[Omah]

http://www.bbc.co.uk/newsbeat/16137543

A new laser designed to temporarily blind people is going to be trialled by police.

Called the SMU 100 it costs £25,000 and sends out a three-metre "wall of light" that leaves anyone caught in it briefly unable to see.

Designed by a former Royal Marine Commando, it was originally developed for use against pirates in Somalia.

Its makers claim an unnamed police force is set to trial the device which could be used against rioters.

Since the riots in several English towns and cities over the summer there has been extensive examination of the tools and tactics police use for large-scale crowd trouble.

While tasers and CS gas work well over short distances the laser is said to be effective at up to 500 metres (1,640ft).

The problem is that, once the police have a weapon like that, they will use it in less than demanding circumstances, as they do with tasers .....

[arista]

Originally Posted by Omah

The problem is that, once the police have a weapon like that, they will use it in less than demanding circumstances, as they do with tasers .....

Well Stay on the Right Side of our Laws.



This will be Very Good
in stopping Punks.

[Livia]

Tear gas can temporarily blind you. So? Don't get caught rioting and you have nothing to worry about.

Who says the police use tasers in less demanding circumstances? I would never want to to the job the police have to do, dealing mostly with the very dregs of society, and yet people are worrying that the rights of the dregs may be affected. I am never going to be tasered, you know why? Because I don't break the law.

[Bollo]

Originally Posted by arista

Well Stay on the Right Side of our Laws.



This will be Very Good
in stopping Punks.

Yes they need some more deterrants, especially after the summer riots when they seemed quite powerless

[Omah]

Originally Posted by Livia

Who says the police use tasers in less demanding circumstances?

http://www.thisislondon.co.uk/standa...130-percent.do

The use of Tasers by police has increased by an average of 130%, it has been reported.

An investigation by Channel 4 News obtained figures from 40 of the 43 forces in England and Wales and found two-thirds of them had fired the weapon "significantly more" last year compared to the year before.

Their findings revealed that these 40 forces collectively fired Tasers 1,533 times last year, compared with 862 times in 2009 - an increase of 70%. Across the 40 forces, average usage increased by 130%.

The findings, accessed through Freedom of Information requests, come after Scotland Yard Commissioner Bernard Hogan-Howe called for police response officers to be routinely armed with Taser weapons last week.

Sophie Khan, a solicitor advocate at GT Stewart, who represents clients who claim they have been unfairly Tasered by police, told the programme: "It is very much the officer thinking this is something new they can use and without any kind of risk of consequences calculation by that officer just deploying it because he can and that's the only thing he can do."

[Livia]

Originally Posted by Omah

http://www.thisislondon.co.uk/standa...130-percent.do

Posting other people's words is hardly a debate. And if I could be bothered I could cut and paste stuff that would refute those claims.

Taser the buggers. I don't have a problem with it.

[Shaun]

Fair enough I suppose as long as it doesn't have any long-term side-effects and isn't used like a Febreze can like this guy:

Youtube video

[Scarlett.]

There will be some sort of error along the line I bet and someone will be blinded

[AJ.]

Shields + batons/CS gas as a last line of defence, I don't see the need for anything more in most situations tbh. In serious situations we already have rubber/real guns.

[Shasown]

Originally Posted by Livia

Tear gas can temporarily blind you. So? Don't get caught rioting and you have nothing to worry about.

Who says the police use tasers in less demanding circumstances? I would never want to to the job the police have to do, dealing mostly with the very dregs of society, and yet people are worrying that the rights of the dregs may be affected. I am never going to be tasered, you know why? Because I don't break the law.

Thats one of the problems, indiscriminate applications of force.

The police use tactics like kettling, to restrict the movement of demonstrators, not all demonstrators are violent thugs. In fact in most cases the rioters are just a tiny minority. Containing all the demonstrators including the thugs in a relatively small area with no means of egress.

However if a demonstration is hijacked and used as a cover for rioting, innocent demonstrators will be caught up in the measures being used to control or disable the riotersand unable to get out of the targeted Non Lethal Weapon target area.

As for you being tasered, fair enough you dont break the law, or havent yet, you never know what the future holds or what circumstances may lead you to be in the line of fire of a trigger happy taser armed cop. And accidents do happen.

[Omah]

Originally Posted by Livia

Posting other people's words is hardly a debate.

Neither is posting rhetorical questions, then .....

Originally Posted by Livia

And if I could be bothered I could cut and paste stuff that would refute those claims.

Unsubstantiated assertions serve no purpose, either .....