I think DC made a good point over at Cracker today, when he wrote...
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The first question to be asked is do the police need these things? The list of police injuries by weapon type in 2005 was quite informative. How many police injured by firearms last year? None. How many injured by a telephone? One. A shoe? Two (I can't help but think of Sione's jandal-weilding Mum from Bro Town). They've even got a category defined as "some sort of weapon". Last year three police were injured by "some sort of weapon". The point is, how at risk are our police in a country where they are infinity times more like to be assaulted with a shoe than a real live gun?
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I'd have to agree. Why start an arms race? They've got pepper spray, batons and handcuffs for people who are proving a nuisance to control, why up the ante any further?
I'm sick of criminals having the upper hand, man- it's about time our cops were armed as well as the crooks are. If criminals are going to be hiffing old mobile phones around willy-nilly, at least give the cops something to fight back with. ;-)
Their use should be restricted the same way guns are, otherwise it's just another excuse for lazy policemen to not do their jobs and seek other ways of controlling someone.
It's my understanding that these things are only being given out to cops who are going to a situation where they are likely to need them, like guns already are. So in some ways, it could mean extremely dangerous criminals, who currently require guns to be taken down, will now only suffer the comparatively minor discomfort of several thousand volts of juice passing through them before being arrested (rather than dying). On the other hand, it's a slippery slope - the absolute power of american cops (i.e. all carrying guns, all the time) is a scary prospect for NZ's future. Is this the beginning? Should we start worrying? EVERYBODY PANIC
if you're breaking the law you can't complain about civil rights... but at the same time the risk of the police breaking the law (or just being general assholes) and using them arbitrarily if they can just carry them around with them is not worth it. from a personal point of view i don't actually support tazers just 'cos i don't trust the police, and i'd hate to think how differently they'd have dealt with me in the past - but i wouldn't put myself in the legislating position and would hand it over to the experts etc. to make the law in this area than for my bias to get in the way
109kilograms of P have been seized at the border this year, that's 0.027grams for every man woman and child in NZ. and that's just the stuff that's not getting through.
//One gram of P had a street value of $1000 and on average a casual user could consume half a gram of P a week. People often turned to crime to fund their habit. //
I guess since they've deterred a few criminals so its a good thing but using them on a person NO.. I do realise I am contradicting my comment. I guess have them as threatening amunition but only use them for the hard nut crimz.
Anyway tasers aren't that bad if you don't have a pre-existing heart condition.
All the police need to do is hand you form to fill out before they taser you to make sure you are eligible for the required dosage....
It's just like working for or interacting with an SOE or the Government anyway.
So my painfully right wing boss pulls out an article from the paper about how tasers have been drawn three times, but not fired, because each time the suspect surrendered peacefully- and he says to me 'See they DO work! Look at that! The crooks are so intimidated they're giving up without a fight!' Man, that's brilliant- societies problems addressed with torturous new weaponry for the cops- making the crooks so afraid of capture that they change their ways and go legit.
And I'm thinking, well, since we've had our first actual taser fired, then clearly the honeymoon period has worn off and the crooks are back to being dangerous again, so why not lets fully arm the police. And I'm not just talking pistols or something- Machetes. And spikey body armour. No, not machetes, CHAINSAWS. And get rid of the police cars and reissue them with converted ride-on lawn-mowers bristling with spinning rotors of death. That'd work, right?
ha..at least temporarily..i find it impossible to imagine the reality of life back home now with shit like this going down. it's an idyllic pacific island, with a tiny population. what went wrong?
worth considering joining the force for, just to have a go on one of those things.
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I think DC made a good point over at ...
I think DC made a good point over at Cracker today, when he wrote...
________
The first question to be asked is do the police need these things? The list of police injuries by weapon type in 2005 was quite informative. How many police injured by firearms last year? None. How many injured by a telephone? One. A shoe? Two (I can't help but think of Sione's jandal-weilding Mum from Bro Town). They've even got a category defined as "some sort of weapon". Last year three police were injured by "some sort of weapon". The point is, how at risk are our police in a country where they are infinity times more like to be assaulted with a shoe than a real live gun?
____________
I'd have to agree. Why start an arms race? They've got pepper spray, batons and handcuffs for people who are proving a nuisance to control, why up the ante any further?
[ external link ]
and I'd love to have been in the cop ...
and I'd love to have been in the cop shop when the policeman who got clobbered by the phone filed his report.
"Well, I believe it was a Nokia 5110i, ...
"Well, I believe it was a Nokia 5110i, your honour- I deduced this by using a mirror to observe the mark it left on my head..."
I'm sick of criminals having the upper ...
