Taser as an Enforcement Tool

Abstract

The enforcement tool Taser is used by police officers in United States, United Kingdom, France and Canada. The Icelandic Police Union has approved a request for police officers to carry and use Taser when they are on duty. Increasing violence against police officers is the main reason behind the request but according to the National Commissioner of the Police Assistant, Mrs. Sigríður Björk Guðjónsdóttir, police work is becoming more hostile for officers. The request has been taken under consideration by the National Commissioner of the Police and the Minister of Justice but no statement about the request has been published yet. Amnesty International, an organization that improves human rights through campaigning and international solidarity, is against Taser as an enforcement tool because it basically causes pain that could be equal to torture. Amnesty argues also that the use of Taser by officers violates international law that protects human rights. The Human Rights Committee against Torture considers Taser not a preferable enforcement tool.