Right: Although medical research studies have indicated that Tasers do not harm a healthy person, there are claims that those suffering heart disease and other illnesses can die after a Taser is used on them.
Arguments in favour of the general issue of taser guns to Australian police
1. Taser guns give police a safer option than standard firearmsIt has been claimed that taser guns represent a safer option for both police, the public and those the police might need to subdue.
Tasers provide a safety benefit to police officers as they have a greater deployment range than batons, pepper spray or empty hand techniques. This allows police to maintain a safe distance.
A study of use-of-force incidents by the Calgary Police Service conducted by the Canadian Police Research Centre found that the use of Tasers resulted in fewer injuries than the use of batons or empty hand techniques.
It has also been claimed that tasers are safer for the general public and those the police wish to apprehend This is because if the use of force is necessary tasers are believed to be a less potentially fatal option than firearms.
The Queensland Police have stated, '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 Coroner has commented on the potential for tasers to reduce the number of shootings involving police.
The Crime and Misconduct Commission's (CMC's) recent research document into taser use states that "field use statistics indicate that the majority of people exposed to tasers sustain no serious injuries". The document further notes that evaluations in the UK, New Zealand and the ACT found no serious injuries were sustained by officers or suspects.'
South Australian Opposition Leader, Isobel Redmond, has stated that the South Australian Police Association has considered the taser guns a safer option, 'for both the police and potentially anyone that is being zapped with one ... than using a gun since 2007.'
'Yes,' Ms Redmond has stated, 'there are risks and clearly we need to make sure the officers are trained with them, but the fact is that if you get shot with a gun, even if it is in a non-fatal part, you're going to have a significant wound that's going to take some time to heal. What we're trying to do is to protect our police and protect the public by using technology that is used in all sorts of places around the world.'
2. Police receive training in the use of taser guns
All Australian jurisdictions where tasers are or will soon be made available to police officers have indicated that their use will be conditional on suitable training. The Queensland Police have stated, 'Tasers will be available for operational use by officers who have successfully completed the approved training course. By 2011, all operational officers will be trained in the use of tasers.
Each region has identified training and rollout priorities, based on a risk analysis including the numbers of assaults on police.
Officers will not have access to tasers until they have undertaken a comprehensive training package, and their station has been fitted with appropriate storage devices for the weapons.
In November, 2009, New South Wales Police revealed the training their officers would undertake in order to ensure they would use tasers appropriately.
Taser gun operation courses began for police officers in Tamworth yesterday - part of a roll-out of 2000 of the immobilising guns to stations across the state. Officers from commands across the state received a one-day course to qualify them to handle the defensive device.
Officers were required to do a written exam, practical Taser training and mock scenarios as part of the course. Taser trainer, Sergeant Mick Moy, 'The one-day training courses are under way throughout the state," Sergeant Moy said. They cover the technical aspects of the Taser and the protocols for use. It also covers the duty of care we have to the person who is subjected to the Taser. They've been practising using them and scenarios which they would use them in.'
After tasers were trialled in Queensland, the officers who had taken part in the trial were asked to comment on the adequacy of the training they had received. Nearly all officers 'agreed' or 'completely agreed' that the information they received in training about how the Taser works, its usage modes, its affect on people and factors that might complicate the use of the Taser such as positional asphyxia or excited delirium was sufficient. Similarly, almost all officers 'agreed' or 'completely agreed' that the Taser training had provided them with sufficient skills to use the Taser in an operational environment.
3. Taser guns have been trialled in all Australian jurisdictions prior to their introduction
Every Australian jurisdiction which has introduced tasers for the use of its police force has first trialled the weapon. The Queensland Police Force issued a report on its six month trial in 2008. The report detailed who had been involved in supervising and evaluating the trial.
The report of the Queensland trial included the following, 'The review of the trial of Tasers which concluded on 30 June 2008 has provided an important opportunity to examine the use of Tasers by police officers in Queensland to guide policy and practice within the operational environment. In particular the lessons learnt have helped prepare for the rollout of Tasers to all police officers.
On 29 January, 2008, the Former Police Minister, the Honourable Judy Spence MP, announced the rollout of Tasers to all operational police across Queensland. The trial period continued until 30 June 2008 and staged rollout commenced on 1 January 2009.
The review of this trial has been undertaken in consultation with the Crime and Misconduct Commission (CMC). A Taser Trial Evaluation Steering Committee was established with representatives from the Queensland Police Service (QPS) and the CMC (including the Director,
Research and Prevention (R&P) and a Senior Research Officer). The Steering Committee developed a review plan and associated review methodology which put forward a number of key questions for the review and established a range of data collection strategies.
As part of the review process the CMC undertook a literature review that summarised the benefits and risks reported to be associated with Tasers, and identified the key issues that needed to be considered by the QPS in the development of policy, procedures and training. This review of the research literature was also published by the CMC as a Research and Issues Paper.
The CMC also assisted the review team by undertaking the analysis of Taser dataport downloads - the electronic record of each time a Taser is activated - that is provided in the risk management section of this report. Taser usage forms were completed for every deployment of a Taser and these were electronically forwarded to members of the review team, including the research officer at the CMC. This allowed the CMC to have the opportunity to be fully appraised of all incidents as they were reported.'
4. There are strict accountability measures in place covering the use of taser guns
In all Australian jurisdictions where tasers are used there are strict accountability measures in place. The following outlines the procedures in place in Queensland; however, they are typical of those set up in other states.
The Queensland Police policy re the use of tasers states that tasers are not to be used where there is risk of a secondary injury, such as someone falling from a height; on people who are passively resisting; as a crowd control measure; for punitive or coercive reasons or to rouse unconscious or intoxicated people.
The policy also states tasers should not be used on the elderly, juveniles or women suspected of being pregnant except in extreme circumstances where there is no other reasonable option to avoid risk of injury.
The Queensland Police Service has set up several layers of accountability in relation to taser use:
Every time a taser is pointed at someone or activated, the officer involved has to complete a taser usage form and prepare a "Significant Event Message", which goes to the Senior Executive and Ethical Standards Command.
Additionally, officers have to fill out the register and sign tasers in and out of the station, so they are locatable at all times.
The weapon has software which records each activation of the taser (date/time/length) which can be compared against the registers and usage/significant event forms.
Each cartridge also has individual serial numbers for comparison against deployments.
Every time a taser is used, the circumstances around the use are examined by a review committee, and overseen by the Ethical Standards Command. If there are concerns about the taser use, there are a range of steps which may be taken internally to address any issue raised. These may include: additional training for the officer involved; managerial guidance and disciplinary action.
There is also an external oversight mechanism through the Crime and Misconduct Commission. In cases where it is deemed the taser was used in an inappropriate manner, there is also recourse to the criminal justice system.
5. Taser guns can gain compliance from difficult, physically powerful or drug-effected people who otherwise might be very hard to subdue.
Using a taser gun in probe mode allows a police officer to temporarily incapacity a dangerous person who could not otherwise be subdued except by lethal force. Tasers primarily function by creating neuromuscular incapacitation, which means that they interrupt the ability of the brain to control the muscles in the body. This creates an immediate and unavoidable incapacitation that is not based on pain and cannot be overcome.
Many subjects of police intervention experience little to no pain due to intoxication, extreme motivation, or otherwise, which therefore makes other techniques nearly useless. This means that an individual who is impervious to pain or demonstrating 'superhuman' strength because of factors such as mental illness or intoxication, should be able to be incapacitated by a Taser for the purpose of being restrained.