Taser's

Off-topic
41

I think the first thing that has to happen is for the judiciary to take the work the police do seriously . . . What’s the point of the police spending days tracking down the crims if the courts let them out on license or fine them £100 to be paid at 20p a week from their dole ? The people I worked with said they started like that, petty crime when they were young then it evolved to bigger things almost without them realising. Had they been properly stopped they may not have progressed.

Secondly the police can stop acting like a government tax collector and abandon support for speed scameras. That single act would do the police more good than almost anything else.

Do you not think that armng the police with tasers will encourage the crims to arm themselves too ?

42

You’d only want a bigger, faster one . . . :w00t:;):smiley: I guess you could drill it out a bit :wink:

43

well, the old crim arming themselves ain’t nothing new.
it’s not in the equation.
…again, we’re worrying about what the ‘criminal’ would do. who gives a fc*k!.
it’s already out of control on the streets!.

they’re not lawfully entitled to carry a weapon such as a firearm so should be treated as such whatever it takes!..they deserve what they get should they take that route.

44

And there are measures in place to ensure that they are dealt with - highly trained specialist officers.

There is no justification (in my eyes) that arming the police en masse - even with non lethal weaponry such as a taser is the answer. You need this element of society to respect the rule of law as a whole - not just the police.

Just because a police officer carries a weapon doesn’t mean he’ll be respected - he’ll be feared though. I’d fear a fully armed force because the police authority couldn’t take the hit in manpower resources if the entire force went through the same training and reassessment that firearms guys go through now - so they would have to trim that down and so be less well trained.

At the moment to society as a whole the fact that seeing an armed police officer is still not an everyday happening to many people so it still highlights the seriousness of a situation when you see them - if it was an everyday thing people would become even more matter of fact.

45

A lot of good points raised here and a few that cause me concern.
Will answer properly when I have a bit more time.

46

I have only scanned over what has been said previously, but no matter what has been said I am 110% for the police to be armed…fully armed!!

What with the high level of gun crime on the streets, our boys & girls need to be armed!!

47

that’s what it all comes down to gazza!.
just wish this country would wake up…:doze::crazy::frowning:

48

ho **** yes yes yes. zap the bastards

49

Getting rid of the paperwork would help the Police more than issuing armaments. That said, I’m pro the tazer for the ‘proper’ Police.

50

wouldn`t it be funny to see the local yobs get tasered wen they get to lippy plenty of youtube moments with tasers lol

51

I agree although I think we need more officers trained in firearms.

I agree with taser’s, but they’ve been known to cause potential heart attacks in children and teenagers so I’m not so sure on that front.

Personally I wish the Police didn’t need to carry weapons!

52

I say yes, if you have done nothing wrong or if you have done something wrong and dont resist then you have nothing to worry about.

53

Ok, time for me to reply and pick on a few that have already done so ! :w00t:

DarrylJ, who started this thread, I fully agree, I think all Pc’s should carry a Taser but as for a firearm, I disagree with you completely.

Chunky - “Surely if a weopon is in a “Made safe” condition there would be no chance of an accident”. I fully agree mate but unfortunately humans like any other animals like to fiddle and play with things, the problems start when those things getting fiddled with go bang - it does only go bang if the trigger is pulled !! I agree with your comparison of us to Europe though, a lot of people try and compare us with the States where there is very much a different mindset and awareness of weapons - I still don’t want us all armed though.

DarrylJ - “it’s about time the UK police force’s get back the respect they once had & very much deserve & this sure is one of them ways.”
Respect is something that is earned and is not a given right.
In saying that, I firmly believe that society gets the service it deserves from the Police and at the moment it’s crap.

Macp - wise words, run for Prime Minister, you’ve got my vote.

Jay - I agree, on the visits I’ve done to the States and the Cops I’ve spoken to, I’ve been shocked at how little training and testing they get on thier Firearms. I’m also at times horrified watching their ‘SWAT’ programmes and how they at times invoke a confrontation which could be just sat out and further negotiated to hopefully a safer conclusion. Different society though and I’m not one to judge but it does raise my eyebrows.

Bluestar - wise words mate and I agree about a body of Pc’s being ‘reserve’ AFO’s on Boruogh being able to draw. Especially when on occasion there is no one to send to you when you need it.

Twostrokesliveon - I agree.

TheRammo - "Why not pick random foreign citizens every so often and just shoot them… I don’t know, maybe 7 or 8 times to the head should prove the point.

