Skip to main content
Skip to main navigation
Skip to talk navigation

Active discussions

Please or to access all these features

Add post

Watch this thread

Save thread

Start a new thread

Flip thread

Hide thread

My feed

Saved Active Unanswered threads

Getting started FAQ's

Unanswered threads Acronyms Talk guidelines

Hide shortcut buttons

Talk

Flip

News

Should Police Carry Taser Guns?

17 replies

LillyPink · 31/03/2006 09:41

My local paper was calling for police to be armed with taser guns as attacks against the police have rocketed in the past year. A lot of the MPs are saying no.

I think in this day and age it is strange that most of our police are armed with nothing more than a baton. I think useing a taser gun in dangerous situations would be a good thing for our police force.

I'm sure someone will come along with some good reasons for them not to.....what do you think?...

OP posts:

Report

GeorginaA · 31/03/2006 09:46

I think the problem is that taser guns tend to get used too quickly because they're considered "safe".

Apparently a taser gun delivers a 5 second jolt of 50,000 volts, causes excrutiating pain. It can kill or cause serious life threatening problems. Certainly in the States there's questioning about whether they're being used as the first option rather than when the situation really warrants it.

I dunno. I'm dubious about them, to be honest.

GeorginaA · 31/03/2006 09:48

\link{http://www.palmbeachpost.com/news/content/news/video/taser_video3a.html\video of someone being tased} - whatever you believe about whether the woman should have got out of the car when asked, I really don't think she deserved that.

LillyPink · 31/03/2006 09:50

I think they should only be used in extreme circumstances, though (hard to implement perhaps??) Not for everyday use as it were.

OP posts:

Hulababy · 31/03/2006 09:52

I'd rather our police had some form of protection than they currently do. I think tazer guns are probably better for our police to carry than real guns.

But I also think that there needs to be some really big policies made on when and how to use them.

At the moment offenders have the upper hand very often.

GeorginaA · 31/03/2006 09:52

I think the problem is that they're called "stun guns" so you expect them to stun and make them seem a lot tamer than you think :(

LillyPink · 31/03/2006 09:52

God that vid clip was a bit much. That was totally unnecessary. Would there be a danger then that that the police would use them in situations that didn't warrant it?

OP posts:

GeorginaA · 31/03/2006 09:53

I know, the vid clip upset me too - I didn't realise they were quite that horrific. That's torture, not self-protection

LillyPink · 31/03/2006 09:54

Why not just get out of the car though!?!

OP posts:

Hulababy · 31/03/2006 09:54

I also think that there is very often a big difference between what the US police will do and deema cceptable compaed to our own police. Not always (saldy there will always be the odd person in any profressin who will take things too far and over step the mark in a wrong way), but on the whole.

GeorginaA · 31/03/2006 09:56

According to the special report, one in four taser incidents they reviewed, the suspect was not being violent or threatening.

No idea why she didn't get out the car. No doubt she was foolish, especially when the cops are pointing a taser at you.

GeorginaA · 31/03/2006 09:56

Erm hula - bullets in head mean anything to you?

There's got to be other ways.

Hulababy · 31/03/2006 09:59

As I said in my post this is not always the case, but ont he whole I do think that in the Uk we are much easier and lighter on our offenders than other countries.

The incident you are mentioning is completely different. I do not condone that for one second and it was tragic, and displicable behaviour by those police involved.

And I guess in some ways if those police had had a tazor rather than a real gun the consequences may not have been so tragic.

LillyPink · 31/03/2006 10:00

1 in 4 is a lot isn't it. Hmm I don't know. But I definatly think the police need more protection. They are dealing with some real scum bags a lot of the time. Do all police carry pepper spray?

OP posts:

Hulababy · 31/03/2006 10:01

I am not sure what the answer is and what alterbatives we should offer. Let's face it - to disable an offender who is refusing to comply is always going to have to involve some form of physical restraint.

GeorginaA · 31/03/2006 10:03

Hmm... sleeping dart guns that are used when facing a dangerous animal? Or is the dosage too hard to get right for all people?

It's a minefield isn't it.

GeorginaA · 31/03/2006 10:04

Maybe only special armed police get tasers and strict regulations that they're only to be used when the suspect is armed?

Or if someone with a gun is tasered do they automatically pull the trigger so would be useless anyway?

Hulababy · 31/03/2006 10:06

The trouble is by the time the police have summoned the special armed forces and they have arrived, the offender may well have gotten away or done other damage to the police already there and unarmed.

I am not sure what the answer is at all.

Pepper spray can cause damage. Batons can be very vicious in their use. Most of the things at hand are going to cause injury to the offender (or suspected offender).

Flip

Please create an account

To comment on this thread you need to create a Mumsnet account.