tazer this can be dealt with by two officers in a safe and controlled way, quickly and efficently.
All front line officers that place them selves in danger everyday should be issued with tazer. I cant wait to see the response when all police will eventually be armed with firearms.
Complain about this comment
I strongly oppose the general poice carrying tasers. The very fact that they are considered not (potentially) life-threatening means that they are more likely to be used, no doubt on people "resisting arrest" (i.e. those wanting to exercise their rights, such as peaceful-protest).
There is no doubt that the police face increasing challenges, but the systematic creation of a poice state is not the way to address those challenges. Let's not forget that gentleman who had Tony Blair appologising to him because he was dragged out of a Labour conference for asking a question.
Complain about this comment
Just how long will it take for criminals to think “your not tasing me” and pulls a real firearm and shots / harms ?
How long will it take for the british police to kill and cover up someone during the use of there very very low risk weapon.
And if its so very low risk why have over 300 people died by the hands of the police in America.
Complain about this comment
I would personally like to see Jackie Smith tasered!
Complain about this comment
To Merlipep:
I am an ex professional soldier, an Infantryman. You obviously have no IDEA how difficult it is to "shoot to disarm" Almost impossible.
Complain about this comment
The taser is the beginning of the end of our civil freedoms. Society may have got more violent, but tasers are not the solution. It's a very sad sad situation to find ourselves in. To think it was only in the early 90s that the friendly bobby was still walking the streets. Really really sad, I am most worried>
Complain about this comment
Yes they should carry taser and I am married to a police officer who does carry it now. Members of the public who have never been confronted by someone ranting and raving, being abusive and carrying a weapon (whether a knife or gun or a stick or household object) need to hold off on the comments. This is a very frightening situation as you don't know how they will react and if you can deal with it. the only option for officers at the moment is to approach them and physically get hold of them or if there is fear of life to shot them. Our streets are more violent whether people like to or not and most of you have the bliss of not nothing what happens every night on our streets. When you deal with this day in day out you soon realise that a violent person can be anyone. You don't know if they have taken drugs or are on medication or its a medical condition that is causing the problem. For those split seconds when a situation arises its only those who are there who can judge. Most of us are lucky not to have to go to work thinking that we could meet these sorts of situations today and hope we come out alive. And I mean alive. You don't hear of all the officers who lose their lives through duty. It may make people think twice before kicking off next time and save everyone the stress, hassles and possible injury to all that can result. So yes if it means my husband will come home in tact and not injured just down to someone kicking off then that's fine. I'm happier knowing at least he can protect himself as well as the public. The unfortunate situations of medical conditions will be a small minority and with anything just has to be accepted.
Complain about this comment
Tazer or Weapon?
Let us not kid ourself, Tazers are a weapon, therfore they should be associated with the word WEAPON. They are dangerous,
Complain about this comment
Someone said that they had a heart complaint asked if they would die if tasered. Would such a person be actually be acting violently? I'm sure a violent struggle would be equally dangerous to a heart patient. The general comments completely miss the point. Taser is intended to be used on violent people and people who threaten violence. I am astounded at the ignorance of the public.
Complain about this comment
As someone who is Epileptic how do these guns effect a medical problem?
Complain about this comment
deedeemonster - I could not agree more!
The public at large, and particularly the police often revert to the "if you're not a law breaker, you're safe" response - what utter rubbish! I have also been at (and lead) political demonstrations and been attacked by the police, on at least one occasion with scant warning - had they used tazers on that occasion, there would have been far more severe injuries than the odd bruise and maybe a fractured arm - the panic alone could have killed, even if the tazers did not on that occasion. If this gets any further then I for one will gettign arrested under SOCPA (what a crock of sh!te that is!) for demonstrating outside parliament. Incindentally, if you're of such a mind I urge you to think of Brian Haw (the only person legally allowed to protest in Parliament square) and take him some mince pies or similar this Christmas. Best wishes to a fellow sane and peaceful protester.
Complain about this comment
I am the wife of a serving Police Officer who regularly attends violent confrontations usually knife or gun related. While I appreciate the views of anti-taser campaigners do my children's human rights not count in the right to have their father return home at the end of a shift? Could it not be argued that if you are innocent and comply to the Officers commands the chances of being "tasered" are minimal? What alternatives do the anti-taser lobby suggest would work against a violent person brandishing a weapon? Yes our Police officers are traditionally not armed but we are all aware of this, particuarly those who commit offences. Yes inflicting imense pain on a person (albeit for a very short amount of time) will not be pleasent but neither would be explaining to 3 young children why Daddy is never coming home.
Complain about this comment
I work with people with mental health problems and assess them for the police.Already the police have difficulties in managing them so this will be an easy option to use on our most vulnerable members of society.Usually they are not able to cope with the challenges of paperwork or the stress of a complaints interview.Who will look at this?
Complain about this comment
If people use weapons they should accept that the police have the right to use weapons. At least the the risk of being killed is greatly reduced with tasers compared to guns. Our society is increasingly using violence against anybody and the police need the rights to protect themselves and innocent people by the best available methods.
Complain about this comment
OOPS! Re the above comment from singing joyceg - I missed out a NOT in"I feel very strongly that tasers should NOT be a measure which is widelky available to the police"
Complain about this comment
This is the UK in action with Tasers
http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=qlUVGf8B2yc
Complain about this comment
I have used Taser it is a great bit of kit for Officer safety.
The Police have used it over 100 times this year and there has been no deaths.
If those do gooders what to be face to face with a violent person and let them shout out for Taser. I bet they do!!!
In the USA there has been deaths due to bad training. I:e taser a man who has doused himself in petrol.
If the Officers don't have use of taser then you will have to arm every Officer do you want that???
It is better to use Taser on a violent person than use CS???
Wake up Britain it is a violent place in some areas and Police Officers are getting killed and injured.
Gomarine
Complain about this comment
I think that police should have tazers, to protect themselves and the public against thugs and terrorists.
Amy, Cornwall.
Complain about this comment
I thoroughly agree with lab-rat's comments.
But, as the politicians are slowly taking us towards a police state, neither they nor the police are concerned about the general public.
Why don't they just issue the police with guns and have done with it?
It won't be long before that happens, my friends, Big Brother is on his way (No, not the Channel 4 one).
Complain about this comment
This is what it will be like if they give them Tasers, you know what most Police are like;
http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=qlUVGf8B2yc
Complain about this comment
No In Canada at the airport in Vancouver
a laser gun was used on a passenger who was at a loss to find his way no english spoken. as a result this polish man coming over to Vancouver to see his mum.
the result was he never made it.
The police laser gunning him killed him
IT IS NOT AS SAFE AS THEY WOULD HAVE YOU BELIEVE.
Sometimes there are health situaions that end upmeaning a laser is the worst thing that can be used
Complain about this comment
hitmanmark - "intended for" violent people? Who told you this...? We've already seen that this is not how police are being trained to use them, or use them in practice. Was the epileptic on the bus violent? No, he was passed out and in need of medical attention - about as far from violent as you can get!
The general ignorance of some other members of the public never ceases to amaze the rest of us either.
Complain about this comment
In the current climate where knife crime and others forms of viloent crime are up the police and members of the public need to be protected against this.Police officers go through a process of conflict management which is on a sliding scale dependant on a number of factors.One of these factors may require the tazer to be utilised immediately. The last thing a officer wants to do is to do uneccessary injury,but equaly he does not want to get into the fighting arc of a viloent suspect of one that may have a weapon.
In any walks of life you always get the bad apples its human nature,its a good effective piece of esssential equipment and i feel its perception is different to seeing an officer needing to strike a suspect several times with his baton.
Complain about this comment
seems like alot of people were thinking the same thing.. people with implanted devices.. this may be a problem?.. also people who are mentaly ill...
what are the side effects?
Would it be fair for people who are drunk? people trying to enjoy a night out.
Alcohol effects awareness... do the police have the time to deal with drunk people? didnt think so ...
also the fear of police abusing their weapon.. who said police brutality doesnt exsist?
there are so many crooked cops. Im sure everyone would agree!
Complain about this comment
As a retired police officer who has watched how each level of force the police are given becomes 'used' far more than promised, (CS gas was supposed to be a last resort but I have seen it used to 'punish' people who are just difficult, sometimes even after they have been cuffed), what will happen to officers who use TASERs as a way to 'punish' people who are just being difficult or confrontational. What currently happens to officers misusing CS? I suggest not a lot!!.
Complain about this comment
Stun guns are a great tool to help the police manage situations in a safer and non destructive way. The Police in the UK are undervalued by many politicians and liberals within our society who believe in a free for all, and the rights of individuals is more important than the well being and safety of society as a whole.
The reality is that if the Justice system was tougher on crime then the minority of people who create the majority of crime would be permanently locked up and stun guns may not be required. A similar policy to locking them up and throwing away the key which America adopts is also required here in the UK. Think about it, the poor bobby on the street is having to deal with the scum that the rest of us are trying to avoid.
Complain about this comment
I am 14 and even I wonder what happened to perfectly effective methods of punishment and order. The baton has always worked, but people seem to think now that since we have advanced technology, everything should be made by technology. You could immobilise someone long enough to arrest them with a baton, rather than possibly causing brain damage, disability or death. Some people have really dangerous conditions which could be badly effected by tazers. I think
there are too many ways which it could be abused. I just don't see the point in making people so scared and possibly making very bad mistakes.
X
jasmine, scotland
Complain about this comment
Do you call a plumber or an electrician out and then dictate what tools they should use or how they should do the job. Do you know better? Then dont assume you are suitably placed to do the same with the people who you ask to risk their lives on YOUR behalf.
Complain about this comment
Those of you who dont agree with Tasers for the Police, Get out of your boxes and walk the streets in our cities at night, visit the A&E dept in any hospitals and custody offices country wide. Its bad very bad. The Police and the public alike need protecting from the sub culture of morons that is taking over. Get a grip you softies, people like those of you who think the cops need the taser then join the special constabulary (voluntary cops) and do your best.
Complain about this comment
What a fantastic way to promote the police force. Not only did we have an unlawful killing of Jean Charles de Menezes, we are then shown on television a soldier on leave from Afghanistan being restrained by three policemen, one of which was blatently punching him and rubbing his face in the road. Now we want to supply police with taser guns, this is a slippery slope into the police state we are fast becoming. Bring back real policing, put the bobby back on the beat and get the public support that you certainly do not have at the moment.
Complain about this comment
Tazers should never be used against a woman, because if that woman happens to be pregnant [even though she may not know she is] it will almost certainly kill the fetus.
Complain about this comment
As a serving front line Police Officer I fully support the idea of issuing Officers with Tazers.
Firearm related criminality is dramatically on the increase and is a daily occurrence, especially in London. Officer’s are increasingly finding themselves confronted with criminals routinely arming themselves with firearms, knives and any other weapon they seem to be able to lay their hands on.
Just because it is not reported on the News it does not mean it is not happening on the streets of our towns and cities. Officers put their lives on the line on a daily basis surely the right to defend themselves and members of the public is paramount.
Society is becoming more violent, we need the tools to deal with these violent and heartless criminals.
Complain about this comment
The police should not be given any more power than that which they currently enjoy. They cannot handle the power they have already. The experience of the man having a fit and being tasered will become commonplace as our rambo styled policemen will hardly be able to contain themselves with their new toy. If the Home Office are determined to press ahead then they should set up an independent web site so that abuses of police power can be logged and monitored. If you want a
policeman with you pronto just say you think someone is over the limit to drive and is sitting in a car near you. Our target driven police will be with you pretty damned quick but don't tell them you have been robbed because they are usually up to speed on that particular target.
Complain about this comment
The fact is police know what they sighn up for and killing people shouldnt b in that! no people should be killed in this! Do you not understand people will die or are you stupid? does it need to come to as point where the army man the streets because if you let this happen then you will let that! What needs to happen is police focusing more time to notice that there is gonna be a riot out of this. If u wish to use tazers then what stops the public from suing them? They can walk round and tazer people who they then rob. People will have no idea who it was and will not be able to react due to the nature of the weapon.
Now all police listen up!
If you carry these PEOPLE WILL DIE! FACT!
Complain about this comment
how long will it be before you see UK police doing this
http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=FZ3GXLpClD4
Complain about this comment
How the **** can Amnesty International compare the Police here with the gung-ho police of America. Over 300 tasered in the last year by the yanks, christ, look at the size difference of the UK to the USA !!!
The American way of life is to be armed and shoot first, ask questions later. If the police here need Taser to stop violent or armed individuals, then fine. Lets see anyone from the PC Brigade do the job of the police. This country has got too good at pleasing those from the Liberty groups and the PC Brigade. Its because of this that this country is in the way that it is with knife crime, shootings and crime in general. The politicains and the doo gooders should just let the police get on with there job. Everyone has rights......the criminals don't think about that when they burgle your house, mug you or steal your car. If you commit crime , then your liberty and rights should stop there and then.
Complain about this comment
after hearing how badly funded the british army is with soldiers not having enough equipment to protect themselves it's an insult that the government plans to use tax payers money in this way.
As bette says we are a country that is well known for it's unarmed police force why should things suddenly change now?
One last point! After watching programmes on tv such as traffic cops. It clearly shows the inconsistency of police officers decision making. Some police offers have an undiscribable arrogance that beggers belief how that get into the police force - give them taser and things will become very worrying indeed.
A typical example of this is the person that was tasered for falling asleep on the bus.
Complain about this comment
I lead a team of police officers and what some people seem to forget is that society has changed and a number of people that speak of public support and arming the police on the quiet and it would appear that these people have missed the point.
An employer under health and safety regulation you need to provide your employees with safety equipment and as officers are dealing with people with knives now on a daily basis and the police cannot walk away from these situations. Although stab vests may protect you that is not a risk that needs to be taken.
So without shooting people with bullets who have knives (or are believed to have knives) the taser is the less lethal option.
During the report I heard the horror story of the male on the bus. This although not nice for the person concerned, you will always be able to find one or two horror stories somewhere. I have seen this used in real life situations and without it the person would have been shot, thus sustaining serious or fatal injuries and thus it is a must and people need to remember society has changed and it is not a nice world out there and the police that are trying to protect you need the equipment to do it or they will fail.
