Author : Greg Meyer
Publisher :
ISBN 13 :
Total Pages : 214 pages
Book Rating : 4.:/5 (322 download)
Book Synopsis Nonlethal Weapons Versus Conventional Police Tactics by : Greg Meyer
Download or read book Nonlethal Weapons Versus Conventional Police Tactics written by Greg Meyer and published by . This book was released on 1991 with total page 214 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In 1981, the Los Angeles Police Department adopted nonlethal weapons known as TASER and chemical irritant spray. This study reports the degree to which these devices have reduced injuries in confrontations between police officers and suspects. This study is the first to use empirical data and statistical methods to compare injuries from nonlethal weapons with injuries from conventional force types. The study focuses on eight force types which police officers use to cause resisting suspects to fall to the ground. Firearms and other deadly force types are excluded from this study, as are force types which are not intended to cause a suspect to fall to the ground. The major hypothesis was that nonlethal weapons cause fewer and less severe injuries than the other force types. This study examined a stratified sample of 502 of the 1,160 incident reports from the LAPD which fit the research scenario during the first half of 1989. Variables were created for the force types, the injuries to suspects an officers, and the precipitating incident conditions. Research disclosed overwhelming data to support the major hypothesis: TASER and chemical irritant spray are effective devices which cause no significant injuries, while conventional force types do cause significant injuries. The existing literature on nonlethal weapons is replete with myth, misinformation, and "conventional wisdom" that is just plain wrong. This has probably prevented nationwide adoption of TASER and other useful nonlethal weapons. Law enforcement should seek to form a partnership with politicians, scientists, and the military in order to develop the next generation of nonlethal weapons and to inspire wider use of nonlethal weapons by police across the nation. Expanded use of nonlethal weapons would lead to fewer and less severe injuries to suspects and officers, reduced civil liability claims and payments, reduced personnel complaints, reduced employee disability costs, and an improved public image for law enforcement.