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2010/08: Should tasers be available to general duties police officers throughout Australia?
Introduction to the media issue
Video clip at right:
TOP: A promotional video depicting Tasers as a useful non-lethal weapon for police. (This video should be regarded as comment)
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What they said...
'Any use of force option carries with it risks, however tasers have proven themselves to be a relatively safe option in a range of situations, especially considering that they often replace the use of firearms'
The Queensland Police Service
'Tasers are not the "non-lethal" weapons they are portrayed to be. They can kill and should only be used as a last resort'
Angela Wright, a United States researcher for Amnesty International
The issue at a glance
On February 25, 2010, it was announced that Victoria Police would begin trialling taser stun guns in regional Victoria.
Police in Bendigo and Morwell will be trained to use the guns before the trial begins in July. Similar trials are already being conducted in South Australia. This means only the Australian Federal Police and Tasmanian police have neither trialled these weapons nor already have them available to their general duties officers.
Police unions throughout Australia have called for taser guns to be issued to all patrol officers. Civil liberties groups and others are concerned that the guns are far more hazardous than is usually acknowledged and their general use would represent a dangerous and unnecessary development.
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