Complain about this comment
Anti Tazer clothing has been available in th U.S.A for years. It is incorporated into Hoodies and sportswear. It earths the target of the Tazer and returns the electric charge to the Tazer gun and of course the Officer who fired it.
So why have our Police force brought in this weapon ?.
Complain about this comment
Just read the posts regarding the Stockwell shooting. Completely different topic really,but as it has been raised...........The police killed an innocent man but at the time they were under the honest belief that he was a suicide bomber about to inflict untolled death and injury. If he had blown up the train or anywhere else and hundreds of innocent people were murdered it would have been worse. If the public later learned that armed officers did nothing about preventing an explosion it would at least give some of the cretins posting here something else to criticise the cops for.
Complain about this comment
As it has already been said many times, if you have done nothing wrong what are you worried about?
Surely this will give our Police Officers the chance to protect themselves properly. They are expected to enter any situation be it a relatively small incident to the more extreme. In all of these situations, they unfortunately do not have the wonderful power of being psychic to know whether the assailant is armed or not.
I think this will enable the Government and our law keepers to finally show those in our society who want to break the law and try to get away with it that they will not be allowed to do so any longer.
I think it is about time that our Police Officers are able to do their job knowing that they have a "back up" plan if all else fails.
Complain about this comment
No, they should not. They will be abused and people will be killed. Training will not be effective in protecting the public from the police. When they choose to ignore statutes such as the Police And Criminal Evidence Act, what hope have we got. 6 years ago, 2 Greater Manchester Police officers assaulted my, going directly against PACE, the response was they had a common law right to assault whoever they wanted to.
Complain about this comment
i would not call any form of electric shock mild , and to compare a taser akin to an cattle fence well! have you erver been cault short in the country and peed on one .IT HURTS LIKE HELL
Complain about this comment
Even those police officers who have been highly trained in the use of firearms have shot innocent people dead (watch out that you don't carry table leg, wrapped, under your arm). Technical training in the use of Tasers does not mean that you imbue officers with the necessary judgement for their use. I have to agree with other comment about how lawful protesters might be treated and I cannot believe that others cannot see the unbelievable horror of an unconscious man being attacked with such a dangerous weapon - and this was done under the Prevention of Terrorism Act which is a frightening cover all for any questionable action!
Complain about this comment
I've read a lot of comments saying 'but i have a heart condition' or 'i have this condition' etc etc, that is TOTALLY irrelevant. Let me explain why.
If you are committing a violent offense and are tasered then surely you know the risks of breaking the law and the resulting actions of the police. Law abiding citizens with heart conditions have nothing to worry about, don't try to endanger the police and you'll not endanger yourself.
End of.
Daniel McLean
Complain about this comment
In my view, yes; the Police should carry Tazer guns!
We (as a nation) have become too soft at dealing with crime for fear of upsetting someone. The Human Rights bill was brought in to protect people but it is being abused, nowadays we are living in a nanny state!
If these Tazer's are painful and people fear them then surely that is a good thing, because then the offenders will think twice about committing a crime.
Complain about this comment
Will the general public be allowed access to the police Rules of Engagement?
Complain about this comment
Although I am not condemming the use of tassers as a deterant, what happens when they are used in untrained hands, on persons like my self who have a pace maker fitted, this would surely have a devistating affect on that person. do we just short circuit and die!
Complain about this comment
I think this is another move towards the absolute control of a Big Brother state and people being ruled by fear. This has been creeping up insidiously over the past few years and most people don't even see it. Having been out of the UK for a number of years it is scary to return and to see what has happened.
Traffic wardens are also being given the power to arrest people & one has to wonder what the grander plans are. I find the idea of so many tasers floating around absolutely abhorrent and they will ultimately lead to a further erosion of civil liberties in the name of so-called protection and safety.
This is no longer a free country. It is a country manipulated by fear and control.
Complain about this comment
what happens when an epileptic is hit with a taser , This could cause a fit to ensue , never mind the pain .Every one knows that electrical impulses in the brain , which should not be there are dangerous .I would like the head of any Police Force to go on Record and state they are 100% safe with no side effects to anyone with a medical condition be it heart , or epileptic besides other conditions .As usual not enough thought been put into what happens . Bit late afterwards or is that the risk assessment ! in every so many is acceptable and just pay the premium .Just hope its not someones life
Complain about this comment
I think the diabetic gent may have misinformed us about diabetes just for the story. I have been a diabetic for 38 years and I know that a coma can take many hours to come on. The gent was probably having a hypo and from experience my wife advised that I twitch violently, sweat profusely and become very disorientated. I can see why the police acted the way they did.
I also worked in several bars in Newcastle and have seen the inability to control drunken, violent people at 03:00 by the police. They can use their batons (there is a possibility of broken bones etc) or use a tazer to bring someone to the ground and then handcuff them.
I am all for the tazer.
Complain about this comment
How nice for Bette Middler that she thinks that no-one in Britain carrys guns!
Our Police have to face guns, knives and constant abuse. Why is it that we spend so much time worrying about the Human Rights of criminals instead of protecting those that work hard to protect us? Yes, Tazers may hurt but it's better than being shot which is how criminals would be dealt with in many other countries around the world. I appreciate that people with heart problems would have particular concerns, but I would suggest that if you have a heart problem don't go breaking the law!! Obviously, there would have to be certain guidelines around the usage of the Tazers and the officers would have to be trained, but would the general public rather the Police tackled a gun-toting gang member with a Tazer or a truncheon? The Police have to be given the appropriate tools to do their jobs.
Complain about this comment
I have been a police officer for a long time working in London. Bette Midlers comment about Britain not being a violent place beggars belief. What planet is she on? Tell that to the many broken and shattered families that have suffered from the morons that roam our streets. Why didnt the presenters challenge her about this instead of her banging on about some tazer horror story?
The whole point of the tazer is to be put a safe distance between the officer and the suspect. Why shouldnt the rank and file officer be issued with something that may save his or anothers life? How many specialist firearms officers have been killed in the line of duty? Imagine yourself down a dark alley at 2am when you are confronted with a suspect armed with a knife who 'fronts you out' What would you rather be amed with? A CS spray that may or may not have an effect , or get close enough to use your baton and hope he is not high on drugs and oblivious to pain, or a tazer?
For the most of you reading this its not a problem you are likely to face and you can go back to watching tv. What annoys me the most is the immediate assumption that once issued to rank and file officers they will be open to misuse. Officers do a difficult and sometimes dangerous job and are accountable for everything they say, write and do. How many of you out there can say the same?
Complain about this comment
We would never have reached the stage of needing to use tazers if proper discipline measures had been allowed to operate during the formative years of the people who are now so out of control that we have to resort to this inhumane response.
Sadly it is only a matter of time before it will become commonplace.
Young children need to have boundaries firmly set for the kind of behaviour that is acceptible to all, and the change in disiplinary action which began to take place approximately 25 years ago is now all too obviously a disastrous mistake.
Complain about this comment
The police should definitely not be issued with Taser stun guns.
I have heart arrhythmia and electric shock will kill me, in fact any electric shock is potentially fatal.
I am also most worried about the “gung-ho” mentality of the police - Jean Charles de Menezes on 22nd July 2005 and Harry Stanley (innocent carpenter carrying a table leg in East London on 22nd September 1999) for example – there are many other cases where excessive force has been used - Nicholas Gaubert was shot by Taser after going into a diabetic coma on a bus in Leeds on 13th July 2005 and David Sycamore at Guildford Cathedral on 30th November 2008.
Complain about this comment
Our poor police force.
If only our troops could have the same amount of money spent on them per head.
The police are better armed and protected than our army fighting terrorism in Afganistan and Iraq.
Our priorities are a disgrace.
Complain about this comment
This is a terrible idea! It is not only a breach of human rights it can also be potentially fatal. I am epileptic if I got taizered by accident or someone with this condition was taizered they would die. In practice being taizered for anyone is the equivalent of being beaten up (or killed)as it causes intense pain. It is not the sot of behaviour we should tolerate from Policemen. They should not go up this route!
Complain about this comment
I do not agree that the police should have these guns. They already have enough powers in their fight against crime.I dread to think what it will be like if officers of a certain mindset get one of these guns.It wont be long before we hear of deaths of people with weak hearts etc. The police are often quite hostile to the public,even those in need of help and treat most as potential suspects. That attitude and the usual arrogance is a recipe for disaster if they are armed with such weapons. I also do not see how giving someone such a painful shock can be justified and suspect they will be used routinely and not as a last resort.
Mark, Birmingham
Complain about this comment
With due respect to the police officers who are writing on this comment board...
It is all well and good you guys backing this but what about us who really knwo NOTHING about this a part from the stories from America. I still stand my ground on believing that you shouldn't be allowed to carry a tazar, solving violience with violience, you have never had to use this before and because America has something you guys want it too. This tazar will solve nothing a part from add to the job you already do. Yes it more than likely does hurt when you are tazared not saying it isn't. But coming here and saying we are all 'out of order' when we know nothing about this tazar a part from you fire it at us sends electricity through us and can kill someone isn't the best advertisement I think. If you want us to be on your side and for this then much more information on these weapons is going to have to be let out to the public.
Complain about this comment
Has no one read what I wrote ?.
Anti Tazer clothing can easily be bought. It sends the electric charge back to the gun and the officer who fired it.
So therefore the tazer gun is effectively already a dead duck.
Complain about this comment
WELL ANY POLICE OFFICER SHOUDNT BE ALONE SHOULD THEY? WHY NOT JUST HAVE STAB PROOF CLOTHING.. INVEST IN THAT AND NOT A TAZER
Complain about this comment
why do all of these people with heart conditions etc think they are going to be tazered,if they behave in a civilised manner,this will not happen.
these guns are to be used by trained police officers only on violent aggresive criminal types ,not people who bother to hold a reasonable discussion!
Complain about this comment
My Main Artery goes into spasms when I bend down or try to walk up a slight incline. I am also insulin dependant. But I appear to be healthy - I have rosey cheeks! What will happen to me if I am lasered?
Complain about this comment
Do any of you police understand the meaning of PEOPLE WILL DIE??? I think you havent got the message. You have absolutely NO RIGHT TO DO THIS to me or anyone and if you do it will lead to roits and protests which shall evetually get violent and then more people shall die and then when many people are dead you shall finally realise your mistake but it shall be too late as they are dead. Let me asK you a question...
WHAT DOES IT SAY ABOUT OUR POLICE FORCE IF POLICE ARE IN FAVOUR OF NEW SHINY WEAPONS THAT GUARANTEE TO KILL PEOPLE?!?!
answer
THEY DONT CARE IF PEOPLE DIE. THEY THINKS ITS A SACRIFICE THEY ARE WILLING TO MAKE
or in other words
THEY DONT CARE!!!!!!
Start the riots now before they have a chance to kill us!!!!!!!!!!
Complain about this comment
Recent cctv footage of three police officers brutalising one of our Afghan hero's in the street were by they were punching him in the head whilst he was on the floor.Can you imagine the outcome if these three police officers had the use of one of these stun guns. Come on Britain the police are not all whiter than white, and there will be police officers no matter how well trained they are, will abuse this equipment, and no doubt those incidents will be well and truly brushed under the carpet
Complain about this comment
brightgrumpy, lar lar land, no its not, get out more.
Complain about this comment
Tazer guns are ideal when used against those who only have a violent solution to a given situation. So I endorse our police force to be issued with these things. Simlpy because these days violence has to be met with violence as it is dictated by those degenerates of our so called society. I for one support the police of this country to have the right to defend the innocent as well as themselves. However. I am strongly of the thought of mind that those"experts" who say that there is NO danger in using these weapons have got it dangerously wrong themselves. If these weapons are NOT dangerous. Then how on earth have 300 plus individuals died through the use of these weapons in the USA? That snippit of information was conveniently swept under the carpet was it not! Plus we are NOT interested in the percentage game when dealing with statistics. In the wrong hands, these weapons WILL KILL. Then again, what about innocent people being misidentified, for which the police are really very good at doing unfortunatly, and at the same time who have a medical condition? Myself I have had a quadrupple by pass graft. So I for one have no desire to be on the receiving end of one of those weapons thank you very much. So for those sceptics out there who will be screaming humbug at my comments. There are two things I will say. Get yourself a heart by pass graft and then be in the wrong place at the wrong time when these weapons are being used against an innocent individual. You will sure as hell sing a different tune to a different song sheet then wont you? Strange how those who wish to force such a weapon through the pot mess of procedure do not have a full comprehension of the of the facts. These elected representatives of the public believe themselves to be clever and acting resposible! When in actual fact the opposite is very much nearer the truth
Complain about this comment
Firstly, the report was vague and didn't contain sufficient information to give the viewers a full understanding of Taser deployment.
To answer some questions, in particular those concerned about Taser and heart problems. Without giving specifics (for obvious legal reasons), I dealt with a male who had both a heart condition and a metal plate in his chest who had been tasered. He suffered no lasting injury, but as a precaution was taken immediately to hospital to ensure there were no ill effects. ACPO guidelines insist that any detainee who has been subjected to taser is given aftercare, which includes close monitoring for adverse reactions, and medical attention where deemed necessary.
Secondly, whenever Taser is deployed, thousands of very small dots are released. These have a code unique to each cartridge printed on them. The device also records on an internal memory how it is used (ie how many time the trigger is pulled etc). This data is then downloadable to a computer via a USB cable. This is to ensure full accountability for any officer using it.
Thirdly, as soon as the electric current stops, the effects stop, unlike CS gas or pepper spray, the effects of which can last for an hour or so. Also, unlike batons/truncheons, it doesn't rely on injuring people to gain control over them.
Officers will undergo lengthy and frequent training in best use of the devices, and we all currently receive training in conflict resolution. The main aim whenever police deal with people is, and will remain, de-escalation. I can assure you no police officer wants to use force ever, as it is has the potential to cause them and the subject injury, and also has the potential to effect their employment and career/promotion prospects.
