Shocking Decisions
The chief constable of Lothian & Borders Police won’t have endered himself to many of his officers this week, he has come out against the use of Tasers.
Whilst even the government are encouraging more forces to take up their share of Taser issue, David Strang stands alone – well, apart form the Metropolitan Police Authority – against wider issue of the equipment.
He says that the suitability of Taser has yet to be proven in Scotland, saying that body armour & CS were adequate defences for officers in his force.
He argues that the use of Taser is a specialist skill which suggests that the majority of British officers can’t be trained to a sifficiently high stanard despite the majority of police forces across the entire world managing to train all their officers with the use of deadly force in the form of firearms.
One of the arguements trotted out by critics of the technology is that wider issue would alarm the public & cause tension on the streets. Apparently, the fact that it offers the police an excellent addition for defence & reduces the need to kill people by firing bullets into their flesh is of rather secondary importance.
Oi says:
Once again, I have the solution.
Make sure the CC is in the vanguard when the team is pitching in to the fray.
June 6th, 2009 at 2:16 am
Hibbo says:
I think tasers are a mixed bag, whilst I definitely agree that plods should be able to defend themselves against violent criminals, the thought getting 50,000v through because you’ve looked at PC Hitler jnr the wrong way fills a lot of people with worry. “How fast were you going?” “About 70″ ZZZZAAAPPPPP! “About 75″ ZZZZZZZZZAAAAAPPPPPPPPPPPPPPP” “OK OK, give me the bloody fine!”
Whilst late night games of “who can put the most current through the tramp” might laughed about in the canteen, us mere serfs might find that in bad taste.
June 6th, 2009 at 9:15 am
Fee says:
In his defence, an awful lot of his officers look about 12 … I live in the area! Some look so young I wouldn’t send them to the shops alone.
June 6th, 2009 at 10:31 am
copper bottom says:
TASER used as a torture to get someone to have an FP?
Shocking tramps?
Its those kind of comments that make me look forward to retiring… some MOP are mad as fish and make agent Maulder look rational.
As to the Chief… well – what does that say? he thinks his officers cant be trained to the standard .????? lol… of course hitting someone over the head with an iron bar (casco/asp) couldnt kill you eh? and couldnt be used to torture?
you lilley livered handwringing types should have the Polish cops for a few weeks… lol… you wouldnt know what hit you (literally.,.)
June 6th, 2009 at 4:33 pm
Tony F says:
The things that worries me about the issue of taser are:
It sends out the signal to everyone that the police are loosing control, that they have to resort to using a firearm on a day to day basis. Scrotes will vie one another to get kudos by being tasered, and in other areas there will be an escalation, scrotes carrying something to ‘counter’ taser.
Secondly, the police in this country police by consent. Their weapon should be the law of this land. But as we know, the law is broken, it is failing to protect our police, it is failing to protect the honest, the weak, and the vulnerable. Our ‘leaders’ run roughshod over the law, devalued it beyond much hope.
Taser in not a solution, it’s a symptom of a serious illness of our law and order.
I appreciate, there are times when fire arms are the only solution, but these should always be seen as rare events, not normal ones.
June 6th, 2009 at 8:31 pm
copper bottom says:
errr… i dont know where you are mate- but we go to people armed with deadly weapons on a regular basis…
thats one of the issues-a lot of people think its like ‘dixon of dock green’ hello hans!!! its NOT…
until we realise that…
I dont CARE if scrotes think its kudos to get zapped- as loong as i go home to wifey…
June 7th, 2009 at 4:10 pm
Tony F says:
copper bottom, I actually do appreciate what you face, but my comment is that the law does not support you any more. When punishment was punishment, and the law was respected, you had the biggest non military weapon available. The law now is a squib, a damp one at that. You now have no strategic weapon to fight crime, only at best, tactical ones. And no matter how good your tactical weapon is, it will not win a war, and probably not a battle. But sure as eggs are eggs, it will provoke escalation.
June 7th, 2009 at 5:43 pm
Joe says:
Well like in Afghanistan, where our troopies are being sent out without MPV’s, the powers that be are reluctant to face the facts. Coppers (and Joe public!) are having to deal with escalating criminal violence and the politcians and SMT still plug the Dixon myth of policing.
For whatever reason we are now in a situation far removed from the 50’s and 60’s when maybe the uniform and a 16″ stick in your truncheon pocket (that dates me!) counted as sufficient protection against the scumbags.
Lets face up to it – never mind tasers, give coppers guns like everywhere else in the world ‘cos they sure need them now.
June 7th, 2009 at 6:05 pm
Tony F says:
Sorry 200, I seem to be taking a lot of you blog..
Joe, “never mind tasers, give coppers guns like everywhere else in the world ‘cos they sure need them now.”
No, only when the rule of law has broken. Only when people are treated differently, differently according to colour, politics, whether they are MPs or Lords or senior Police. Then it falls apart. If the law is applied equally to everyone, and everyone knows it, then the Peelian Principals will be in force.
June 7th, 2009 at 8:29 pm
Rich says:
I volunteered to get tasered about six years ago when my force first trialed them. I’m 6′3″ and over 20 stone. I got a one second burst. It was like being dropped into Hell. I screamed and collapsed. Criminals get 5 seconds when shot with a TASER on the street.
I guarantee that noone who has been TASERed will ever want to experience it again.
TASER is a fabulous too that will allow a 7 stone female PC to deal with a drunken 20 stone monster without getting hurt.
Roll on TASER issue to every PC on patrol.
June 24th, 2009 at 12:51 pm