Tasers a sound idea
At a time when crime is a growing threat to the territory, the Royal Virgin Islands Police Force’s plan to start using Tasers seems to us a reasonable alternative to routinely arming officers with guns.
However, police must be trained to properly handle the weapons, which should be used only as a last resort.
Tasers, which are designed to deliver a non-lethal shock, give police a more powerful tool to protect themselves and the public. Such an alternative is needed.
Because the territory’s proximity to the United Stated VI means that guns are readily available to criminals here, some residents have advocated providing all police officers with firearms. We oppose this measure, and support the system currently in place, where only a few elite squads are authorised to carry guns.
But the job of policing the territory is increasingly dangerous, and assaults on law enforcement personnel are too common. Police, then, need to be able to respond with force if necessary, especially given the chance that a perpetrator may be armed or under the influence of alcohol or drugs.
To our thinking, Tasers represent a happy medium: They will help police subdue violent criminals without great danger to the offenders’ lives.
This is not to say that Tasers are without risks. In a small minority of cases, they have proven to be deadly. However, the number of Taser-related deaths — about 500 in the US in the past decade, for example — is infinitesimal compared to the number of times the weapons have been used to successfully defuse dangerous situations without harming offenders.
Still, training is of utmost importance. All officers who are armed with a Taser should be fully versed in the risks, and forbidden to use it unless nonviolent means of law enforcement have failed.
The RVIPF recently purchased 25 Tasers, but a firearm policy is needed before they can be used. We hope that legislators will consider the matter soon.
They should also weigh other measures, such as levying harsher penalties for threatening or assaulting police officers. After all, when residents have a healthy respect for the law, police are less likely to need to resort to force of any kind.
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