Complain about this comment
Regarding Taser guns. I think that a good idea would be that the police who are to use tasers should themselves be shot first by the taser. This would make sure the police knew exactly how much agony the taser would cause. Hopefully then they would themselves use with extreme caution. Although I feel very strongly that the police should not carry any weapons. The horrible example of the Brazilian Man m urdered by police without one word of warning in the London tube station should send alarm shivers down every law abiding citizen. Tasers are inhuman
Complain about this comment
To add to my previous comment...
I have friends out in Iraq and Afaghan... Why not give them the tazars instead? They need it more do they not? Can't believe the goverment is ACTUALLY spending mroe money on the police force who have the, what I see, right equipment whilst our friends and family are our fighting for our country.
I think our goverment needs to get it's proirties straight.
Complain about this comment
The report shown tonight failed to mention that the taser records every time the taser is fired showing date, time and for how long the taser was fired.it also sprays what looks like confetti but actually identifies the cartridge fired which are booked out along with the taser .The taser is about as safe as we can get,better to use the taser than a baton as the baton could leave lasting damage. It does not effect people with pacemakers or or with other illnesses.Amnesty failed to mention that the people killed in America were in the top per cent who were likely to die due to their intake of alcohol or drugs or were otherwise extremely dangerous.They also failed to mention whether the taser killed anyone outright or was it indirectly involved ie subject tasered falls to floor and hits their head which kills them. People do not need to fear police use of the taser only the ones who are violent and breaking the law etc
Complain about this comment
Please just look at what will happen when the police abuse them like they abuse their power now.
http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=Ck3iNnvnjnk
http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=4eNv1-a66Kw
http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=io7eXAl9U8k
Here's the one where the student shouts "DONT TASE ME BRO" it's disgusting!
http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=LmvCHAaKGyk
They absolutely WILL abuse these. They should ONLY be used where a firearm would normally have been discharged, NOT for non compliance.
Complain about this comment
Reading through the additional comments I see amny from seving police officers and it's quite clear thta they're getting annoyed at the tone of some comments of people who object to the widespread use of these weapons.
Boy it must hurt these guys !!
Let's face it, they're not used to having to swallow what the public think of them.
There will be misuse of these weapons, the police will lie abut it, there will be "investigations" and guess what, yet again they'll be white washed.
I fully undersatnd that mistakes will be made, misjudgement but what sticks in my throat is that (as in the case of de Menezes) is these incidents where the police are on the spot, time and time again THE TRUTH is the second casualty.
Complain about this comment
FOR THE THIRD TIME.
ANTI TAZER GUN CLOTHING IS AVAILABLE TO BUY.
IT SENDS THE CHARGE BACK TO THE GUN AND THE OFFICER WHO FIRED IT.
Complain about this comment
Yes, the Police should carry Taser.
Some of the comments on here are ridiculous, you expect them to uphold the law, arrest violent criminals and rush to protect you when called upon, but don't want to give them the tools to protect themselves?
Officers are assaulted every day and knife crime is rife, but the fact that Taser has a bad reputation in the US means you don't want it over here?
Each device is booked out to a specific officer and every use of Taser is logged by the device and due to all the negative publicity you can be sure each deployment will be investigated, so there is NO chance of it being abused.
I'm sure there will be a few mistakes each year but on the whole, if you don't want to be Tased, don't break the law and do what the officer pointing the weapon at you tells you to do.
Complain about this comment
As a serving Police firearms officer, armed with a Tazer I feel the Tazer gives me a less leathal option and would only to be used in life threatening situations and I feel it gives the public and colleagues more proection.
Complain about this comment
Although Tazers may be harmless to average and fit young fit people, how do they affect people who have heart problems, pacemakers or neurological conditions. Please let everyone (including police officers) remember Mr Charles de Menezes. That situation rather rules out the previous comment that you'll have nothing to worry about if you're not doing anything wrong, and if fully trained professional, and specially selected armed police can make mistakes like that what errors will be made by officers who are not hand picked and who will not be trained to the standards of the armed police sections.
Complain about this comment
"In America, the problem like that usually ends in tragedy, so no thank you!" - Is this from official research... what absolute rubbish!
"No they should not have to rigth to carry tasers. The police in london will just us it on people my age just because we get a little bit lippy." - Don't get lippy
"Britain is not that dangerous and we already have special firearm units."- Really? That is probably because you are not required to go out and tackle, drunks, drug addicts, thugs and the general criminal underclass, amazingly its quite rare for these people to come quietly.
"This is very worrying. Why do the police need Tazer guns when no one carrys a real gun" - Really I think you'll find that is simply not true
"keith in eastbourne - this is appalling there can rarely be situations where officers are placed in serious danger and when they are they have firearms" - How can you say this, unless you have actually done the job. The police regulary face dangerous situations and many are regulary injure. Firearm patrols are very few and far between, do you really think they have time to wait for the firearms unit to turn up and what if two situtations are taking place at the same time.
The fact is the frontline police are massively understaffed. There is usually only a handful of officers per city, maybe 20 to police a population of literraly hundreds of thousands, cover hundreds of square miles. Add to this the massive amount of paper work they must do, the fact they are regulary injured on duty and so must go to hospital, how long do you really think it takes these resources to run out or become fully utilised?
Also consider if a police officer is injured and therefor on the sick how much of the tax payers money is being spent while they recover and how much more crime is being 'got away with'. If tasers can prevent such injuries then they are surely worth while. There will always be downsides to these things but the good must surely outweigh the bad.
If you are resisting arrest then you can't realy complain if you get tasered and altough in some cases there will be mistakes made, I suspect these will be very few and far between, it is unlikely an officer would risk their job, pension, security etc. i suspect they would be very reluctant to use tasers for this reason.
Complain about this comment
mikegeoff - ROFL!! What an excellent idea. Perhaps we should petition the prime minister that before any approval is given for general release of Tasers to the police that every member of the public should be allowed to test the Taser for themselves on both the police officer in question and the Home Secretary.
Let's see how many still want to carry these weapons, and how indiscriminately they choose to use them once they know how it feels to be attacked by them.
In fact.... it will be active at
http://petitions.number10.gov.uk/NoToTasers
once approved (if it gets approved... What's the chances?!)
Complain about this comment
Oh my god! Flamesimplysimple just said that theres tazer proof clothing that reverses the effect! CLEVER NOW CRIMINALS CAN BUY THAT AND FLEE TO SAFETY WHILE US NORMAL GUYS ARE GONNA STILL GET TAZERED!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
FLAMESSIMPLY SIMPLE THANK YOU FOR TELLING US THIS IS SHEDS FAR MORE LIGHT ON IT.
Complain about this comment
Arming police with tazers is just going to make criminals push themselves a step further. If I was a criminal and knew police carried tazer guns, I'd be far more willing to carry a gun in order to escape, its simply logic.
Look at america, police with guns, what do criminals do? Get armor peircing AK-47's and dress themselves up in body armour like the michelin man. This is only going to cause criminals to get more extreme.
I'm sorry but did anyone think of this from the point of view of a criminal/convict? Police start arming themselves, a criminal is going to think 'im bloody going to as well!'
2 Officers 5 drunks, once a tazer is fired, its spent, you've paralysed 2 suspects and infuriated the other 3, enjoy.
Complain about this comment
If that young man was in a coma and didn't respond, then the police should have called an ambulance, not tasered him.
And if there are going to be tasers issued to many more officers, how long before some are stolen. That will be fun, won't it?
Complain about this comment
Courteous Brian.
ANTI TAZER CLOTHNG CAN EASILY BE BOUGHT ON THE OPEN MARKET.
IT SENDS THE CHARGE BACK TO THE GUN AND THE OFFICER WHO FIRED IT.
DO YOU U N D E R S T A N D ?
Complain about this comment
Of course the police should be trained to use Stun Guns. If like me you are law abiding then they will be a waste of money and will never need to be used. Whilst mistakes will be made like the gentleman on the bus they will be very rare indeed. Police put themselves on the line so often to protect members of the public they need all the help they can get.
Complain about this comment
I suffer from a heart arrhythmia condition, which is due to a malfunction of the electrical system controlling the heart beats. If I, or someone with a similar condition, or someone dependent on an artificial pacemaker, is tasered what is the risk of death. I suspect it is high.
In extreme situations, dealing with armed or violent individuals who are resisting arrest and where the police officer is at risk, there may be a case for use of a taser as an alternative to a conventional firearm.
It follows that tasers should not be in general use but available only to specialist officers.
On your program, why was a person in a diabetic coma, unable to resist arrest , tasered? An example of inapropriate use which will become a regular event.
Complain about this comment
Please just look at what will happen when the police abuse them like they abuse their power now. This blog wont allow me to put a link here so please do a couple of searches on you tube. Search for:
"Man dangerously TASERED for refusing to sign ticket"
also "Police taser Woman"
and "Traffic infraction draws taser in seconds"
Here's the one where the student shouts dont tase me bro it's disgusting! search for "UF Student Tasered - Whole Story - The Truth"
They absolutely WILL abuse these. They should ONLY be used where a firearm would normally have been discharged, NOT for non compliance.
Complain about this comment
FOUR WORDS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
INNOCENT
UNTIL
PROVEN
GUILTY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Complain about this comment
stun guns are evil things,
if you have any serious medical conditions, someone using a stun gun on you could kill you!
over in europe you can pick up a stun gun for around 40 euros!
you can just walk into a store that sells, guns, knifes, swords and stun guns and buy any without being asked what you need it for.
those kind of shops are all over the place in europe.
some stun guns even have a pepper spray feature, set at the top of the gun, which you press a button and it squrts the person and blinds them.
(it's not pepper spray, its something more potant)
so i don't think normal police should carry those sort of things around.
Complain about this comment
It seems to me that it's no surprise that we have social turmoil. It seems to me that it's Gov't @police versus the citizen. As for tasers, it seems to me a major mistake to give total numbskulls control of a potentially lethal weapon, and I'm very disappointed that nobody asked why a man in a diabetic coma, and surprisingly,"not responding" was tasered, & what sanctions were used against the "Utter Fool" who did it or condoned it. It's like all the other so called terrorist legislation, that is being abused on a daily basis. No wonder we have no faith in, or support for the police.
Complain about this comment
If only police who are well trained can taser a man in an epileptic coma who therefore obviously is not being aggressive, it makes me worry about the training. As police "know" that there are no harmful after effects!! they may be less discriminating about using it. As it appears tasers are going to be distributed anyway, there needs to be some accountability for their use, ie every time one is used, it must be questioned whether their use was necessary. They may find themselves facing lawsuits about unnecessary use causing unnecessary pain - 50,000 volts worth. Also, what safeguards are there or could there be to stop undesirables getting hold of them? They seem to manage to get hold of whatever they want.
Complain about this comment
For those of you who think that taser would be better used in Iraq or Afganistan with our forces, think again. If your are that close to someone who is a suicide bomber and you want to use taser, you would never live to pull the trigger. Not much good against sniper with AK47 either.
Ex Forces (Kuwait,Iraq)
Complain about this comment
http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=LmvCHAaKGyk&feature=related
Complain about this comment
Please don't tar the majority of the police with the same brush as you seem to be tarring that very, very small minority that don't stick to the rules.
If your son or daughter was a police person how would you feel if they were stabbed or shot. Gutted I'm sure.
The police need tasers.
If you have nothing to hide you have nothing to worry about.
Complain about this comment
It's our army that require arming.
Not the police!
Complain about this comment
FOR GOD'S SAKE BRITISH PUBLIC LISTEN.
ANTI TAZER CLOTHING CAN BE BOUGHT ONLINE.
IT SENDS THE ELECTRIC CHARGE BACK TO THE GUN AND THE OFFICER WHO FIRED IT.
THEREFORE TAZER GUNS ARE A DANGER ONLY TO THE OFFICERS WHO USE THEM.
Complain about this comment
nellsblog, ever been confronted by a drunk intent on kicking your head in and not doing as he is told, thought not. The taser gun would have sorted the situation out without the need for the Police officers to resort to a physical confrontation something no one enjoys including Police officers.
Complain about this comment
http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=Ck3iNnvnjnk&feature=related
Complain about this comment
http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=4eNv1-a66Kw
Complain about this comment
http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=io7eXAl9U8k&feature=related
Complain about this comment
Why do people say 'if you've done nothing wrong you have nothing to worry about'?
Perhaps the most notorious case in this country to prove this wrong was Timothy Evan who was hanged for the murder of his wife and child, later the John Christie confessed to the murders.
Giving tazers to the police gives them a means to punish people who don't behave as the police think they should. Also as shown by the case on the programme where the police used the prevention of terrorism act, there is often mission creep, even with the best intended of actions.
Complain about this comment
As chilski says search this on youtube because i swear to you its what will happen.
"Man dangerously TASERED for refusing to sign ticket"
It made me feel sick the way they allow this.
Complain about this comment
Reading some of these comments demonstrate a worrying view our police. So long as the softies continue to encourage 'do what we like' society in this country, the Police need weapons to control the wild darlings we have to up with. Try living in Brazil or Saudi. I am sick to death of the never ending 'police bashing'.
Complain about this comment
http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=LmvCHAaKGyk&feature=related
dont tase me bro!
Complain about this comment
These Tazers could easily be fatal to people with heart trouble or pacemakers.
HL
Complain about this comment
Having read through some of the comments on this blog i have concluded that many of the people contributing are very sheltered from the realities facing frontline Police Officers in the 21st Century. Not that that is necessarily a bad thing except but it does make their comments less well informed.
I am a frontline Police Officer in a relatively ‘safe’ Policing area and yet I have faced the threat of knives, baseball bats and a host of other weaponry many times and not just on the street but every time you venture into someone’s house. Police Officers are assaulted with shocking regularity and most of these go unreported as most officers end up viewing it as ‘part of the job’.
Opinion Polls unequivocally show that the Public expect us to deal with suspects involved in knife crime but many of the people on this blog seem unwilling to provide us with the tools to do this effectively. Leaving us to protect ourselves with little more than a stick and a short range eye irritant that doesn’t work on 10% of people and the effects of which can be fought through by toughened or psychopathic individuals. In these (albeit extreme) circumstances, if life is endangered, the Officer may well have to resort to baton striking an offender in the head which would have a far far greater potential to cause death or life changing injury than deploying tazer.
