Home / Series / Insight (1995) / Aired Order / Season 2010 / Episode 29

Tasers

Should Australian Police use Tasers? Is the Taser the right non lethal option to a gun? They've been issued to frontline officers in tactical response groups in some states since 2000. This episode of INSIGHT will examine the use and abuse of Tasers. Revelations that a Perth man was Tasered 13 times in a police watchhouse has brought condemnation from the WA Police Commissioner. As a result of this WA case the Crime and Corruption Commission has recommended that Tasers be used only when there is an "imminent threat of serious injury". And this " imminent threat" can be very murky territory. How does a police officer gauge the level of threat in a highly charged situation? There was strong criticism in the recent West Australian CCC report that "Taser weapons are being used for compliance, including against indigenous people and those suffering mental illness." It is still grey territory that Tasers have been the direct cause of death, but there is evidence that if you suffer from heart disease or have taken stimulant drugs, you are more likely to die from a Taser shock. That's INSIGHT this week, just who is being protected by the use of Tasers? The police or the public?

English
  • Originally Aired October 19, 2010
  • Runtime 60 minutes
  • Content Rating United States of America TV-G
  • Network SBS
  • Created September 17, 2017 by
    Administrator admin
  • Modified September 17, 2017 by
    Administrator admin