The Use Of Tasers In Canada and Other Countries

Tasers are used all over the world by police and military. They say Tasers are supposed to allow police officers to subdue violent individuals without killing them and so have been a global adaptation. A police officer can 'take down' a threatening suspect without worrying that a stray bullet might kill or injure an innocent bystander. While many advocate the use of what they believe to be a non-lethal answer to using guns, deaths are reported and have created controversy over the use of this technology. Tasers were first used by law enforcement agents in the United States in 1998. It was adopted in multiple countries such as Canada, Australia, UK, Brazil, France, Greece, Israel, New Zealand and Malaysia for use only by law enforcement agencies. Controversy from the beginning has dogged taser sue. Many countries have banned them, including Kenya and Iceland, over concerns of safety and inconsistent effectiveness. We shall now look at the use of Tasers in Canada.

The Use of Tasers in Canada

In Canada, tasers are classified as hand-held weapons which have been prohibited for civilian use but have been used by the police forces since 1999. In order to further prohibit the use of tasers in Canada, only one company can import them into Canada under a special permit, and they can only sell the devices to law enforcement agencies and each taser sale is registered and tracked, much like a handgun. In spite of this strict regulation, across Canada 25 people have died so far after being zapped, 20 people from 2003 to 2008 with the most tasering incident being the one that happened in 2007 when a Polish immigrant Robert Dziekanski died of a heart attack after being jolted five times by Royal Canadian Mounted Police officers at Vancouver’s airport. Since then Taser use in Canada has come under intense scrutiny.

In May 5, 2008 his death led to a provincial public inquiry into the use of tasers in Vancouver under commissioner Thomas Braidwood, a retired B.C. Appeal Court justice. In a preliminary report made public July 23, 2009, he concluded that stun guns can be deadly and that the B.C. provincial government had abdicated its responsibility to establish province-wide standards for their use. He then went ahead to set clear guidelines (best practices) to prevent Taser misuse and abuse in 2010 which we will be looking at later.

Many Ontario forces, including the Toronto Police Service, have adopted some of the good practices as real restrictions are needed to prevent “usage creep.” Stun guns shouldn’t be hauled out to tame surly teenagers, passive resisters or drunks.

The Use of Tasers in Other Countries

Tasers were first used by law enforcement in the United States in 1998. In the United States, Tasers are not considered firearms and are legal for civilian use in most states. Some cities, counties and states do restrict or ban their use by people who are not police officers. The company will not ship its product outside the United States unless the person placing the order holds a valid import/export permit. Police forces across the United States currently permit a wide use of the weapons, often in situations that do not warrant such a high level of force which explains why since 2001, at least 500 people in the United States have died after being shocked with Tasers either during their arrest or while in jail. Amnesty International recorded the largest number of deaths following the use of Tasers in California (92), followed by Florida (65), and Texas (37).


Out of the hundreds who have died following police use of tasers in the United States, dozens and possibly scores of deaths can be traced to unnecessary force being used," said Susan Lee, Americas program director at Amnesty International. "This is unacceptable, and stricter guidelines for their use are now imperative. And while there are currently efforts at a national level to establish guidelines of Tasers, policies are spotty and created by individual jurisdictions. Each police department revises their policies on a continuing basis.
           
In 2004 Tasers were introduced to England and Wales police forces, giving them an option between firearms and other weapons such as batons. Today, critics say they fear tasers are being misused. The statistics show that there is an ongoing issue with the use of Tasers by police, especially as the statistics suggest that the taser is used as a compliance tool which is in direct contravention of the Taser Policy and Guidance. However, only 7 deaths have been recorded that has been caused by a taser since it`s introduction in 2004.


In order to reduce the risk of wrongful use of Tasers by Police officers, the officers are carefully selected for the role and subjected to comprehensive training before being handed a Taser and around 12 per cent carry a Taser. Training covers handling and using the device and circumstances under which it can be lawfully used.


The tables below enunciate the use of tasers in England and Wales:-

Table 1 Definitions and levels of the different types of Taser use

Level of use	Type of use	Definition
Highest use	Fired	The   taser is fired with a live cartridge installed. When the trigger is pulled, the probes are fired towards the subject with the intention of completing an electrical circuit and delivering an incapacitating effect.
	Angle-drive stun	The officer fires the weapon with a live cartridge installed. One or both probes may attach to the subject. The officer then holds the Taser against the subject’s body in a different area to the probe(s), in order to complete the electrical circuit and deliver an incapacitating effect.
	Drive stun	The taser is held against the subject’s body and the trigger is pulled with no probes being fired. Contact with the subject completes the electrical circuit which causes pain but does not deliver an incapacitating effect.
Non-discharges	Red-dot	The weapon is not fired. Instead, the Taser is deliberately aimed and then partially activated so that a laser red dot is placed onto the subject.
	Arcing	Sparking of the Taser without aiming it or firing it.
	Aimed	Deliberate aiming of the taser at a targeted subject.
Lowest use	Drawn	Drawing of the Taser in circumstances where any person could reasonably perceive the action to be a use of force.

 

Table 2 Taser use by type, comparison between January to June 2014 figures published in October 2014 and July 2015

	Previous October 2014 publication	July 2015 publication	Change	% Change	Number of forces that made revisions
Not stated	0	-	0	-	-
Drawn	1,186	1,135	-51	-4	11
Aimed	276	275	-1	-0.4	6
Arced	60	61	1	2	5
Red-Dotted	2,636	2,648	12	0.5	14
Drive Stun	78	84	6	8	7
Angle-Drive Stun	45	56	11	24	5
Fired	826	833	7	1	15
Total	5,107	5,092	-15	-0.3

  
Tasers may seem like a brilliant idea to many law enforcement agencies around the world but a few countries still say `No``. The Netherlands police, and their unions, said “No, we don’t want it”; judges banned it in Buenos Aires since it was a torture weapon, too close to the scars of the despised dictatorship; the San Francisco Public Safety Commission said “No”, following systematic abuse by the BART police; Amnesty International has said “No” since 2001; the South African government canceled an order for 4,000 tasers following the publication of the Braidwood Report. … Many European countries have found the taser an offer they could and did refuse.

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