In relation to the Diabetic gentleman this was of course regrettable, but I faced a very similar situation where a male in a diabetic emergency assaulted a paramedic and tried to assault me. I had to put him to the ground hard and handcuff him to allow him to receive the treatment he needed and he thanked me for this afterwards as it probably saved his life. I do not know the circumstances of the incident in the clip but suspect it could have been of a similar nature.
We, the British Police are one of the last few Forces in the World that are not routinely armed and I hope this continues to be the case long into the future, I believe that Tazer is a fantastic tool that will make every Police Officers working life safer and enable them to serve the Public more effectively.
PS. For the information of one contributor an assault is an unlawful act. A Police Officer in the execution of their duty who is using force in accordance with the principal of minimum force required to achieve their lawful aim does not assault someone even if they use up to and including lethal force. I hope that is clearer.
Also it is very likely that the Met have not taken on the offer of funding from the Home Office as there is no allowance for training costs, replacement costs, and additional kit required, such as the single use cartridges themselves which cost approximately £17! The Home Office really need to put their money where their mouth is and fully fund tazer for every Police Officer.
Complain about this comment
IF THERES NO EVIDENCE OF BEING BEATEN BECUASE A TAZER IS USED HOW WILL PEOPLE BE ABLE TO SHOW ANYONE THEY HAVE BEEN ABUSED BY THE POLICE?!?!??!?!?!?!!??!?!?!?!?!?!?!??!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!??!?!?!
THE POLICE CAN GET AWAY WITH IT!!!!!!!
Complain about this comment
sometimes totally innocent people are targeted by our police.the only way to stay safe is to hide under your bed? or can we go about our lawfull lives without the danger of electrically premature death.oh and health and safety legislation also makes provision for the safety of the public..
Complain about this comment
About time perhaps; but will the police take time off from harrasing motorists to get out on the street and use the things? Like most of the present Government's quick fix and do what the 'Sun' and 'Mail' tells them solutions little thought has been given to the actuality of putting this into practice. Will Community Police Officers be issued them? How about parking wardens, teachers and social workers?
Well done Gordon, another brilliant idea from the fun factory! He'd be better off using the money to issue our troops with decent kit and accomodation! It mght even save a few lives!
Complain about this comment
The idea of an electric shock device, which was a weapon of torture in the worst times of Communist Russia's extreme treatment of its dissidents, is appalling. The police in this country were always admired for their skill and superior training, but no longer, especially after the murder of Jean Charles de Menendez. I acknowledge that there is extreme violence on the streets, but you can be certain that mistakes will be made -have already been made, and this will only make attitudes towards the police even harder.
The police are losing ground because of their own incompetence and becasue people see this country turning into a place where human rights are being eroded at the most alarming rate. The police need our support to effectively do their job, not to be turning law abiding citizens against them.
Complain about this comment
To merle2006.
We live in a more civilised society than Brazil and Suadi.
we have a vote that counts.
try living in the real world before making comments.
Complain about this comment
ref comment 183
sounds good that a company is making something for those of us, who through no fault of our own have a medical condition.
where can you buy them?
the other side is that criminals will wear them, as they all ready have access to bullet proof vests!!
Complain about this comment
Does ottersmate really think a Tazer would be used in his scenario -sorry mate just the normal firearms squad for the old gun word
Complain about this comment
Police should not have tazers.
They do not need them - if law breakers were punished properly - the yobs would soon start behaving themselves and the police would regain the respect they deserve.
The Courts are the problem in this country - people are just not punished enough - unless you steal money, when the Courts throw the book at you.
Physical crimes are never punished correctly unless the Press get involved.
It's getting worse and will continue the downhill slide until the 'do gooders' are sacked and common sense prevails once again.
Complain about this comment
Knives? Baseball bats? *laughs* Pathetic! Police should be trained to disarm somebody with a knife within 1 second of it being drawn. If they need to learn martial arts rather than brutal brute force then teach them. There are several ways of disarming somebody with a knife and maybe if you had less fat pigs just clicking a trigger and more of them learning lightening fast reactions then there would be less trouble. Many martial artsteach this and I see no kung foo section in the police! Dont take me as a movie enthusiast because this is a serious option and it would only take a matter of practices to learn how to disarm a knife 1 handed from 3 feet away.
Complain about this comment
Taser has no detrimental or lasting affect on pacemakers/heart conditions.
Police need different tools for different circumstances, if they were not confronted with unreasonable, aggressive violent people, very often high on drink and drugs they wouldn't need any tools at all. If a person needs to be incapacitated for the safety of the officers/members of the public or themselves it is far better to use something with no long lasting effects than to be struck with a baton. A person that is high on drugs can have a mindset that increases their aggression when receiving pain. Use of CS spray is not effective on all people it is also non discriminatory. Taser will work on everybody. Very often just showing the Taser will gain compliance.
Complain about this comment
people out there should calm down, does everyone think the police all of a sudden are going to become trigger happy? in 6 years of policing i have used my CS gas twice! despite being attacked on more than one occasion with a kitchen knife!
Complain about this comment
lies madchickenlady lies! and they kill people so face facts! search this on youtube...
"Man dangerously TASERED for refusing to sign ticket"
Complain about this comment
This comment was removed because the moderators found it broke the House Rules.
Chenneth, what about compensation lawsuits for those who are wrongfully tazered or injured? What if it causes paralysis to a young person, you can expect a lawsuit of at least a few million.
Then what if someone is killed? The loss in confidence in the police, if your not willing to face danger on a daily basis, quite simply dont join the police or the army, its in the nature of the job. Oh you can imagine the amount of paperwork involved when wrongfully tazering someone, having to go through each person's account of the situation, I wonder how much the investigation would cost.
Police can adaquately defend themselves, and by saying 'dont get lippy,' suggesting tazering someone for profanity is insane. How many officers do I hear die in the line of duty on the news in comparison to civilians wrongfully killed? Weigh it up.
Like I said, look at this from a criminals point of view, you don't need a stretch of imagination to envisage that a more aggressive police force will just create more aggressive criminals, the loop goes on.
Complain about this comment
This is making my blood boil reading how so many people think that we should not issue Police with Tazer guns.
Have you people not been out on the streets once the pubs and clubs are kicking out or watched any of the police documentry's on TV and seen the violence that our police forces face 24x7?
Or seen on the news the crimes that younger and younger people are commiting as there is no respect for the law?
I am all for giving the police more powers and tools to keep the hoodies and tearaways under control.
I suppose you people will soon start lobbying for battons & CS gas and handcuffs to be removed from Police as the botton could leave a bruse or the CS gas could hurt someones eyes and give them cups of tea to take round so they can have tea and biscuits with the idiots commiting crime.
I cant wait for the day when we start taking tazers away from the police as they have brought law and order back to our streets. Now im in dream world.....
Complain about this comment
Hmmm ! 306
I am surprised you think you have a vote that counts in this country - you certainly do not !
Untill PR is brought in, your opinion , or mine will never ever count !
Complain about this comment
kitchen knife?!?!??!? Do you not undertsnad your job??????? If u go into the army theres a big risk of death and same with police! YOU choose the job so YOU do your job which YOU chose!!!!!
Complain about this comment
Nice one Jasbar - safety legislation should immediately prevent this happening because the introduction of a weapon likely to cause injury or death would be illegal - wouldnt it?
Complain about this comment
HAS ANY POLICE OFFICER GOT THE COURAGE TO REPLY TO MY POST:
ANTI TAZER CLOTHING CAN BE BOUGHT OPENLY.
IT SENDS THE CHARGE BACK TO THE GUN AND THE OFFICER WHO FIRED IT.
SO THE DANGER IS ONLY TO THE POLICEMAN WHO FIRED IT.
IS THAT WHAT YOU WANT ?
Complain about this comment
WHAT DOES IT SAY IF POLICE BECOME MORE DANGEROUS THAN CRIMINALS...
Complain about this comment
to all those of you who are against the use of the taser and comment on peoples 'human rights'. my question to you is, what about the police officers human rights and the right to do their job without the threat of violence against them?
the only people who will be affected by the taser are those who are violent criminals, uncontrollably violent, high on drugs or alcohol and presenting a high risk of injury to the police or other member of the public.
if you were being attacked outside a nightclub you would be more than happy for the attacker to be incapacitated by the police wouldnt you?
if you disagree then perhaps the police should stand and watch to prevent injury to themselves and pick up the pieces afterwards. you'd be accusing the police of neglect of duty if they did that.
a police officers 1st role is 'the protection of life and property'.
thats your lives, their lives and the lives of the offender.
if you are against taser think on this, if the police are not given sufficient protection against violent criminals why should they put themselves at risk arresting them. when your being mugged at knife point you'll be more than happy to see PC PLOD with a taser in his hand.
in all my years as a police officer i never once drew my truncheon, only drew my baton once and never drew my cs spray. i talked my way out of difficult situations and diffused things as best i could. over the years this got more difficult as the criminal fraternity lost all respect for the toothless tiger the police became.
what all the drunk, drugged, violent and possibly armed low lifes need is a short sharp shock to make them think twice before commiting violent crime again.
innocent people are 100% safe.
Complain about this comment
Nig0000 clearly does not get out.
Police TV documentories. Violence 24/7.
Do you read the Daily Mail?
Utter histeria on the British way of life.
May i suggest you turn your tv off take a trip outside ans discover Britain is not as unsafe as you believe.
Complain about this comment
Again to 306
Pity you think we are more civilised than Brazil and/or Saudi
Again a major mistake - what makes you think the UK is better than anything or anybody ?
May I respectfully suggest, that once you have had the opportunity to travel, you will realise that there are 'good guys' and 'bad guys' in all countries of the world.
The UK is most certainly no better than anywhere else.
Complain about this comment
I am interested to know if the Police Officers will be equipped with ANTI TAZER clothing so that they are protected when after firing their new toys and find the charge coming back at them because their victim was wearing ANTI TAZER CLOTHING they are not incapacitated and get attacked.
Complain about this comment
The Gun is Plastic which doesn't conduct electricity and are you saying this person is going to wear this clothing all the time on the off chance that they may possibly get tazered. I guess i would then have to resort to either CS or a Baton strike. There isn't anything wrong with either of these options they just require me to be closer and more in danger of being injured by the offender.
Complain about this comment
I am an Epileptic. If I had a partial seizure, although I would be looking at you, I would be unresponsive. If I was Tazered, my seizure could develop into a generalized seizure, (a full fit requiring medical help). If these fits are then left to continue without help for too long, then psycosis may develop. For this reason, I support the proper use of armed police instead. (Shooting at the legs - Not like Jean Charles de Menezes). No Tazers.
Complain about this comment
I fully support our Police Force but like many in Britain I shake my head daily when I read of the double standards and stupidity they are currently indulging themslelves in.
Tazers are a Policemans worst enemy. Anti tazer cloth incorporated into hoodies and tracksuits will be the norm this time next year.
It will result in serious injury to the officers who fire these stupid weapons.
This is the LAST thing anyone wants.
Complain about this comment
The police state that all those carrying the stun guns will be fully trained.
Just like those who shot the mendes boy no doubt.
Complain about this comment
to smashingchrisf.
I dont.
Having visted Brazil and worked in Saudi my comment still stands.
Complain about this comment
I am surprised how many believe that police officers are highly trained in the art of self defence. It's a fairy story. This government has closed all regional training centres all training is now within force and varies from good to very poor. As for self defence with over 30% of officers under the average height and build of a 14 year old they rely entirely on large numbers or on weapons designed to incapacitate or kill. We now have a force carrying out public executions of innocent people and those out of their minds with drink or drugs chiefly because of the quality of recruits and pathetically poor training. Giving these officers another weapon will result in many unecessary deaths. If the police returned to recruiting officers over 5' 10 fit and able to handle themselves when it gets rough there would be less violence on the street. The use of killing weapons cause more problems than they cure. Too many of todays police are totally useless in violent situations they lack the physical ability to restrain a violent 10 year old.
Complain about this comment
I hate the idea of 10,000 tazers on the streets. Specially trained officers ONLY should have access to them. Their use should be authorised on every occasion by a senior officer. If Jean Charles de Menezes can be killed by specially trained officers then anyone with a heart condition or epilepsy or diabetes is liable to be killed by a shot. Anyone who says that if you do not misbehave you need not worry is ignoring reality as there are thousands of cases where the police arrest people needlessly. Will there be targets set (no pun here) for the number of shots used in the same way as targets for arrest?
Complain about this comment
Anti tazer cloth is incorporated into sportswear. The very clothing many of our thugs wear. It will be all the rage by summer. The Police Commanders who ordered the Tazer guns know about this. If they don't then God help us.
Complain about this comment
test-tube i really worry that you think any Police Officer would Tazer you if you were standing there not doing anything. I know i would be talking to you and getting you medical attention which i have done for people on more occasions than i can recall. These devices are for violent situations to prevent injury to the Officer, the Public and ultimately the Offender who could be more seriously injured if other options of force had to be used.
Complain about this comment
TO ANDYHASHISSAY.
The Tazer being made of plastic does not prevent a return charge electrocuting the person who fired it. Basic knowledge of electricity would inform you to that fact.
Complain about this comment
I think the police have a difficult job - you are damned if you do and damned if you do not. Therefore, I think that tasa guns are a necessary force required in this day and age. So many of our criminals have no fear as they do not seem to get any severe punishment, and if the wrong word at the wrong time is stated they can so easily get off on a technicality - but the poor victim does not have a chance. More thought is given to the "poor hard-done by criminal" than to the poor innocent victim of the criminal's crime. When I was a child I was taught - wrong is wrong - and you must be prepared to accept the consequences if you do anything wrong.
Complain about this comment
Flamesimplysimple, can you provide a link to the Taser proof clothing you keep banging on about?
The only product I'm aware of is called Thor Shield and it's only available to Military and Law enforcement officers, for obvious reasons.
Regarding the other comments along the lines of "I've got a heart condition, will Taser kill me"?
Don't break the law and you won't need to find out :)
Regarding those who seem to think the police spend each shift walking the street looking for people to pick on, assault and victimize - are you for real or have you just had some bad experiences with the police in the past, perhaps because of your criminal activities?
