Bobbies refuse tasers

British police (Bobbies) are world-famous as being some of the very best. The old joke goes that 'Heaven is where the police are British...'.

Many Bobbies are not even issued firearms.


The [London, UK] Metropolitan Police has rejected plans to extend the use of taser weapons to non-firearms officers. The country's largest force has snubbed Home Office policy to give out 10,000 more of the electric shock weapons. The Met and Sussex Police will not give the weapons to any officers not also trained to use firearms, a freedom of information request has revealed. [LINK]

LONDON, June 22 (UPI) -- Several major British police forces say they are refusing the government's calls to extend the use of taser stun guns to thousands of officers. The Sussex Police have joined the London Metropolitan Police in refusing to extend the use of tasers to officers who are not specially trained to wield the weapons... [LINK]

See also a Daily Mail story via TNT: [LINK]


Other UK jurisdictions are contemplating the same thing.

Suggestion - In Canada, tasers are considered to be 'Prohibited Firearms' (note the keyword FIREARMS). Canadians, in general, are not known for being unreasonable people. Did I mention "FIREARMS"?


One of the people pushing tasers in the UK was former Home Secretary Jacqui Smith. She was recently forced to step down after her husband accidentally billed some porn flicks to the British taxpayer, and Jacqui herself was caught fiddling her residence expenses ("...claimed £116,000 expenses for her sister's home in London..."). [LINK]