MORE ABOUT TASER GUNS

Why should we be concerned in the UK about the fact that now 10 police forces can use Taser guns during a 12 month trial period?

For a start, they discharge 50,000 volts of electric shock - a powerful amount - to paralyse people. The shocks are delivered by two barbs with wires attached that are fired at the target from a distance of up to six metres. Once hit with these, the victim goes down, hard and fast. Until recently, in the UK, about 3,000 of these guns had been issued ONLY to members of police firearms units but this has now been rolled out so that officers in 10 forces who are NOT firearms specialists can use them after training. Initially, they could only be used when the officers were confronted by an armed attacker but the goalposts have been moved. Now they can be used to include incidents of severe violence or threats. They are considered to be a "less lethal" alternative to conventional firearms. How comforting.

These guns have been used by American police since the late 1990s. According to Amnesty International, they have already caused over 200 deaths. There are also cases of use abuse. A police offficer in Rock Hill was reprimanded for using a Taser to subdue a 75 year old woman who was distraught and refused to leave a care home. In Miami, police zapped a 12 year old for playing truant from school. The worry is there is a temptation for a police officer to try out the new toy, especially when there are no witnesses around. Also concerns exist that studies have not been carried out to see how these guns will affect those with heart problems, epilepsy,multiple sclerosis, children and pregnant women. In Chicago in 2005, a 14 year old boy went into cardiac arrest after being tasered and almost died. There is also the risk from bad aim. A man in Australia was tasered and the hook missed his chest and hit him in the eye. The eye was later removed.

There has already been one possible death following the use of a Taser gun in County Durham when a 47 year old man died a few days later. Although the coroner recorded a death by natural causes due to heart disease, his sister refused to accept that the taser was not to blame.

The Home Office have said that a special committee found "the risk of death or serious injury from Tasers remains low" but this was countered by the Defence Scientific Advisory Council medical committee who believed that there is a risk of "serious cardiac event". Amnesty International and also former Scotland Yard commander John O'Connor have both expressed concerns about non firearm specialist officers not being trained properly.

They have also been introduced to most police forces in Australia. A safety study carried out for the Victoria Police by the Alfred Hospital warned the stun guns posed "immediate risks and potentially fatal dangers" although it also said there had been no proven links between their use and death. Even Taser International admits that there are dangers from its stun gun, although they say "it is as low as 2 per 1000 that sustain injuries....usually related to falling to the ground". They admitted that this included a fatality when a subject fell and sustained a fatal head wound when his head hit a street kerb.

On the plus side, the Miami police chief said that with tasers, there are no stray bullets to worry about and without the Tasers, his police would in some cases have had to use their handguns and shoot, possibly to kill. Alan Gordon, vice chairman of the Police Fedaration here said that people recover from the Taser's side effects far quicker than if they were subjected to CS spray or a baton. Does that make you feel better? No, me neither.

They are here now.... and they are dangerous.

Dangerous nutter of the month award......

.....this month goes to Professor Julian Le Grand, an advisor to government ministers through his chairmanship of Health England (the national reference group for health & wellbeing for the Department of Health). Never heard of them myself, and can't find much information on them anywhere. Another quango?

In his expert opinion, he suggests that all smokers need to apply for a licence to buy cigarettes, obtainable from their local GP for a modest cost of 200 pounds per annum. Not that GPs have anything better to do with their time. Not that smokers already pay far too much in tax.

This is only his idea but he is in a position get ministers to listen and as it follows on from recent legislation on smoking, and raises money (another stealth tax?), maybe ,maybe maybe this ridiculous idea could appeal to our leaders.. It may happen, it may not but if it does it would allow the possibility of similar licences for alcohol. Some publicans fear that the day is not far off when we will all have some sort of ration card that allows us to buy a maximum of, say, 4 pints a day. Never happen? In Britain nowadays, nothing would surprise me. Previously, dear Julian was a close advisor to Tony Blair.Now that accounts for a lot!