Entry 344, on 2006-06-07 at 14:27:33 (Rating 3, News)
A debate which has been going on here in New Zealand for a week or two regards the option of arming the police with taser guns. Tasers are weapons which fire darts which trail fine electrical cables. After hitting the target they generate 50,000 volts which paralyses the victim as well as causing a lot of pain. It certainly sounds like the sort of weapon a real sadist would enjoy using!
The police say they would only use them when all other options have failed, and they would be a safe alternative to real firearms. That sounds reasonable, but there are a few issues to consider first.
Some groups claim there have been many deaths of victims of the taser in the USA, but it is unclear whether the taser was actually responsible for the deaths and whether they might have died anyway due to drugs, and other factors. So this issue is uncertain, but shouldn't we be cautious and keep away from tasers until it is clearer?
A second issue is whether we really trust our police force. Like all groups most of them are great people, but undoubtedly there are a few bad ones, and do we really want them aimed with a nasty weapon like this? The recent case of an officer pepper spraying a suspect who was already handcuffed an lying on the ground doesn't inspire confidence that tasers won't also be used in sadistic ways.
New Zealand is a relatively peaceful country, and our police force are not armed with hand guns like they are elsewhere. If we start by making tasers widely available to police where will it end? Will criminals feel the need to arm themselves better and start a miniature "arms race". I suspect this would actually happen.
Overall, I'm very uncomfortable about the idea of tasers being used in New Zealand. Its time we took more steps to reduce violence (by criminals and police) instead of escalating it beyond the levels that we already have.
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