I know that the taser 'use of force' criteria in a department over in SoCal has just been increased to the same level as the baton - possibly as a result of over-use, or maybe just to save on batteries, I'd prefer not to speculate!
This does mean that the street officers will be going 'hands on' more however.
I travel to the US at least twice a year to train mainly law enforcement personnel, and one of the main subjects I cover is 'officer survival' as it appears to be the weakest area within departmental training.
Either the decision-makers are ex-college linebackers, so don't see the need from a personal perspective, or else they are taser-crazy and rely upon it to the exclusion of everything else. Incidentally, I'll try and get the stats confirmed, but they have a surprisingly high failure rate with the taser - surprised me anyhow...
I ask 'how often do you hit the range?' and the answer is pretty much always 'once a week' at least - often in their own time, buying their own ammo to boot. When I ask 'how often do you hit the mat?' it's usually answered along the lines of 'once a year, to requalify...' as standard.
Next two questions are 'how often do you shoot someone?' - general answer to this is 'never...not yet' predictably - and then 'how many times do you go 'hands on' with someone' which apparently is a multiple times per week deal....
Some of the training I conduct is off the books, in the officer's own time and the excuses for not being able to attend are classic, ranging from 'it's my dogs birthday' all the way to 'there was this polar bear...' which I understand, I've been there and it's no different anywhere else I teach. Thing is, if I brought along a tricked out Sig 550c or a nasty little M4 'Viper' with a big fat suppressor, I'd put good money on those same guys cancelling family holidays and the like, to make time...
Stuff you need, and absolutely use all the time as a certainly, but doesn't look cool and takes effort - minimal attention.
Mick
