Tasers Will Be Used on Knife-Carrying Offenders

Law enforcement officers in both Devon and Cornwall are cracking down on anyone carrying a knife in their districts.

Knife-related crime has decreased about ten per cent over the past few years, but officers have not relaxed. The ever vigilant authorities remain dedicated to further reduction of the crime rate.

Superintendent John Green of the Devon and Cornwall Police said, “We’d like to make it clear that if you carry knives in the Devon and Cornwall area that we’ll take it very seriously and deal with it very robustly.”

Local police warn that “anyone carrying a knife on the street in Devon and Cornwall risks being shot with a Taser electric stun gun.”

Green said, “You stand a chance of being incapacitated and taken to the ground by use of a Taser.”

According to senior officers, training for non-firearms officers is a serious matter. Their training is strictly regulated and even includes being stunned so they will know what it is like to be hit with the 50,000 volts that Tasers deliver.

Some groups, like Amnesty International, maintain that the use of Tasers constitutes cruel and unusual punishment. Most law enforcement officials see stun guns and Tasers as valuable, non lethal ways of dealing with violent criminals.