Icelandic police want tasers

Icelandic police officers need stun guns, according to Snorri Magnússon, Chairman of the National Police Federation of Iceland.

Magnússon met last week with Rick Smith, CEO of Taser, manufacturer of Taser guns and other law enforcement solutions. The National Police Federation of Iceland has twice voted to introduce stun guns in the force.

Bridges the gap between truncheons and guns

“In our view, there is too big a gap between truncheons and pepper spray, on the one hand, and firearms, which are the next available option to us, on the other,” explains Magnússon.

Stun guns are considered to be able to fill a perceived gap in the range of available enforcement options, while “causing less physical injury to individuals”.

The weapons in question shoot electric waves up to a distance of ten metres and incapacitate the target by inflicting a painful ‘stun’ to their muscle and nervous systems. The pain caused is considerable, but lasts just a few seconds and is mostly harmless.

Stun guns are also equipped with a device which records sound and images as soon as they are activated to reduce the risk of abuse.

Lower injury rates

Vilhjálmur Árnason, MP for Iceland’s centre-right Independence Party (‘Sjálfstæðisflokkurinn’), has also met Smith and spoken in favour of introducing stun guns in Iceland in the Icelandic Parliament (‘Alþingi’).

Árnason puts forward three arguments: 1) greater safety for both policemen and the individuals they are dealing with; 2) lower sickness and injury costs for the Icelandic social security; 3) greater opportunities for policewomen to use force in law enforcement.

According to Snorri Magnússon, studies have shown that the introduction of stun guns elsewhere has led to lower injury rates. He also points out that the Icelandic Directorate of Health has issued a report indicating no objections to Icelandic policemen using stun guns.

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