> The British Transport Police have become the first force in the UK to arm volunteer officers with Tasers.
> It comes after the Home Secretary last week unveiled plans to give special constables powers to use the weapons, which temporarily incapacitate a person by delivering an electric current through two small-barbed darts.
> From Friday, some British Transport Police volunteer officers are carrying Tasers while on duty across England and Wales.
> Home Secretary Priti Patel said she was “very proudly pro-police” as she announced the move to equip special constables with the electroshock weapons, if authorised by their chief officers, during a speech at the annual Police Federation conference in Manchester last Tuesday.
> Amnesty International UK branded the decision “dangerous” and said it will lead to “more instances of misuse, serious harm and death from Tasers”.
Bet Priti “vicious” Patel is loving this idea and I *really* cannot see this going badly…*honest*… or far more innocent people getting shot with tasers because it’s “less lethal” and thus they will be more inclined to use them as a first form of dealing with people…
Arming them isnt the issue at hand given they effectively do the same role without pay, having to rely on volunteers is the issue IMO.
Though IIRC didnt police heavily vote against carrying tasers? If that changed fair enough, just dont make them carry tasers if they do not wish to.
The greater the responsibility put in the hands of volunteers, the greater the admittance that there is insufficient staffing.
Why is the officer in the picture wearing a black and white version of the Union Jack?
Is that some UK version of bluelivesmatter BS?
That’s just disgusting
Arming the prospects, they’re getting ready for something
Ah yes, British Transport Police, the jobsworths who hold up trains for ages because a teenager “lost” their ticket and tried to scamper into another carriage. They clearly need to be more heavily armed, that’s the problem. Why not give them a bazooka so they can obliterate fare evaders on sight?
The ignorance in this thread is astounding
Special constables (or ‘volunteer police’) have been around since we invented organized policing. They form a sizable portion of nearly every force, they have the exact same standards and rules applied to them as full timers, there is a requirement to do X number of hours per month (usually 20), they undergo training and the same vetting, they are almost never alone — always accompanied by a full timer — and they wear the same uniform. If you’ve had a few interactions with police I guarantee you’ve dealt with a special without knowing.
Being an SPC is a great way to get your foot in the door to being a PC, gain experience in your spare time without the full commitment and serve your community. Nobody on an ego trip is becoming an SPC, in fact, to be honest, I meet exceptionally few egocentric officers as a rule.
I agree with giving them tasers, think it’s the right thing to do. There are very specific rules and requirements for taser deployment and since everything is on body cam now, abusing the privilege will have you losing it the same day
Fully support this and I fully support the principle of having SPCs in the force. Baffled by many comments here.
There’s plenty of dickheads I’ve encountered on trains who I would love to see get a good old fashioned taze. Great policy imo.
Is this to decrease ticket dodgers ?
Just so people realise they can’t even train up full time officers with tazer so it’s a poltical stunt.
I’m a front line cop and have been for a decent amount of time and been nowhere near a taser course, just like a lot of cops attending emergencies.
It’s all smoke in mirrors so the goverment looks tough on crime.
It’s interesting how the ‘repressive’ aspects of the state keep moving up higher, socially speaking.
Either they get the same training and responsibilities as police, in which case the question is why are they not getting paid? (or maybe what are we paying them instead of money?). Or they are basically armed civilians and this is flat out illegal.
To be fair, whichever it is, i don’t think the police could disappoint me any more than they already have over the last 30 years or so. They never miss an opportunity to limbo under any standards they can find.
15 comments
>volunteer officers with Tasers
What could possibly go wrong
> The British Transport Police have become the first force in the UK to arm volunteer officers with Tasers.
> It comes after the Home Secretary last week unveiled plans to give special constables powers to use the weapons, which temporarily incapacitate a person by delivering an electric current through two small-barbed darts.
> From Friday, some British Transport Police volunteer officers are carrying Tasers while on duty across England and Wales.
> Home Secretary Priti Patel said she was “very proudly pro-police” as she announced the move to equip special constables with the electroshock weapons, if authorised by their chief officers, during a speech at the annual Police Federation conference in Manchester last Tuesday.
> Amnesty International UK branded the decision “dangerous” and said it will lead to “more instances of misuse, serious harm and death from Tasers”.
Bet Priti “vicious” Patel is loving this idea and I *really* cannot see this going badly…*honest*… or far more innocent people getting shot with tasers because it’s “less lethal” and thus they will be more inclined to use them as a first form of dealing with people…
Arming them isnt the issue at hand given they effectively do the same role without pay, having to rely on volunteers is the issue IMO.
Though IIRC didnt police heavily vote against carrying tasers? If that changed fair enough, just dont make them carry tasers if they do not wish to.
The greater the responsibility put in the hands of volunteers, the greater the admittance that there is insufficient staffing.
Why is the officer in the picture wearing a black and white version of the Union Jack?
Is that some UK version of bluelivesmatter BS?
That’s just disgusting
Arming the prospects, they’re getting ready for something
Ah yes, British Transport Police, the jobsworths who hold up trains for ages because a teenager “lost” their ticket and tried to scamper into another carriage. They clearly need to be more heavily armed, that’s the problem. Why not give them a bazooka so they can obliterate fare evaders on sight?
The ignorance in this thread is astounding
Special constables (or ‘volunteer police’) have been around since we invented organized policing. They form a sizable portion of nearly every force, they have the exact same standards and rules applied to them as full timers, there is a requirement to do X number of hours per month (usually 20), they undergo training and the same vetting, they are almost never alone — always accompanied by a full timer — and they wear the same uniform. If you’ve had a few interactions with police I guarantee you’ve dealt with a special without knowing.
Being an SPC is a great way to get your foot in the door to being a PC, gain experience in your spare time without the full commitment and serve your community. Nobody on an ego trip is becoming an SPC, in fact, to be honest, I meet exceptionally few egocentric officers as a rule.
I agree with giving them tasers, think it’s the right thing to do. There are very specific rules and requirements for taser deployment and since everything is on body cam now, abusing the privilege will have you losing it the same day
Fully support this and I fully support the principle of having SPCs in the force. Baffled by many comments here.
There’s plenty of dickheads I’ve encountered on trains who I would love to see get a good old fashioned taze. Great policy imo.
Is this to decrease ticket dodgers ?
Just so people realise they can’t even train up full time officers with tazer so it’s a poltical stunt.
I’m a front line cop and have been for a decent amount of time and been nowhere near a taser course, just like a lot of cops attending emergencies.
It’s all smoke in mirrors so the goverment looks tough on crime.
It’s interesting how the ‘repressive’ aspects of the state keep moving up higher, socially speaking.
Either they get the same training and responsibilities as police, in which case the question is why are they not getting paid? (or maybe what are we paying them instead of money?). Or they are basically armed civilians and this is flat out illegal.
To be fair, whichever it is, i don’t think the police could disappoint me any more than they already have over the last 30 years or so. They never miss an opportunity to limbo under any standards they can find.
Insert ‘This is fine’ meme
Transport police or highway patrol?