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Met Police Federation: Extend The Use Of Taser Gun
9 Responses | 11481 Plays | 0% Agree | 0% Disagree
Started by Metropolitan Police Federation on
September 28 2007
Hi Im Peter Smyth, the vice chairman of the Metropolitan Police Federation. In relation to the Metropolitan Police Authority (MPA) decision not to allow the metropolitan police to roll out and extend the use of taser stun guns...these guns are a less lethal option, they are a proper way of incapacitating dangerous and violent offenders and that would protect the public and Police officers from the risk of further harm. I would ask the MPA to revisit this question and to allow the Met Police and the Home Office who have already agreed this is a good idea to be allowed to get on and do the job.
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added September 29 2007
In my hometown we have started to administer justice privately without recourse to the state. The government's police force have never been trusted and as the state gives their armed-wing with ever more powers and ever more weapons our community have had to take matters into our own hands. The murder of JC de Menezes followed by the killers getting way with it was the turning point - that wont happen in Tilehurst, Berkshire.
added September 29 2007
Police.......to serve the public not to unnerve the public.....arseholes!
added October 04 2007
rubbish take them back to america where they belong. Your just creating more of a problem where nothing existed before thereby necessitating even more extreme measures in the future. And more extreme society. Not the British way. Dont lose touch with who you are policing you will lose in the end.
added October 05 2007
Peter Smyth is calling for the Metropolitan Police Authority (MPA) to revisit the question of extending the use of TASER guns to non-firearms police in London. In doing this he is calling for something which the MPA have already agreed to. The MPA stated in a press release on the 27th September 2007: "we have therefore called for a more thorough report to the October meeting of the full Authority." Calling for something which they know is already going to happen is a cynical ploy used by politicians, including union leaders such as Mr Smyth, so that they can appear to have been successful in their lobbying. MPA members raised questions about operational need and public perception. Mr Smyth does not address the question of public perception which I believe is of critical importance here. I believe any expansion of TASER use to non-firearms officers would be damaging to the relationship between the public and the police. Mr Smyth has noted that the Home Office has agreed to the TASER trial, and implies that the MPA have no place in countermanding their decision. As the police authority are not all democratically accountable I have some sympathy with his position here. However the Home Office have made their decision based on a report which states animal testing, computer simulations, and tests on healthy volunteers have shown TASERs to be safe. I question the emphasis put on such data by those such as the UK Government’s advisory committee when we have statistics from countries where TASERs have been used in law enforcement, where in “real life” situations, particularly where subjects have been under the influence of drugs or under extreme stress TASERs have been implicated in deaths. I think the MPA would be right to make their own assessment of the consequences of an expansion of TASER deployment. I support police firearms units having access to TASER weapons which they can elect to use as an alternative to firearms in circumstances where they would otherwise use firearms. However I do not want to live in a country where more police officers than necessary are routinely armed with TASERs. I believe any expansion of TASER use would be damaging to the relationship between the public and the police in the UK. Richard. http://www.taser.org.uk The Met Police Authority Press Release - http://www.mpa.gov.uk/news/press/2007/07-046.htm
added October 22 2007
thanks bro!!! one shock from a taser im dead... how many people have my life in their hands with there ask questions later response...? consider how many innocent people die and the fight against crime. crime is the reaction... find the action and you can solve your problems... live by the sword, you die by the gun, and you perish from your own hand.
added October 23 2007
In America, Police carry both tazers and semi-automatics(glocks).They look absolutely ridiculous and very Macho (John Wayne). With the influx of Mexicans,Machismo is on the rise! This country is absolutely dreadful and getting more so every day! Adolf hitler would feel very much at home here(america) Western society is an absolute disaster and deserves total annilation! Creeps thrive at the top and good people suffer.It has been this way for years and is getting worse as years go by. The only soultion is a final one, Death for these wankers!
added October 23 2007
I think we have to agree to an extent Jean DeE menezes might have just been "stunned" rather than shot brainless numerous times by a police gunman who appears to not even understand who was his commanding officer. Mind you more of a concern is the fact that an obvious south american looked like a muslim!! Mind you even at a soccer match the police tend to sleep or make a rudy nuisance of themselves..I hear Tevez looks like Rooney! Think sometimes the Public need Stun guns to put some sense into the Met Police..been quite good if a few shots could have been fired at those police officers giving evidence at the enquiry perhaps they will then start to recollect a true version of the events that lead to this brutal vicious killing of an innocent man.
added October 29 2007
Police officers are putting their lives on the line every day. I agree that by not arming police, we minimise gun crime on the streets (unlike America). Tasers however offer a solution, giving officers a non-lethal option to protect the public and themselves in an otherwise potentially lethal situation. So, on this issue at least, I agree with the Fed.
added December 01 2007
I dont agree that police officers should be issued tasers on the fact that they can kill someone with a high blood pressure or a heart condition, I'm writting this response because in america and canada tasers are misuesd in order to violently assault members of the public because they are just too lazy to arrest that person properly