Complain about this comment
The weapon that should be developed and (reinstated) introduced is good old fashioned trust in the police-the public would willingly back them up then but the police have to earn it -there's been a lot of damage done to their reputation by poor recruitment.
John - Cleveland
Complain about this comment
I totally disagree wih the use of tasers.
AS can often happen innocent members
of the public can be mistaken as a suspect.
I find this very worrying especially if the person tasered has a medical condition
which could be compromised by the use of
this taser.
I am saddened by this decision.
Complain about this comment
The Police are just a microcosm of our society and as such should be given every available tool to defend themselves particularly being confronted by somebody who has no respect for others either in a sober or inebriated state.
Anybody who says that these tools are dangerous or against their human rights I suggest should be confronted by someone who is out of control and whose strength is exagerated by drink or drugs and then answer the question.
I wouldn't have a policemans job for all the tea in china and I suspect many of those that argue against tazers wouldn't either.
Complain about this comment
no one can 100% guarantee that this new power will be not be abused, as i think it eventualy will be.
How do we know innocent people wont get tasered?-mistaken identiy?...how much reason will be needed to taser someone?
At the end of the day an extreemly high voltage being violently thrust into the soft tissues,muscles and organs of the human body cant be good for anyone.
-what about health problems?, i doubt they will ask someone if they suffer from heart problems just before ZAPPING them
Complain about this comment
I want to know what the queen has to say about this happening to her subjects...
And if she is on our side against it then lets overthrow parliment and put some people who arnt idiots in chargere AKA the conservative party.
Complain about this comment
Anti Tazer clothing was openly on sale in America when I visited 2 years ago.
In Germany it is sold openly in shops that also sell Tazer guns and Pepper spray.
Only criminals intent on crime would buy this clothing however you and I both know that it will quickly becom the fashion.
By the time we manage to make it illegal to buy it will be too late.
Incidentally there is an even easier way to earth yourself. This method will not return the charge but will protect the intended victim. It is free and easy to do.
I will not give details of how to do this on the internet as I do not want criminals and idiots to have this knowledge. But how long will it be before someone else does.
Complain about this comment
Tazer works be firing two barbs into a person's skin both projectiles need to insert to complete the circuit. with the electricity passing through the person between the two barbs. Alternatively the person can be drive stunned where the device is pressed directly against the persons skin. Having looked at the tazer proof clothing i believe that the charge doesnt get sent back to the gun but the clothing itself conducts the electricity. I am prepared to admit I could be wrong about this but believe the gun is made out of plastic that does not conduct electricity in order to eliminate the risk of the operator accidentally electrocuting himself as that would be quite a major design floor.
Complain about this comment
It's about time that the police had some effective weapon to deal with the murdering thugs who roam at large on our streets. A great idea.
Complain about this comment
A great many of the "...if you haven't done anything wrong...." comments seem to be assuming two things which may not prove to be correct:
1) That all people who have these weapons used against them are actually criminal, have done something wrong or are a 'threat' to an officer - this won't be proven to be correct in all situations where they are used.
2) That all officers who'll use them are actually correct in their judgement of the situation - this too won't be proven to have been true in all circumastances.
If/ when the innocent public are 'punished' for correctly and/ or legally objecting to the actions of an officer what re-dress will they get?
The anti-terrorism act was brought in to deal with TERRORISM and we were promised it would be use das such. Now it's used routinely to deal with people who are simply 'difficult'.
Operational effectivness can be a route to abuse of democratic liberty.
I appeciate the position of the police but do they even care about civil liberty?
Many officers in particular have commented on the dangers they face; guns etc.
Do you know that over the last 40 years the poice have shot more unarmed civilians than they've shot criminals actually in the commision of a crime.
I remember an incident where the police had their suspect arrested, in cuffs and out of the building. An officer shot a four year old child in his bed and 'defended' himself on the grounds that he thought he was under a direct threat.
Laughably this defence was accepted - mistakes ahppen and when they do injustice is the result.
If the police don't have the means to make drastic mistakes then we won't have to deal with the outcomes.
As things stand
Complain about this comment
Male coming towards you armed with 2 samuri swords. He is high on a mixture of drugs and alcohol. He has already seriously injured 2 people waiting at a bus stop.
You have the following options, do you..
A. Get within 3 feet to spray him with CS Gas
B. Get close enough to use a baton (shorter than samuri)
C. Say " Please put the swords on the ground, sir, and walk away.
D. Use Taser from a safe distance after shouting a warning.
I know what one I would use !!!!!
The police should have the protection they require to protect the public.
Oh, by the way sir, we are sorry that you lost your arm because that male had a samuri sword. Amnesty International and a mamby pamby public pressure group, put pressure on the government to ban us having taser as it may be dangerous to peoples health!!
Complain about this comment
There was never an intention that the charge would be returned to the gun.
I support the Police with all my heart. But things have now gone too far. I seriously believe that if they go on unchecked we will see the events that are happening in Athens occuring on our streets. Only a thousand times worse as we have other problems that would be triggered by major riots.
Witout the support of the law abiding public the Police will be helpless, Tazer guns or not.
I feel I speak for the law abiding public when I say that we don't trust the Police anymore. Arrogance, stupidity and downright cronyism has left us all wondering what country we live in. Cameras, ID cards, stop and search, abuse of the anti-terror laws,Tazer guns etc etc etc.
Get a grip before it is too late.
Complain about this comment
Just to clarify my situation (having read all the comments posted), I am not a Police Officer, the wife of a Police Officer, nor do I have a friend or family member in the Police Force. I am an ordinary, law-abiding working class mother of two who is seriously concerned about the state of this country and the lack of respect shown by an ever-increasing number of low-life, druggies and teenagers. I am sick of hearing about the rights of the guilty. What about the rights of the old lady that's been mugged, the child that's been abused, the old man too frightened to ask the gang of teenagers sitting on his fence drinking alcohol and chucking bottles in his garden to move on? What about respecting each other? It's time this country had a little discipline re-installed - maybe if the general public could show each other a little more respect, the Police would not be faced with so much violence and Tazers may not be needed after all. Unfortunately, this is not the case and whilst there will always be the odd 'incident', I'd far rather the victim was someone tazered who was not cooperating with the Police than another young girl gang-raped because the gang have been raised without knowing the difference between right and wrong and have nothing to fear from authority.
Complain about this comment
two year's ago, on Christmas Day, three of my colleagues got attacked my a man armed with a machete.
Try telling them that a taser capability at every station isn't important.
Complain about this comment
Citizen_Nikki (post 349)
Here, here. Well put girl.
Complain about this comment
Dear citizen-nikki, are you really saying thta the way to instill respect into people is to Tazer them into submission?
That attitude in the hands of people who are basically untouchable - I'm scared now !!!!
Complain about this comment
I've got a better idea - next time someone goes on the rampage with a knife for no apparent reason (and it DOES happen) - lets send in unarmed, members of the public to cite civil liberties at them and see if they have any better success at talking all these people into dropping these weapons - clearly we police officers haven't got a clue how to do that or don't try.
For the record:
1 I don't patrol around abusing anyone I take a dislike to. I don't CS them, I don't strike people with my baton indiscrimately - and neither do any of my colleagues.
2 Yes, I have a stab vest - but if its all the same to you nice people, I'd rather not let the gentleman with the machette get that close to me to try it out.
3 When I started, I had nothing more than a wooden baton. In those days, I was hospitalised twice with injury because use of the staff was deemed to be a last ditch defence and only to be used in the most dire circumstances. I got hurt twice protecting people's civil liberties.
4 For the record, if a guy comes at me with a knife and its a critical situation, I'm going to do anything to save my own skin and that of innocent bystanders. If that means using CS or striking somebody - so be it - but either way, I'm not going to take a medical history beforehand from the assailant to see whether my action is condusive to any possible medical condition that they may have. I seem to remember everyone arguing a few years ago that CS would kill every asthmatic - its interesting that we now seem to have accepted that risk.
5 Yes, we have armed support in most areas of the country. Most of the public moan if their train is 10 minutes late - you want to try staving off a knifeman for 15 minutes whilst you await the arrival of an armed response vehicle travelling 20 miles to you - you might feel somewhat differently.
Its clear many of the public just haven't got a clue what goes on out there.........
Complain about this comment
Those people who think that police officers should tackle violent aggressors, even those armed with knives or other weapons without the opportunity to use an effective and safe weapon like the Taser might like to sign up as Special Constables and see how well they manage! Those who long for the mythical days of Dixon of Dock Green should remember that he was shot dead in the first 40 minutes of the 1949 film!
I was a police officer for 30 years and observed a steady decline in standards of public behaviour and a readiness to attack anyone, whether in authority or otherwise who challenged antisocial behaviour.
The police service I joined in 1970 was far readier to dish out on the spot punishment than the restrained and closely monitored service from which I retired in 2000. In contrast society has become far more violent, requiring methods more sophisticated and regulated than the brute force on which we used to rely.
As for 300 people dying after being tasered in America, that is not the same as 300 people dying BECAUSE they were tasered. There may have been many other causes. Many people have also died after being restrained by the police without the use of a taser. It is usually the effects of drug or excessive alcohol consumption that are the actual causes of death.
Examples of the circumstances in which tasers were apparently used inappropriately are almost exclusively gathered from the USA a different society, differently policed. The alleged misuse of a taser on a man in a diabetic coma is still under investigation by the IPCC, leaving the police unable to comment on the facts, but it is notable that the alleged victim does not have any memory of the attack, neither does he appear to have suffered any long term harm.
To those who still fear that the Taser might affect their pacemaker or set off their epilepsy, can I suggest that you try to avoid getting into a fight with the Police!
There is no method of restraining a violent person which does not carry any risk at all. The Taser is an established weapon, which would only be used when it could be justified under UK law. Any officer misusing it would be subject to disciplinary or criminal sanctions, just as they are with a fist a baton or a gun.
If the public want the protection of the police, then they must give police officers the tools to do it and to protect themselves in the process.
Complain about this comment
TO BISH21
The real problem here is that the police have betrayed our trust. The regular abuse of the terror laws is an example.
Surely as a fellow Britain who's Grandfathers fought the Nazi state you must feel very uncomfortable about arresting an idiot who won't get off a bus etc using terro laws.
That is why after having shot yourselves in the foot no-one believes you when you claim that Tazers won't be abused.
The Police are not above the law. They don't make the law. They simply enforce it.
Bending the spirit of the law is the same as breaking it .
We are supposed to look up to the police not be frightened of them.
Like I say, get a grip now before it is too late.
Complain about this comment
I am a police officer and I fully support the wider use of stun guns through out the police. Tasers are only used in instances where guns, knifes or other bladded articles are involved. In these circumstances normal police weapons would not be sufficent and so poteintally a police officer could be risking their lives or the lives of others. The individual is warned and if they comply the taser will not be used. It is purely an individuals own actions that will result in a taser gun being used on them.
Everyone is worried about the human rights of these individuals that carry guns and knifes that endanger not only the police but the public as well. What about the human rights of the police officers who put themselves into very dangerous situations to be protected at work? Or the human rights of the public to be safe where they live and while going about their daily lives?
Normal, law obiding people do not have anything to worry about!
Complain about this comment
Sixblacktoes...
What Citizen Nikki means is that all parents should teach respect to their children, something that does'nt seem to have happened to alot of the neds today.
NEDS: Non Educated DelinquintS
Complain about this comment
Firstly the diabetic who was in a coma was a poor example to use, as in my opinion he was very irresponsible, diabetes and drinking are not compatible he should have at least tested his sugar levels before embarking on a night out involving booze and the police maybe should have been a little more observant, but easy to citisize from a distance, when it's not our life which is a risk. I always find it incredible that wish washy liberals always pontificate from their ivory towers, they very rarley mix with reality and when they do, it is from a distance. Our police need as much support as possible in such testing times. I would rather the police use high voltage as opposed to high velocity, high voltage with negligable current will not kill.
Merry Xmas to all.
Complain about this comment
Well said OldSurreyguy - as a special myself who has policed my local community for 17 years UNPAID, it does make me wonder why any of us do it paid or otherwise. There are too many people out there who are willing to jump on the band wagon following a relatively isolated incident and ignore the reality of everyday policing.
Complain about this comment
How long will it be I wonder before some bright spark comes up with a taser-proof shirt or vest - something that can easily short-out or safely quench the high voltage charge rendering the gun ineffective - Tasers are not infallible and every weapon on earth has been met by a counter-measure - So if I was buying ten thousand more of these things I might have cause to think...
Complain about this comment
ANTI TAZER CLOTHING incorporated into sportswear is already available.
Complain about this comment
A Taser will only be pointed at you if you are a non-compliant person threatening violence to others - if you have a heart condition but continue to threaten the safety of members of the public and the police, then quite frankly you deserve everything coming to you.
The days of police being in the position of "Put down that weapon or I'll blow my whistle at you in a threatening manner" are long gone, and quite rightly so - it's about time we started looking out for law-abiding citizens and those that protect them, rather than point an accusatory finger at the police when a criminal requires necessary force to restrain them.
Complain about this comment
As previously a Lay Visitor to Police Custody Suites I felt that CS Spray (not gas) was less harmfull than being coshed over the head and perhaps resultant serious head injury. However, at a demonstration of same it was said that were officers found to be using them too often, then it showed their verbal skills were lacking. I agree with that, it will be the same officers using tazers on people because they have lost-the-plot and perhaps need to be off on sick leave or better still, dismissed without pension.
That said, if officers had the backing of their chief constables and the CPS and the PC Brigade were all tazered, then you would not have the break down of law and order we see today.
CS Spray was used on an elderly man and he won damages for same. It was also used inappropriately in a psychiatric establishment by the police. Now that is inappropriate. Mental health staff can mostly walk violent patients into the wards without any protection whatsoever, yet the police have to often wear riot gear. Lack of respect and trust has arisen now due to such a disparity of law enforcement throughtout the UK.
Let the punishments fit the crime wherever you live with set penalties. The police must feel they are fighting a losing battle, with all against them. Deport any visitor to this country who is arrested and convicted. Let's stop wasting police time and catch those who need to be caught, but without resorting to a system that will end up in huge sums for damages paid out. Some will die when it is used. Police might also have it turned on themselves.
