Why Tasers Is Bad
Name
Essay
Course
Teacher
Date
Tasers: A Necessity In a society where crime exists such as robbers, burglars, shoplifters, or worse, black market sellers of drugs, electronic devices or designer products. Law enforcement is needed to maintain order which requires a method that is effective to apprehend suspects while keeping injuries to a minimum instead of using guns to solve every situation. Luckily the adoption of Tasers – by industry standards as electronic controlled device (ECD) or Conducted Energy Weapon (CEW) – allows the law enforcement to apprehend a suspect without having to involve themselves in a close-range combative battle. Charlie Mesloh, a university professor at Florida Gulf Coast, Mark Henych, a researcher at Advanced …show more content…
David Hambling, a respected free lance writer on technology and military states, “[a] recent study in the American Journal of Public Health looked at 24, 000 cases in which police officers had used force, including Tasers, pepper spray, batons and manual methods . . . the study found that Taser use reduced the overall risk of injury by 65 percent. In other words, restricting Taser use could triple the number of injuries caused in this sort of incident” (1). Misconceptions on the use of Taser led to a comment by a person who goes by the name “the disturber” on CBC news website, he says, “what's wrong with people when they [start] using devices that can pump out over 1500 volts for self defence that's just not cool. [D]oesn't any one remember the guy who got [tasered] 5 times at the air port because he wasn't "co-operating" with the security; wasn't he killed because of the shock? [I] think that they should be banned from use for a less [lethal] item like pepper spray” (#). Pepper sprays can not be used in closed areas because it will effect innocent bystanders, also, as Jim Wilkinson, the Vice President of the site Your Greatest Protection declares, “[pepper spray] works longer than Tasers or stun guns, it will cause coughing and choking, and it burns really bad . . . [s]tun guns work by disabling the nervous and the muscular system but …show more content…
The Tasers operational manual provided by the RCMP states, “[m]embers certified to use the CEW must re-certify annually . . . [m]embers whose CEW certification has lapsed must not use the CEW operationally until the re-certification training has been completed” (1). Every part of the Taser is also approved by the RCMP before being released in public. RCMP members must verbally let the subject know the CEW is about to be deployed (3). Additionally, whenever a member takes a CEW it must be thoroughly checked for damages, if no damages are found, a spark test will be conducted, if damages were found, it will be removed with haste and sent to qualified personnel’s (4). Any time the CEW is used it will be recorded down and supervisors will be notified (4). Many strict rules were set in motion to ensure the safety of the user and the subject as well as strict training methods to make the misuse of this product nonexistent. The operational manual also educates that “[m]ultiple deployment or continuous cycling of the CEW may be hazardous to a subject. Unless situational factors dictate otherwise, members must not cycle the CEW for more than 5 seconds on a subject and will avoid multiple deployments” (3). These new rules and regulations allow for members to thoroughly know the Tasers and assures the correct methods of use is
Essay
Course
Teacher
Date
Tasers: A Necessity In a society where crime exists such as robbers, burglars, shoplifters, or worse, black market sellers of drugs, electronic devices or designer products. Law enforcement is needed to maintain order which requires a method that is effective to apprehend suspects while keeping injuries to a minimum instead of using guns to solve every situation. Luckily the adoption of Tasers – by industry standards as electronic controlled device (ECD) or Conducted Energy Weapon (CEW) – allows the law enforcement to apprehend a suspect without having to involve themselves in a close-range combative battle. Charlie Mesloh, a university professor at Florida Gulf Coast, Mark Henych, a researcher at Advanced …show more content…
David Hambling, a respected free lance writer on technology and military states, “[a] recent study in the American Journal of Public Health looked at 24, 000 cases in which police officers had used force, including Tasers, pepper spray, batons and manual methods . . . the study found that Taser use reduced the overall risk of injury by 65 percent. In other words, restricting Taser use could triple the number of injuries caused in this sort of incident” (1). Misconceptions on the use of Taser led to a comment by a person who goes by the name “the disturber” on CBC news website, he says, “what's wrong with people when they [start] using devices that can pump out over 1500 volts for self defence that's just not cool. [D]oesn't any one remember the guy who got [tasered] 5 times at the air port because he wasn't "co-operating" with the security; wasn't he killed because of the shock? [I] think that they should be banned from use for a less [lethal] item like pepper spray” (#). Pepper sprays can not be used in closed areas because it will effect innocent bystanders, also, as Jim Wilkinson, the Vice President of the site Your Greatest Protection declares, “[pepper spray] works longer than Tasers or stun guns, it will cause coughing and choking, and it burns really bad . . . [s]tun guns work by disabling the nervous and the muscular system but …show more content…
The Tasers operational manual provided by the RCMP states, “[m]embers certified to use the CEW must re-certify annually . . . [m]embers whose CEW certification has lapsed must not use the CEW operationally until the re-certification training has been completed” (1). Every part of the Taser is also approved by the RCMP before being released in public. RCMP members must verbally let the subject know the CEW is about to be deployed (3). Additionally, whenever a member takes a CEW it must be thoroughly checked for damages, if no damages are found, a spark test will be conducted, if damages were found, it will be removed with haste and sent to qualified personnel’s (4). Any time the CEW is used it will be recorded down and supervisors will be notified (4). Many strict rules were set in motion to ensure the safety of the user and the subject as well as strict training methods to make the misuse of this product nonexistent. The operational manual also educates that “[m]ultiple deployment or continuous cycling of the CEW may be hazardous to a subject. Unless situational factors dictate otherwise, members must not cycle the CEW for more than 5 seconds on a subject and will avoid multiple deployments” (3). These new rules and regulations allow for members to thoroughly know the Tasers and assures the correct methods of use is