I'm sick of criminals having the upper hand, man- it's about time our cops were armed as well as the crooks are. If criminals are going to be hiffing old mobile phones around willy-nilly, at least give the cops something to fight back with. ;-)
[ external link ]
I'd love to see "gangstah" street kids ...
I'd love to see "gangstah" street kids getting tazered!!!
I think the cops need the best ...
I think the cops need the best protection they can get. It's hard to go passed a Motorola 8900
[ external link ]
the Motorola 4500x ...
the Motorola 4500x Transportable?
(transportable in that you could heave it your car, and drive it somewhere else, presumably).
[ http://retrobrick.com/4500x.html ]
Their use should be restricted the same ...
Their use should be restricted the same way guns are, otherwise it's just another excuse for lazy policemen to not do their jobs and seek other ways of controlling someone.
i would encourage the use of tazers on ...
i would encourage the use of tazers on stupid students who taunt the police and are then suprised when they get a light beating.
probably best just to give the students ...
probably best just to give the students a tazer at the start of the night, and encourage them to use it as the basis of one of their drinking games.
give them billy joel. billy joel is ...
give them billy joel. billy joel is awesome on a friday afternoon. billy joel is the new foreigner.
It's my understanding that these ...
It's my understanding that these things are only being given out to cops who are going to a situation where they are likely to need them, like guns already are. So in some ways, it could mean extremely dangerous criminals, who currently require guns to be taken down, will now only suffer the comparatively minor discomfort of several thousand volts of juice passing through them before being arrested (rather than dying). On the other hand, it's a slippery slope - the absolute power of american cops (i.e. all carrying guns, all the time) is a scary prospect for NZ's future. Is this the beginning? Should we start worrying? EVERYBODY PANIC
probably should have started worrying ...
probably should have started worrying when kfc stopped letting you drink your own bottles of coke instore
if you're breaking the law you can't ...
if you're breaking the law you can't complain about civil rights... but at the same time the risk of the police breaking the law (or just being general assholes) and using them arbitrarily if they can just carry them around with them is not worth it. from a personal point of view i don't actually support tazers just 'cos i don't trust the police, and i'd hate to think how differently they'd have dealt with me in the past - but i wouldn't put myself in the legislating position and would hand it over to the experts etc. to make the law in this area than for my bias to get in the way
109kilograms of P have been seized at ...
109kilograms of P have been seized at the border this year, that's 0.027grams for every man woman and child in NZ. and that's just the stuff that's not getting through.
//One gram of P had a street value of $1000 and on average a casual user could consume half a gram of P a week. People often turned to crime to fund their habit. //
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/location/story.cfm?l_id=118&ObjectID=10338026
the british empire used the same trick on china in the 19th century. except they needed the money to buy tea.
and the tazers? they're for after the annexation. thankyou nz,
[ external link ]
I guess since they've deterred a few ...
I guess since they've deterred a few criminals so its a good thing but using them on a person NO.. I do realise I am contradicting my comment. I guess have them as threatening amunition but only use them for the hard nut crimz.
Quite frankly, you are all guilty and ...
Quite frankly, you are all guilty and need to be punished....
If tasers won't do...
Then a bare bottom smack from me will
that reminds me... I really must get ...
that reminds me...
I really must get on with that Anika Moa/Bic Runga fan fiction.
Anyway tasers aren't that bad if you ...
Anyway tasers aren't that bad if you don't have a pre-existing heart condition.
All the police need to do is hand you form to fill out before they taser you to make sure you are eligible for the required dosage....
It's just like working for or interacting with an SOE or the Government anyway.
wonderful country...
wonderful country
[ external link ]
So my painfully right wing boss pulls ...
So my painfully right wing boss pulls out an article from the paper about how tasers have been drawn three times, but not fired, because each time the suspect surrendered peacefully- and he says to me 'See they DO work! Look at that! The crooks are so intimidated they're giving up without a fight!' Man, that's brilliant- societies problems addressed with torturous new weaponry for the cops- making the crooks so afraid of capture that they change their ways and go legit.
And I'm thinking, well, since we've had our first actual taser fired, then clearly the honeymoon period has worn off and the crooks are back to being dangerous again, so why not lets fully arm the police. And I'm not just talking pistols or something- Machetes. And spikey body armour. No, not machetes, CHAINSAWS. And get rid of the police cars and reissue them with converted ride-on lawn-mowers bristling with spinning rotors of death. That'd work, right?
ha..at least temporarily..i find it ...
ha..at least temporarily..i find it impossible to imagine the reality of life back home now with shit like this going down. it's an idyllic pacific island, with a tiny population. what went wrong?
worth considering joining the force for, just to have a go on one of those things.