Right: Shani Cassidy, mother of teenager Tyler Cassidy, shot by police in Melbourne, is an advocate of the use of Tasers, saying that her son might still be alive if the weapons were carried by police at the time. Found a word you're not familiar with? Double-click that word to bring up a dictionary reference to it. The dictionary page includes an audio sound file with which to actually hear the word said. |
Further implications
It would appear that Tasers have not had the effect that was intended when they were first deployed. The expectation then was that they would lead to a reduction in the police's use of firearms. In most Australian states where they are used by general duties officers (with the exception of Queensland) that does not seem to have been the case.
Tasers have become part of the police force's regular equipment in most Australian states as an additional item, rather than a replacement for guns. What is more concerning is that they are being used to a significant degree against indigenous Australians and against the mentally ill and drug-affected.
When they were first introduced Tasers were seen as a less lethal alternative to guns and it was suggested that their use in the management of the mentally disturbed may reduce the incidence of such people being shot. What has complicated the situation is that a number of experts have now recommended that the mentally disturbed are among a subset of vulnerable Australians against whom Tasers should be deployed either with great caution or not at all. Tasers are likely to be less effective with the mentally ill and more likely to cause them physical harm.
Additionally concerning is that a growing reliance on Tasers may see Australian police lose or fail to develop the negotiating skills that would help them achieve a peaceful resolution to conflict situations involving the mentally disturbed.
None of which is to say that Tasers do not have a place in the armour of Australia's police forces; however, it would appear that the New South Wales ombudsman may well have been correct when he suggested that Tasers were best deployed by the special forces in a state rather than regular duties officers who may well lack both the specialist training and the focus to employ them safely.