Let's face it when it is expected to be used, you are not yet guilty or convicted of anything you are being restrained. Yet once you are convicted, you will be given a slap on the wrist (community service you never do) fines you never pay, and sentences never fully served. TAZER E'm then I say. Maybe then they won't come back for more!
Complain about this comment
NO - The financial figures quoted in this introduction are already enormouse and it is common knowledge in ALL past British goverment involvement with quotations the financial final figure WILL grow and grow just like 'Topsy'.
This country is also considerably physically smaller than the States from where this 'gadget' originates. By definition the criminal figures will also be considerablely smaller. Guns are part of life in the States but NOT in this country. Yes, knives also are popular at the moment but more serious punishment laws will cure this. The methods of fighting crime must be improved by brainpower NOT physical power. The police have the techknowlogy at their fingertips. This country has demonstrated that fact throughout our history - Use it NOW.
[Two recent examples - i.e. The 'Rolling Bomb' and the Code Decoder' from WW2.
The justification example showed the basic stupidity of "Tasaring" a Gentleman suffering a simple example of of an everyday Common Medical Example which the Police attending did not recognise which I suspect the man on the beat comes across many times in everyday life throughtout the country since their training days ! ! ! ! !
Complain about this comment
I can understand people who say it will only affect criminals so what! But what if after 40+ years of obeying the law you are wrongly arrested!! This happened to me and I shall never forget the treatment I had at the wrong end of the law!! I would not trust any of the police to be competent or intelligent enough to use a tazer. We must not let innocent people suffer as they will if the boys in blue have yet another toy.
Complain about this comment
Dear Hanniban,
The soft wishy-washy liberals like me are NOT against the Police per sa. What we object to is the unfettered use of weapons by officers.
The police have proven time and time again that we cannot take their word at face value.
I simply don't believe - "Tasers are only used in instances where guns, knifes or other bladded articles are involved".
They will be used like the American army fight wars - shoot first ask questions later.
Not by all, but by enough of them to be a threat to our liberties.
The police will be quick to defend their fellow officers - when have you ever heard a serving police officwer decry the actions of officers who do fall be low the required standard?
It's the 'honest' ones I suspect the most, they know the ones who don't deserve to keep the uniform but they're more interested in protecting each other that they ever will be in protecting us.
Anti terror laws were for TERRORISM and you can be excersising you right to legally protest and be arrested under anti-terrorism laws on the grounds that it takes officers away from genuine anti-terror duties (a Police statement earlier this year).
If that principle holds true then you can get a record as a 'terrorist' for riding you bike on the pvement (which by the way is not an arrestable offence).
People like me have lost faith the the Police are on the side of liberties for all if/ when they get in the way of 'operations'.
These weapons in the hands of people I don't trust are dangerous, that goes for police just as much as it goes for criminals with knives.
Complain about this comment
Flamesimplysimple.
The police should not be above the law. You will always get 'bad apples' and they should be weeded out and the full extent of the law thrown at them. But the police should still have the protection they need in certain situation.
The world is changing and society has changed. The police face demanding situations everyday and they have the right to protect themselves and the public from harm.
Complain about this comment
I am a supporter of the British police, but NO, I don't think that they should have tazers.
Maybe it could be considered after more pilot schemes and when the public feel that their use was controlled as rigoursly as firearms.
If we do have to have police armed with tazers, then I would like to be reassured beyond any doubt that their use was going to be actively monitored.
Eg if a officer has a higher than normal use of their taser, in particular in circumstances where there were no witnesses, then this would have to be reviewed. The officer should be more frightened of being mistakenly accused of using the taser ilegally (and the consequences) so that they only use it when they feel they have no other option ...
Instead of tazers? - improve the legal process so that we all have confidence that it will support the law abiding and the police who enforce the law.
Complain about this comment
Reading tese comments has left me close to tears.
I love my country and I see it going down the pan in two clear directions. The criminal classes becoming untouchable whilst the Police evolve from servants of the people into The SS. Abusing terror laws for me is a greater crime than being a terrorist. The reason. We expect a terrorist to be an evil criminal but we don't expect the freedoms won by our Grandfathers to be trodden on by our own Police.
If Police officers can abuse terror laws of all things then of course they will abuse Tazers.
Plus as already stated in previous posts, anti tazer clothing incorporated into sportswear is already available on the market. Plus if the police have tazers the criminals will buy them to. It's called an arms race.
Where did it all go wrong ?
Complain about this comment
Dear middle-class,
You're getting to the basis of my objections about how the police will use these things.
Indeed my objections about how the police in general conduct themselves.
They DO feel as though the law doesn't apply to them:
1) An officer at 153 MPH on the open road, without prior authority, without prior precautions for safety and alone on country roads. This was sold to us on the grounds that it was in the public interest, not thta it was illegal and dangerous.
2) 44 Officers only agreed to attend the de Menezes inquest if the were to be anonymous. Let's look at that slightly differently, 44 officers basically said they wouldn't tell the truth if they were to be held accountable for it. Again this was said by a police officer be be in the public interest because it was the only way to get at the truth.
Officers will use Tazers inappropriately and I accept that mistakes will happen, but we have apolice service that now resents appropriate public accountability for their actions and as a result we'll get injustice.
It's NOT about simply bagging crims, it's about justice for ALL of our society.
Bringing back faith in the police is in their hands not ours.
Until then, no more power and no more weapons.
Complain about this comment
I am one of those who feel our police aren't able to do the job they should because they are forever having their hands tied to prevent them. This is partly by legislation or codes of practice or whatever. I have several concerns about tazers however. Yes, I agree that with more officers having them there will be a greater chance of them being misused. But thati s due more to percentages than anything else. Rigorous, regular training will keep it down to a minimum no doubt. Which is ok unless you happen to be an innocent victim. Do they need them? Ask the officers themselves that. They are the best ones to say. My biggest concern is the effect it will have on the criminal fraternity. Will those breaking the law feel it more necessary to be armed as the possibility of getting caught and "tazered" increases? I think that is a very real and present danger that needs to be considered. Mind you, if the police were able to use the tools they have to there fullest, such as stop and search, then tazers may not be required. Or how about the effect appropriate sentencing or less luxuries while serving a jail term could have? Something else is needed to get law and order back on track but I am not sure it is tazers. I am prepared to be convinced.
Complain about this comment
SIXBLACKTOES:
Hear hear. I wish I had your eloquence with words.
You, like me would risk your life to help a police officer in danger. But for how much longer. How many more excuses can I make for the abuses that are taking place.
Of course not all the police cannot be trusted. But if the police continue to do nothing when fellow officers abuse terror laws etc then I confidently predict that when the police most need the support of the public, we will not be there.
I do not make these comments because I have nothing to do. I need to go and work so I can pay some tax to pay for all this. No, I am writing this because I care. I care about my country, myself and the police who are there to protect us.
Hitler took the existing German police force and gave them extaordinary powers and renamed them The SS.
Most of the officers did not realise what this entailed until it was way too late. When they asked to leave they were branded traitors. We all know what happened next.
Complain about this comment
My husband was bitten by a lad who he was trying to arrest as he had assaulted someone in a bar. He subsequently bite a chunk out of my husband's arm whilst the arrest was being made. We as a family then had 6 long months to wait to see if the HIV and Hepititis tests were negative which meant he had to be careful around me and the children all that time just in case. This was a very difficult time and perhaps with the taser would not have been necessary. There is much more behind the scenes that the public need to think about.
Complain about this comment
I am vehemently against police carrying tasers. If ALL police were level-headed and trustworthy, I would have no objection. However, from personal experience I know many are rash, many carry personal grudges and many target certain members of the public - mainly young men (of all colours), but also young women. In some of the cases I know of, had the police involved been armed with tasers, they would have used them without a second thought: this on young people who are innocent of everything except high spirits and a strong sense of justice. The policeman interviewed on tonight's show said they (the police) didn't like to use batons as they "could inflict a serious injury". So it is alright to electrocute someone instead? Tasers should be issued in the same way as firearms - to a few, highly-trained officers. In addition to this, just how much would arming 30,000 police offers with tasers cost? I thought the country was in recession?
Complain about this comment
"Chenneth, what about compensation lawsuits for those who are wrongfully tazered or injured? What if it causes paralysis to a young person, you can expect a lawsuit of at least a few million."
-
Fair point. But it is to be assumed that tasers would only be used when absolutely necessary, same a CS spray or the baton, these things are not use lightly by the police because the consequences for using them wrongly are so high, obviously there will always be exceptions, but you owuld hope these would be so rare the positive side of having tasers would far outwiegh the negative.
"Then what if someone is killed? The loss in confidence in the police, if your not willing to face danger on a daily basis, quite simply dont join the police or the army, its in the nature of the job. Oh you can imagine the amount of paperwork involved when wrongfully tazering someone, having to go through each person's account of the situation, I wonder how much the investigation would cost." - this arguement simply does not stand up, just because you join the army or the police doesn't mean the risk to these people shouldn't be minimised.
Again there will always be mistakes, just as there will be if the police had no weapons. The point is that I believe the taser would do more good than bad, not that its a perfect solution.
Police can adaquately defend themselves, and by saying 'dont get lippy,' suggesting tazering someone for profanity is insane. How many officers do I hear die in the line of duty on the news in comparison to civilians wrongfully killed? Weigh it up.
How reliable is the news? How many civilivians get wrong fully killed? do you have any idea? I supsect it not many, but I wouldn't claim to know. How many people besidse Charles De Menezes have been wrongfully killed? You dont hear about the police being beaten, stabbed, killed because its not as good news. Also all the offiecers in De Menezes were aquitted of charges. What it De Menezes had been carrying explosives? These are split second decisions that have to be made, it it easy to judge in hindsight.
"Like I said, look at this from a criminals point of view, you don't need a stretch of imagination to envisage that a more aggressive police force will just create more aggressive criminals, the loop goes on."
This is ture to a certain extent, however, the opposite is also true, if the police simply sit back and go soft what will the outcome of that be? From working with criminals youths I know that they do not respect the weak, they are not the slightlest bit interested in the consequences of their actions, and they need to be dealth with firmly.
As for youtube clips these do not represent any kind of evidence. They are taken out of context... how do you know these people are not wanted, violent criminals? How do you know they do not have guns in the car.
Complain about this comment
Cappachino1,
I seems as though it's just as hard for you to get into my head to the same degree as it is for me to realise the situation of officers and therir families.
Look, it's been said that "the police are the ones who know" so we should ask them.
Maybe, but there are civil liberties issues at stake here and it's very important.
If our liberties are not important how far are you prepared to go?
Consider this, maybe the police are the people whom we should AVOID asking, maybe their experience not so much informs their view as distorts it.
Possible ?
Maybe they're so hard bitten that they can only see options of increasing power as 'the answer'.
Rocky roads, slippery slopes and just what would you accept from them things really go too far?
The Rusian penal code 10 that sent 20 million people to the gulags stated that you were guilty of a crime if it were possible that you could have committed it.
An officer on the street, faced with an individual who objects to being arretsted for something they're not involved in and he's Tazered.
He's been punished because it was possible he may be guilty and let's face it, when was the last time you spoke to a policeman (in or out of uniform) who was comfortable with the concept that they were wrong?
Limited distribution of these weapons, strongly monitored is a good way forward but NOT freely available to all n' sundry.
I notice that the police are not slow to get into campagining mode when it suits them, I've never heard a campaign aimed at building public confidence in the integrity of the police.
Public first, unsuitable fellow officers second.
Complain about this comment
It has been widley publicised that these things are harmless. If so then the police will not be able to charge some member of the public who makes or purchases one and fights back as it is a harmless device? There has always been voilence in society and the people empowered to carry out the wishes of those that pay them have never needed tasers. People who for one reason or another find themselves on the wrong side of the law will be punished if it is found that they are guilty of a crime. There are good police officers and there are the rambo element. As in all human beings there are the good and the bad and to give all police officer the right to inflict this sort of pain on fellow human beings is unacceptable. What would be the charge if criminals used these instead of guns,GBH could not be used as they do not inflict injury?
Complain about this comment
if you obey law and order it wiil not affect you. if you do not obey you should take the consequences of the taser gun
Complain about this comment
FIREMAN 263:
You made a very good point there.
If a Tazer causes no injury, then what will a thug be charged with when he uses one on a police officer ?. I presume the only charge will be owning an illegal weapon that causes no harm. The police could and I suspect will be ambushed with these weapons by thugs who think its funny. British Police Officers, please grow up and take a leaf out of your predessors book and do your job with integrity. Do not alienate the nation by abusing and twisting the law in your favour. It will come back at you. I say this selfishly because I don't want you undermined and untrusted. You can not effectively protect me and my family whilst you are reviled and feared by the law abiding majority.
Why is it so hard to understand.
All this gives me the feeling that the Police are feeling insecure. If so lets get rid of the dangerous and out of control Home Secretary Jackie " I didn't inhale the spliff " Smith and really address the worries and concerns of the Police.
It is in everybodies interest that our officers have confidence and are able to conduct their duties without having to abuse the law and abuse the public.
Complain about this comment
It appears that about 70% of people on this blog have epilipsy or a heart condition. Does that mean that 70% of all criminals have this condition as well? I'm sure that if you don't commit crime, you won't get tasered! On a serious note, there are some silly comments like "why not continue to use batons?" Well, the reason is because they don't work sometimes! Instead of complaining about American cops, why don't you go out on a tour one evening with patrolling police here on a Friday night after pub closing time. I'm sure you will change your mind!
Complain about this comment
it appears that 70% of police officers haven't pulled out their truncheons. why on earth do they need tasers?
give the money to the army where it can be put to good use.
Complain about this comment
Lordtwobytwo (8:03pm) I think you stand to make a fortune with your marvellous system of disarming people with knives and baseball bats without harm or the use of weapons! I'm sure police forces would pay millions for it, given the amount it will save them in Tasers, training, sick pay and compensation to all the epileptics, diabetics and pacemaker users that would otherwise be tasered.
You call it Kung Foo. is it just coincidence that it sounds very much like kung fu, the fantasy of so many millions of immature video watchers.
Let's just hope that it works as well in reality as it does in your imagination!
