Does this reflect the challenges of policing today, or does it suggest a lack of self-control?

For the uninitiated, a Taser is an electroshock weapon that uses electrical current to disrupt voluntary control of muscles.

Its manufacturer, Taser International, calls the effects 'neuromuscular incapacitation'.

Stimulating the sensory nerves and motor nerves, the effect prompts strong – and painful – involuntary muscle contractions.

The figures reveal Tasers were used 187 times and discharged 35 times in four months by specially-trained units.

Figures from the period September 1 to December 31, 2008 show an increase in use following a successful trial in ten forces across England and Wales to extend the use of Tasers beyond dedicated firearms officers to specially-trained police response officers.

Since the Taser was first introduced in April 2004, there have been a total of 4,046 uses and 1,181 discharges.

I am not bashing the police in England and Wales. God knows it is not a job I could do, and I admire absolutely anyone who is prepared to undertake the rigorous training and go on to uphold law and order on the front line.

But we must question the increased Taser use and ask if we are inching closer to fully arming the police in this country.

A couple of months ago I was in London and walked passed Parliament. The sight of armed police officers cradling their machine guns is still something I find alien and uncomfortable.

With crime on the increase and the ongoing threat of guns on the street, it is clear our coppers need something by way of a deterrent, or for some kind of protection.

But the issue of arming our police is something I struggle with.

As criminals become increasingly aggressive, our law enforcement officers need to be able to adequately defend and protect themselves and others. But where do you draw the line?


Bacon blockbuster

I recently received a review copy of a new book from Chichester's Summersdale publishers.

Everything but the Squeal is John Barlow's account of how, as a self-confessed glutton, he finds himself in Galicia, northern Spain, where they happily scoff every part of the pig.

Testing the patience of his vegetarian wife, Barlow goes the whole hog – literally – sloshing down each pork feast with wine.

Funny, fascinating and mind broadening (and light relief from reports about swine flu), I recommend you add this bacon blockbuster to your bookshelf.


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