Five police forces in the United Kingdom are to take part in operational trials of a stun-gun that can incapacitate a suspect temporarily with a high-voltage shock in dangerous situations where, previously, greater or lethal force may have been used.
The UK police are to test Taser weapons that can fire two probes to between five and seven metres. The probes are connected to the weapon by high-voltage insulated wire. When these make contact with the target, the weapon transmits powerful electrical pulses along the wires and into the suspect's body even through thick clothing.
The system is made by a US company, Taser, a provider of advanced less-lethal weapons for use in the law-enforcement, private security and personal defence markets. "Advanced Taser weapons use a revolutionary electro-muscular disruption (EMD) technology to provide a quantum leap in less-lethal stopping power," said a Taser spokesman.
"The M-Series are the only less-lethal weapons that will stop a focused, goal-oriented subject from up to seven metres away. When traditional less-lethal force does not subdue a suspect, force escalates, resulting in injuries or fatalities and potentially massive liability. In tests involving 400 volunteers, the Taser showed a 99,55% incapacitation rate with no injuries." The Taser is in testing or deployment at more than 2000 law-enforcement and correctional agencies in the US and Canada.
For more information contact Home Office Information Service, [email protected]
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