Complain about this comment
Old Surrey Guy:
Firstly, well said.
Secondly Sir may I ask you if you would be kind enough as a former Policeman to explain to a, " Got no power, just pay the tax Englishman ", why the Police regularly use the Terror laws in everyday situations. May I also ask what you think about it.
You see Sir it frightens people to think that we are in a Police state.
That is why we don't trust the Police with Tazers.
IT NEEDS EXPLAINING.
Complain about this comment
Fireman263, Taser is a prohibited weapon under section 5 of the firearms act. It doesn't matter whether is causes injury, temporary or permanent, it is a restricted article and possession would be the initial charge, just as with CS and pepperspray.
Complain about this comment
Playing Devils advocate: could a flexible aluminium vest protect the would-be target from being tasered. If not, a fully flexible vest with an inner plastic core as those worn by marathon runners, or some sort of aluminium mesh with a weave small enough such that the electrodes cannot penetrate the barrier avoiding skin contact thus causing a short circuit rendering the electrical pulses useless. The protective jacket could be worn in much the same manner as a bullet-proof jacket as worn by the police. After all the main area of the body the police would be aiming for is the torso. I appreciate that new ways of controlling unlawful behaviour must be attempted seriously but I am not sure that this form of potentially lethal lightning strikes is the way ahead. Caution is the imperative word.
H of Birmingham
Complain about this comment
In relation to the logic that 'as Tasers are harmless then you can use them against police officers without breaking the law', you should be aware that it is generally illegal, in the UK to carry firearms, irritant sprays, batons or any other offensive weapons. The reason that police can possess them is that they have the job of containing some of the most violent and dangerous people who cannot be restrained except by use of such means. Nobody is saying that Tasers are completely harmless, but they are less potentially harmful than some of the alternatives.
Fools who think that everybody can be disarmed simply by talking to them, or magical 'KungFoo' tricks, or by the old chestnut of 'shooting the gun/knife out of their hands, clearly have no appreciation of the real difficulties and dangers of dealing with violence from people whether armed or not.
Complain about this comment
I wonder if they are available on Amazon.co.uk...
Complain about this comment
spooky22
As I have said in numerous previous comments on this page.
ANTI TAZER CLOTHING IS AVAILABLE ON THE OPEN MARKET
In the form of sportswear and Hoodies etc.
Not only does it protect the target it returns the electric charge to the gun and the person who fired it, whether or not the gun is made of plastic.
It results in an unharmed criminal and an incapacitated Police officer.
Who then presumeably will get his head kicked in.
It beggars belief that the Police Commanders either do not know about this easy to get clothing, ( the sort of clothing thugs prefer ), or have not told their men/women.
Another Sir Ian Blair nightmare idea. I know he's gone but he left a big pile of .... behind him.
Jackie, " I didn't inhale the spliff ", Smith is also behind this madness.
Complain about this comment
Flamesimplysimple - to which everyday situations are you referring? Please illustrate your answer with evidence. have you been arrested for terrorism?
Do you think that only terrorism would justify the use of Tasers? they are far more likely to be deployed in the violent 'domestic' or outside a nightclub when all hell's broken loose and drink and drugs make all other methods inappropriate.
You seem to be confusing two totally different issues.
Complain about this comment
Spooky22, your idea might work, but why would you want to try?
If you are a criminal looking to avoid being tased, then after it fails to do its thing, you'd be getting CS'd, then batoned, then you'd hear the ARV arrive and would be looking down the barrel of a G36C.
Various posters keep banging on about not trusting the police with these things and seem to think they'll run amok with their new found power.
How many on here are regularly beaten by batons or are you basing these stupid viewpoints on stories you read in the gutter press?
There are always going to be bad policemen, but the vast majority do an amazing job under tough conditions and I for one have nothing to fear from them being properly equipped to deal with the threats they face daily.
Complain about this comment
I'm not saying the police are trigger happy ProPolice, I was simply offering a primitive form of retaliation which may be adopted by some paranoid groups that may feel victimised. I think the vast majority of people feel the Police are here to protect us.
Complain about this comment
Old Surrey Guy:
Sir, I accept I have not made myself clear.
1. Asking the public to accept officers armed with Tazers requires that the public trust the Police.
Unfortunately when the Police openly abuse a law that the Police said they could be trusted with it it does not instill any confidence in the public when they say they can be trusted with Tazers.
2. I have spent years of my life serving my country in REAL danger and was never armed, not so much as a penknife.
3. The Tazer is already defunkt as the anti- tazr clothing will be the height of fashion this time next year.
4. Every penny spent in the wrong way is a gift to the serious criminals who now have a serious grip on Britian.
5. If the Police lose the trust and backing of the decent majority then the Police will be helpless when they really need the decent majority to stand shoulder to shoulder.
Sir, I am a patriot to my marrow. But I am neither blind nor stupid.
The Police must take a good look in the mirror and show some balls whilst dealing with the Home Secretary.
Are you safer now with cameras everywhere ?
Will criminals not buy Tazers ?
I could go on and on but what is the point.
Complain about this comment
my name is karl and i want to be a police officer when i am older and i think police should have the tazers as officers need more protection. they have not got guns and all these youngster and drunks have knifes and the only way to control them and to put them to the floor is those tazer guns.
so i think 100% they should have them yes!
Complain about this comment
Flamesimplysimple, you are talking out of your bottom.
Taser works by passing its current down one wire, through the person and completing the circuit via the other wire, causing neuromuscular disruption in the process.
Taser resistant clothing works by completing the circuit through the material and avoids any current passing through the wearer.
Whether the device is operating correctly or being shorted via conductive material, the current is designed to return to the weapon, no current gets back to the officer holding the device.
They can even touch one of the wires without receiving a shock and they can 'handle' the target safely too. The only way they can be shocked is if they touch the target BETWEEN the two contact probes.
Complain about this comment
Propolice:
I use my mouth to speak.
I have in front of me two reports from the University of Bern, Switzerland proving that the anti-tazer cloth used in certain clothing not only protects the targetit also has the ability to return the charge.
Sir, my previous employment has given me the ability to see first hand what is effective and what is not.
If I thought tazers would help the Police I would agree to their use, with massive concern, due to the abuses previously mentioned.
All that will happen here is that the police will spend large sums of their budget on another American inspired white elephant. Once they realise their folly jobs will be cut to make up for the shortfall in the budget. Well done boys, just what we need, especially in a recession.
Complain about this comment
Dear ompieclaire,
You and a whole squad of your fellow officers have played your poker style 'all in' and said in various forms "why don't you go out on a tour one evening with patrolling police here on a Friday night after pub closing time" in order to justify that these things are needed.
We poor civilians couldn't possibly understand the 'real world'
OK - I'm all in too.
You contact the BBC and ask them to contact me.
We'll set it up so I can travel with you and you're buddies for a shift, I've worn the queen's badge and, even at my age (53), Saturday night holds no fear for me.
Do you actually need more power, do you need more weapons, do you need to do things differently, is the real situation as bad as you say it is?
Or should we just accept what an officer says simply because you've said it?
I get to report the 'actual' situation from the civilian's point of view and you chip in on the same situation from the serving officer's point of view.
We could even try to make it look truthful n' realistic and not at all like that softly, softly 'cops on camera' propaganda.
Question, if the Tazer is needed it implies that what you've got doesn't do the trick, no need carrying useless stuff, to get the Tazer, what would you give up?
Complain about this comment
Any amnesty of lethal weapons just goes to show that whatever is donated legally is but a token of what is available illegally, and the weapons presented at such general pardons is testimony to the rift between the real situation and the one we see on the evening news. It is a step in the right direction but it is nowhere near a large enough step.
Complain about this comment
I do think our police officers need some sort of protection these days, and I don't know the answer, but I worry about tasers, an electric shock of any degree can have an adverse effect on someone with heart problems, asthma or epilepsy, if tasers have the potential to kill, I personally say no.
Complain about this comment
We seem to keep coming back to the same arguements here:
1. The police can't be trusted with tasers. Surely if this were true then they can not be trusted at all, which begs the question 'should we disolve the police completely?'
2. Tasers can kill. So can a high speed car chase, would it be better to limit the speed of police cars to reduce the chance of an accident?
3. Innocent people may be victimised. Innocent people are found guilty of crimes, that is reality, 'Justice is Blind' and all that.
4. Police never used to need tasers. You can not simply compare the present with the past. There is a multitude of factors that could be used to say why police didn't need them in the past.
5. Civil liberties are at risk and its a slippery slope to a Nazi state or the Stalinist Russia. This arguement does't hold up, it can simply be turned on it head and say if we keep getting softer eventually we'll end up having no law or police etc. Is that want we want? Although we must be cautious of of 'going too far' there are checks and balances to prevent a decline into fascism and the like.
We must also consider how our own civil liberties are affected by criminals allowed to 'reign free'.
Someone suggested a pilot scheme above, which seems like a very reasonable and sensible suggestion.
Complain about this comment
If you are violent, aggressive, a threat to yourself or others, then why should the Police have to be put in harms way any further than necessary to protect themselves and others?
The Police do not use incapacitant spray or batons without cause and wouldn't use Taser in such a way either.
Complain about this comment
In response to fireman263. As far as I am aware, no one has said Taser is harmless, merely that it is a lower level of force than spray or baton as the recovery from Taser is immediate.
It is a use of force, and a much needed middle ground when required.
Complain about this comment
As a serving officer, I cannot believe some of the anti police rubbish that I'm witnessing on here. There are too many ill informed individuals spouting their nonsense from the apparent comfort of their homes when really, if they cared one jot about their community, they would do all they could to assist the police in keeping YOU safe instead of using your anonymous status to slag us off. Examples could include joining your local Neighbourhood Policing Forum or becoming a Special Constable for instance. Many of my colleagues are Specials who are part time, unpaid Constables with full police powers. If you are good enough to be selected as an SC then some of you could see first hand the dangers we face on your behalf - I don't think you'd begrudge us a Taser then, believe me!!
Complain about this comment
I am a former town councillor in Lincolnshire. When Lincolnshire Police started using Tazers, they went aroung the county to local forums and consulting bodies to tell people what they were doing. The officer in the report was one of those who attended. He came across as a mature and sensible officer, fully aware of his responsibilities to the community and also to the criminal fraternity, as far as not causing them any unnecessary harm was concerned. As a result, we in Lincolnshire are fully supportive of Lincolnshire Police and their policy on the use of Tazers, i.e., they are only used by experienced firearms officers. They are not trigger-happy cowboys, which many of those which the anti-Tazer lobby are concerned about seem to be.
It is true that in a largely rural (and under-funded) police area there are few incidents where a Tazer is necessary, but there have been no complaints from the public thus far. The police give a warning before a Tazer is discharged. If anyone has a known medical condition, then it is up to them to surrender to the police before the weapon is used. If they have an undiagnosed condition, then perhaps it is up to them to have had a check-up with their GP (blood pressure and an annual blood test) which might have diagnosed the condition and made them aware of the issues making it silly to risk being Tazered.
The view expressed by Lincolnshire Police that Tazers should only be used by experienced firearms officers is absolutely right. There are too many things which could go wrong if not fully-trained officers use Tazers. In bigger forces than Lincolnshire, there are likely to be trained firearms officers around who could be deployed swiftly to cover incidents.
The alternative is that people get shot to death carrying table-legs, in confrontations with the police, or travelling innocently on the Tube. It is better that innocent citizens are Tazered by mistake rather than shot dead.
Complain about this comment
We need to have some empathy for our police force. They are thrust into dangerous situations, often life theatening, that are not of their making.
In the Crimewatch programme shown later in the evening there was a report of numerous policemen being injured when trying to breakup an illegal rave - how different that would have been if they were carrying tasers.
The diabetic who was tasered when he did not respond to the police becuase he was in a coma is still alive. If they were carrying guns he would be dead. How were the policemen attending that scene to know that he was not a suicide bomber with his fingers on a detonator? If they were dealing with a suicide bomber not only could they have lost their lives, so could have many others in the vicinity - then whose fault would that have been?
I bet if asked, the relatives of Jean Charles Menezes would rather he had been tasered than shot dead. Tragic incidents like that might be avoided.
I would ask all those opposed to the use of tasers to put themselves, if they can, in the policeman's situation. It takes great courage to deal with many of the incidents that they have to, all to often without any recognition of this from the public. Afterall, they are only doing their job - trying to maintain law and order.
I fully support the use of tasers by the police.
Complain about this comment
What about deaf or hard of hearing people? They will not always respond because of not hearing. Like the man who was in a coma, these people will suffer needlessly.
Complain about this comment
Stun guns are used to control violent or potentilally violent situations. What happens next, a caution and back out on the streets. In many cases Stun guns would not be required if the violent had received correct sentencing from the courts for previous convictions, as many potential targets would already be in prison.
The courts should be controlling violent behaviour not the police with Stun guns.
Complain about this comment
Flamesimplysimple, if you have the reports in front of you and are such an expert on how Taser works and how to circumvent their effect, how is it you keep making the schoolboy mistake of not spelling its name correctly?
I'll say it again, the operating police officer will not get a shock if they tase someone wearing Taser resistant clothing, will not be incapacitated and will not get their head kicked in, as you previously posted.
The current is designed to return to the device, it's called completing the circuit - you do know how electricity works don't you?
Chenneth, great post sir.
In fact most of the recent posts seem to have been made by level-headed people who have some concerns over the roll out of Taser, but at the same time are under no illusion as to the difficult job Police have to do and that this tool is needed in todays society - I guess the scaremongers and anti-police had to go to bed, school in the morning no doubt.
Complain about this comment
Forgot to add some stats.
Taser was first introduced with Firearms teams in April 2004 and have been used around 2700 times.
Yearly figures show about 75% of the time officers do not need to fire the weapon to gain compliance, simply drawing and 'red-dotting' the target with the laser sight is enough - doesn't get much safer than that really.
There have been NO serious injuries or deaths in the UK from the use of Taser.
Complain about this comment
Anyone else think that it is suspicious that the announcements on extensions to taser deployment came in on the day that Brown announced his 'last-chance-saloon' budget package? Im no conspiracy theorist, Im a law-abiding father of two, who has seen the civil liberties in our country eroded at an alarming rate under this Marxist -style government.
