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Policing 2007 1(3):309-315; doi:10.1093/police/pam050
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Copyright © The Author 2007. Published by Oxford University Press.

Opinion

The Deployment of Taser Weapons to UK Law Enforcement Officials: An Amnesty International Perspective

Oliver Sprague*

* Programme Director, Military, Security and Police Amnesty International UK Section E-mail: Oliver.Sprague@amnesty.org.uk

This article summarises Amnesty International's current policies on the use and deployment of Taser-style weapons amongst police and law enforcement officials,1 locating this issue firmly within the international human rights framework and relating it to the current UK context. This is particularly topical and relevant given the extended 12 months deployment trial for Taser-style weapons amongst ten police forces in Avon and Somerset, Devon and Cornwall, Gwent, Lincolnshire, Merseyside, Metropolitan Police Service, Northamptonshire, Northumbria, North Wales and West Yorkshire, due to commence in September 2007.2

The first 150 words of the full text of this article appear below.

This would appear to be the most appropriate arena to dispel a common misconception about Amnesty International's viewpoint on the deployment of Tasers. Amnesty International is not opposed to deployment of Tasers as an alternative to lethal force, nor does it seek a total ban on the device. However, Amnesty International is particularly concerned by the widespread deployment of a potentially lethal electro-shock weapon. That is when they are not restricted to deployment only the highest level of the force continuum, i.e. just below the point at which lethal force would be used. It should also be made clear here that the use of a Taser is clearly preferable to the deployment of a firearm as an alternative to lethal force.

At this juncture, it is also important to state that the usage of the term Taser weapons in this article is in reference to the use of generic electro-shock . . . [Full Text of this Article]


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