Taser Guns

Home Secretary Jacqui Smith was clearly on a war path with her idea to issue police with thousands of Taser stun guns to the tune of £8 million.

Thank Goodness the Metropolitan Police Authority has no intention of sanctioning increased availability of the 50,000-volt weapons in London, saying the extra 10,000 guns would "spread fear and damage public confidence in the police". Too right. It is a world away from the Met's "streetwise" initiative reported in The Times last week where youngsters in East London meet informally with officers to pass on their tips about stop and searches.

The kind of role play workshops between police and young people, which are happening in Waltham Forest and elsewhere in the capital, is the kind of thing that will improve community relations, rather like Police Safer Neighbourhood Teams.

Bringing out more Taser guns, which, according to this morning's Metro and this morning's Times, were deployed 600 times in the past year, but only fired 93 times, is a waste of public money - rather like ID cards - and will serve only to foster fear and loathing instead of tackling it. Research by Amnesty International has also shown that Taser guns have been linked to hundreds of deaths in the U.S. and Candada.

Tasers aren't toys any more than they are the key to reducing crime.