The right to freely demonstrate( which Ive never done, actually) - no cant do that?! ID cards and cameras watching our every move, with no recourse- thanks you labour? Innocent until proven guilty- 90 day detention anyone?!
Seriously people- this is another weapon in this increasingly oppressive government & police armoury to control us all- and if you belive that as a 'normal law-abiding citizen' you've got nothing to fear, then try telling that to the bloke who got tazered while in a coma, or the 14 year old kid reported elsewhere on this site!
Costly, overblown and all about state control, welcome to the UK in 2008.
Complain about this comment
The Police should not carry stun guns but when will the Government or the Police listen to the people. At present, only highly trained Police are allowed to carry guns but yet they routinely shoot the wrong people. Ask the De Menenezes family or the guy carrying the table leg in London.
Can I ask The One Show to look at a Police 'fly on the wall' documentary shown on the BBC earlier this year (I think). It showed Police in Humberside use a Tazer on a pre-emtive strike against a known felon 'because he had a history of violence'. He was not violent, did not show any evidence of becomming violent. He was not Tazered after resisting arrest, he was Tazered because it was the easiest thing to do. If anyone wants to see a reason for not adopting Tazers, then look at that video.
Complain about this comment
Were it not for do-gooders and latterly the Human Rights Act perhaps we would still have an effective police force not in need of weapons. However, in this day and age when you cannot say "boo" to anyone misbehaving without fear of reproach it seems inevitable. It begs the question however, where do the 'rights' of those under fire stand? This seems set to be the ever decreasing circle which, when no solution is found the whole damn fanfare implodes.
Complain about this comment
......... on second thoughts, it would be better to just bring back hanging for serious crimes and chopping off hands for theft!
Complain about this comment
I have read a few people on here saying they have heart conditions, are they planning to go into crime then & risk getting tasered.
Complain about this comment
police should not be allowed to carry stun guns unless they are willing to use cameras on there person ,because if an inccident went wrong there would be the proof for the courts to see.it is not good enough to say that the officers will be trained because it is a completely different situation when they are out on the streets and although the majority of officers would use the stun guns when only in emergency situations there are the ones that get carried away with authority and it is to late if things go wrong .A DEFINITE NO.!
Complain about this comment
i have a family member who was arrested for a domestic offence and was hancuffed and on the ground then peppered sprayed twice, thank god they didnt have the stun gun with them .
Complain about this comment
generally they are peppered sprayed because they are still kicking off.
Complain about this comment
I can see the need for the police to be in a position to use stun guns. However, I would like to know what research has been done on medical conditions such as heart problems. I cannot believe that someone like me, a law abiding individual, who has had a heart attack will not suffer a reaction, possibly fatal.
The other worry is that since the police have stun guns that means they will be available to everyone. How easy is that going to make mugging? Stun your victim then rob them and disappear. With the victim unable to do anything.
The problems now become limitless.
Complain about this comment
To be honest members of the public have absolutely no idea about the implications of Taser and the valuable tool it is and can be to all response officers.
They have no idea about the dangers we face and the dynamics of the job. That's why many of the comments are from 'Armchair experts' as some people so eliquently put it.
Complain about this comment
Its a funny old world we live in - why are we always concerned with the criminals human rights etc. What about the rights of all the good people who work at the frontline in keeping our society safe and secure.
I believe things like this should be left to the experts its a decision not made lightly and on a personal level if it saves one officers life then all the more for it ... I would much rather have that then worry about how one criminal getting more than he bargained for...
Complain about this comment
If a weapon is available it will get used. Why bother with using manual reatraint, or even talking someone down, when you can zap them.
I know if I had a drunk shouting abuse in my face I would zap him in an instant if I had a TASER to hand.
The Police will misuse TASERS - the claim that they will only use them instead of actual firearms is nonsense.
It was just the same when they introduced pepper sprays which would only be used instead of beating someone with a batton - well apprently this includes a pensioner arguing while sat in his car and a teenager getting lippy.
Jethro
Cheshire
Complain about this comment
In today's Melbourne Age, where there's a debate in to whether the police in Victoria should be allowed to carry Tasers following the shooting of a 15 year old boy by police, there's a much fuller argument, based on an Amnesty report, against the use of Tasers.
The programme last night was not balanced enough, a case of the police wanting something so they must have it.
A couple of years ago the shares of the company soared and it had star status until there were deaths, as a result of usage, and the shares plunged.
Tasers are dangerous and only a few skilled officers should be allowed to use them.
Complain about this comment
Unfortunately in the 21st century I don't feel able to trust the Police. From my own experience I have known them to make a false statement in Court - it would also appear that this is the case in the recent hearing regarding Menesis the murdered innocent Brazilian.
I feel it is exceedingly dangerous for the Police to carry stun guns. My partner has a heart condition. To look at him you would not think he was ill at all. If the Police fired a stun gun at him it would probably kill him.
Of course not all Police can be tarred with the same brush. But it would only take one to not follow protocol and fire the gun without warning - even if they did warn first I don't think many Police would take much notice of: please don't shoot officer I have a heart condition. I feel they would like the power they have been awarded and abuse it.
Similar to car park attendents who think because they have a uniform on it gives them the right to treat people any way they choose.
Kathy Edmunds
Complain about this comment
The police need tasers to deal with the increasing number of criminals with weapons. What annoyed me about this report was the reporter's bias against the police use of tasers. She should have put both sides of the argument objectively and not attempted to influence the viewers opinions with her own point of view. It seems that the BBC is moving into the realm of influencing viewers and listeners opinions and that is not their role.
Complain about this comment
If any one that has a heart problem was assaulting a police officer or robbing someone i would say they deserve what they get if they have to be tasered, keep on the right side of the law no tasering for you
Complain about this comment
I am a recently retired officer. I was glad to see that you invited those well known experts on policing Bette Midler and Michael Palin to comment. A few comments about taser - as I understand it taser inflicts 'pain' and not 'injury' - there is a difference. The pain is temporary and will go away - injury can be permanent. Taser has been widely used in the USA for a long time - I understand that the company making it have yet to be sued successfully. Taser is another option for an officer dealing with a violent or potentially violent suspect. For those who don't like the thought of taser consider this - most arrests are completed in a low key manner. If a suspect is violent then the officer has to engage in fighting - you can be subjected to CS/Pava or the use of an ASP (baton). These can/will result in injuries to all parties. In most cases when a taser is deployed the illuminating of the suspect with the laser dot will cause compliance. Taser is accountable - each cartridge is identifiable and details of weapon use can be downloaded. In addition each officer who uses is iindividually accountable for their actions - ultimately to the courts - I am quite large and muscular - I would rather be tasered than hit with an Asp any day. Fianlly please remember that policing is not, and has never been a 'non body contact sport'. At some time officers have to arrest people who don't want to be arrested - surprising as it may be to some of the commentators on here. Such an arrest will nearly always look untidy. Taser reduces the risk of injury to all concerned.
Complain about this comment
the police force should get into the real world.not only should they have stun guns ,they should also have side arms ,after what happened in india,the same thing will certainly happen here,and when a lot of people get killed,you will have our thick goverment and idiot labour mps come on the telivision,and say we have learnt our lesson,and they, might do somthing about it but dont hold your breath
Complain about this comment
I must say that I find it quite disturbing that there are so many potential (or maybe active?) criminals with known heart conditions posting on this blog that are worried about being tasered. If you don't want to get zapped, obey the law!
Complain about this comment
HotelBravo888, you don't need to be a criminal to get sprayed with pepper spray - just annoying/inconvenient to a copper - the same thing will happen with increasing use of TASER.
Jethro
Cheshire
Complain about this comment
During the "training" period, Tazer every officer that wishes to carry such a weapon.
Complain about this comment
I'd have to try very hard not to want retribution if one were used in the wrong circumstance on me.
Complain about this comment
I'm totally dismayed to find Britain considering arming the police with Tasers. Have the British media not been following the current uproar over Tasers in Canada?
Check out these CBC documentaries:
http://www.cbc.ca/national/blog/special_feature/a_deadly_landing/the_taser_test_1.html
http://www.cbc.ca/national/blog/special_feature/the_truth_about_tasers/a_stunning_debate.html
Complain about this comment
Every heated argument would no doubt involve a silly warning being issued followed by electricution - the only answers coming forward are more weapons and more laws - does the home secretary really see this as a solution to the crime figures - hopeless
John - Cleveland
Complain about this comment
I feel that tazers are not needed.As a former Police Officer who dealt with all kinds of violent situations including disarming a man with a loaded shotgun,turning it on me,I feel that too many of todays Police are not up to the job physically.By that I mean they are too small and there are too many women employed on the frontline.Part of my service was with the Support Group where we were trained properly in modes of arrest,being able to incapcitate an offender in such a manner,where if he resisted,he would experience pain and would be compliant.We also used full length shields which were extremely effective both in protecting ourselves and in arresting offenders.Indiscriminate issue of these abominable tazers is the first step in fully arming the Police.Do not let it happen.
Complain about this comment
I would like to congratulate the gentleman who posted 433 for a rational ands accurate understanding of the situation. We need more police like him with intelligence discipline and not forgetting balls -courage would suffice for the female officers who are probably too lightweight for difficult situations - that'll get the libbers and equality groups going
Complain about this comment
This is without doubt, another nail in the coffin of freedom to appose and demonstrate , mass defiance against the up and coming new restrictions and curtailment of democracy. Just as dangerous are those brain dead fools who chant ad infanitum--'if you got nuffin to hide why be worried '--brigade. In a week when the police have been accused of lying in the De menezes enquiry---and other serious things, we get this to consider. I read 2 years ago of a US MILITARY device that had been developed, an enormously powerful sound wave machine, that could totaly incapacitate ANYONE within visual distance, so loud it could knock you over. It was seen on the STREETS of New York a year later, when the US Republican party held it's annual convention . Peaceful demonstraters were savagely beaten by 'special' forces, who used a new device --designed to deliberately break the arms of anyone who resisted , and even those who did not ! It is all on tape. DO YOU SEE THE FUTURE NOW !!
Complain about this comment
i have an electrical fault with in my heart, in the past i have had pacemakers to control this i also know of people who had undiagnosed heart conditions which if a taser was used could cause serious harm or death. In the event of this happening how would the police force feel ?
I feel the police force are ready to arrest people for the silliest little thing, it would be over reactive to taser someone in these cases and for it to end badly is that justice ?
Complain about this comment
I think the police have a difficult problem with the stupid Human Rights laws, but I think giving Tazers to the police on the beat is extending their discretionary powers too far.
Only specially trained firearms teams should have them.
Complain about this comment
I don't think our police should have the stun guns.
It is only a matter of time before someone dies as a result of their use, because they cannot possibly know if a person has a medical condition which would react adversely to it's use.
I had a disagreement with my MP over whether our police are fit to use firearms at all, given the number of innocent people whose lives have been cut short by frightened officers shooting people dead instead of disabling them.
These so called 'marksmen' should be able to disable someone rather than kill them, because if they cannot, then they do not deserve the title 'marksmen'.
Why haven't our policemen been issued with the american bean bag guns, instead of lethal force to control suspects and detain them?
This country is heading down a slippery slope at present.
Little by little, more and more force is being used, and more and more reasons invented for people to be detained, using terrorism as the raison d'etre.
Complain about this comment
403. At 01:04am on 16 Dec 2008, greysweetalkinguy wrote:
"If they have an undiagnosed condition, then perhaps it is up to them to have had a check-up with their GP (blood pressure and an annual blood test) which might have diagnosed the condition "
This comment is not only breathtakingly arrogant, but it is also totally ignorant.
The whole point is that the condition is undiagnosed!!!!
Even if you visit your GP on a regular basis, you may have a hidden condition which hitherto has not manifested itself in any way.
Also many GPs are not very interested these days, and rather perfunctory, so even if you did go, it is unlikely that a hidden condition would be picked up on 70% of the time.
Complain about this comment
393. At 11:24pm on 15 Dec 2008, karlnatx wrote:
my name is karl and i want to be a police officer when i am older and i think police should have the tazers as officers need more protection. they have not got guns and all these youngster and drunks have knifes and the only way to control them and to put them to the floor is those tazer guns.
so i think 100% they should have them yes!
**********
Well karl, if you do enrol for the police, I'm afraid I would be extremely worried, because of your attitude towards offensive weapons being routinely used against the public. Also you do not seem to be able to use higher case letters when writing. Is this laziness or ignorance?
*****
386. At 11:03pm on 15 Dec 2008, OldSurreyguy wrote:'as Tasers are harmless then you can use them against police officers without breaking the law', you should be aware that it is generally illegal, in the UK to carry firearms, irritant sprays, batons or any other offensive weapons. The reason that police can possess them is that they have the job of containing some of the most violent and dangerous people who cannot be restrained except by use of such means. Nobody is saying that Tasers are completely harmless, but they are less potentially harmful than some of the alternatives.
******
There appears to be a double standard in the police on the subject of weaponry, and I use the term advisedly.
If a member of the public can be arrested for possessing or carrying these 'offensive weapons', then surely none of them can be deemed safe to use?
As Sir Robert Peel indicated that 'the people are the police, and the police are the people', then the people are using offensive weapons against the people, and surely that is civil war?
A chilling thought!
Complain about this comment
I think they should, police powers and funding as well as equipment is lacking, people that commit crimes have no respect of officers and dont care if their caught.
the reguler public need to have alot more trust and give them alot more support, for some its not a job, a career but a life style.
crime is allowed to get more agressive and dangerous, but law enforcement isnt? gun crime , knife crime is on an increase and so far we have let it happen.
and before some shouts " its getting like America" let me mention i was born there and lived there for 15 years. and i have never seen or heard a gun. the officers over there have respect and they have powers to enforce the law.
police over here cant chase a stolen car or stop a car with fire arms on board. criminals dont reply to an officer shouting stop. sadly though trhe police are damned if they do and damned if they dont. Maybe its not so much giving them stun guns, but giving them more , tougher powers to deal with crime, because i say it again, criminals dont care being cought, police are not a effective anymore.
Complain about this comment
View these comments in RSS