Surely this police policy would calm the situation down a bit?"

And how does this contribute to this thread ?

TheRammo (again) "But what about the rights of genuinely innocent people killed by gun wielding loonies in a police uniform?

Drunken Scotsmen carrying a table leg or Brazilian electricians calmly getting on the tube, to name 2 recent and highly publicised examples. These people were brutally murdered by “specialist teams”! If every beat Bobby got a gun, how many will be killed then??"

I take it I am one of those gun wielding loonies you are talking about ?
Both examples you have given were not murders, they have been fully investigated and found not to be ?

So, again, are you going to contribute something sensible to this thread or just talk rubbish that is completely unfounded that you can’t back up in any way.

TheRammo (Again !!) “Read the official government report - these were just lies spread by the police via the newspapers in an attempt to cover up the fact that the police involved completely ballsed it up!”

You are right in saying that JCdM did not run, did not jump any barrier and was not warned to stop.
Though you are telling lies in saying that the Police stated this. It was actually members of the public that stated this to the media in the aftermath of this tragedy. The Police were criticised for not correcting this but at NO time did the Police claim this.
Again, more unfounded remarks from ya.

DarrylJ - as to some of the other things you’ve said on here mate - please don’t reveal who you are to me if 'm ever in the position of instructing you on a course … a fail often offends !

The thing with Taser is that it is actually going to be and is used as a weapon of defence here in the UK and not of compliance as you have seen in the US.

I can safely say that I would rather be struck with a taser than hit by a Baton. All of the stuff that is being bandied about by amnesty and others stating that deaths have occurred due to the Taser has not been proved in any way … yet.

Deaths and serious injury have occurred by the use of a Baton and unfortunately will continue when the police are involved in a violent confrontation. There is no way of getting round it, there are ways of reducing it which are getting looked at all the time but it will never be stopped.

Taser in my humble opinion is a safer option and should be issued to cops to prevent the injuries and assaults that they get every day.

54

I’m happy enough with Parva spray…

But i would carry Taser…about my limit really…not into firearms!

55

Wow, that must have taken you some time Trojan! Thanks for the contribution. I love that we have such a rounded set of perspectives and opinions on LB.

Thank-you to our boys in blue for making our lives safer.

56

See this is the bit I agree with. If Taser’s would do it, then I’m all for them. I know it sounds old fashioned, but when you have kids chucking bricks at FIRE ENGINES, and actively seeking out coppers to harass them cos they know the cops can’t do anything, then what’s the point of a police force.

Originally punishment was a deterrent…people were so scared of being hanged or permanently imprisoned, they didn’t commit crime. Nowadays with suspended sentences, lenient sentences, plea bargaining, and lawyers that can twist the law so badly that guilty people get off on technicalities, where’s the deterrent in that?

I’m not saying bring back hanging, I AM saying people need to learn to fear the punishment otherwise its NOT a deterrent at all…

57

More guns on the street = more guns on the street.

Arm the police and you arm the populace (witness the gun use in recent French riots)

Simple really. It would take a copper of a certain type not to realise that, and I would prefer not to have that type on my streets at all.

However, if you were to introduce gun use into schools, then maybe it would work. Maybe. You have to have a culture where the gun has a useful role to play, a culture where it is understood, for it to have any genuine protective or preventative use.

58

sorry I gave up reading the replies half way through…

To those suggesting ANYTHING whatsoever about becoming American or even being compared to American style policing… STOP.

They have different rules, and frankly, what you see in those carefully selected youtube clips is either one-off examples or an officer carrying out his duty to the training he has received based upon THEIR laws…

I want a taser… its not the answer to stopping people with guns… its the answer to deal with violence and potentially offensive weapons… although I’m still calling ARV’s of those with knifes.

I have a lovely little story when I explained the difference between the MET and BTP to a new MET copper…
“Imagine you are on a tube 200ft underground with no communications. You are on your own (or with another) and you are on a carriage with some football fans… 50 of which want to beat the crap out of you…”

How many of those can be sprayed with CS (6 maybe 7). How many times can you swing a baton at full strength?

Also bear in mind that spray is a firearm… and batons can kill… Tasers are safer (it was like 3 deaths in all of the USA since taser deployment and they all had other underlying issues - alcohol - rare conditions - other injuries, etc). deal with it and hand them over.

Plus no cops were harmed (compared to those receiving spray from colleagues and retaliation from baton strikes).