* I think response time is also an issue, as I mentioned in my reply to q10 above. I expect that having some armed would be a faster response time than either having to call local police or having a store room or something for the weapons.
* Now that I think about it, I expect that our campus officers are already highly trained since they're police, so I wonder how much good extra training would even do.
And two more thoughts.
* What do you think about non-lethal weapons such as tasers?
* It's my understanding that the push to arm our campus police is out of fear of a school shooter - a particular category of violent crime. While the incidence of such an event at one particular college in a given year is negligibly small, the possible consequences are devastating.
- I was under the impression that to use a taser, one must be particularly close to the tase-ee, and the benefit of a gun is that one can shoot from a distance without endangering oneself. I think tasers are easily replaceable by special training in disarming someone, whereas guns are not.
- I really think that preparing every campus for a school shooting is ridiculous. Whoever is proposing that must not see that having guns on campus is inherently more likely to hurt someone than the remote possibility of a school shooting; I can imagine that if every cop on campus had a gun, it would be likely that they'd shoot someone because they mistakenly thought they were dangerous. (I recall an incident in New York when a cop shot a man as he took a candy bar out of his pocket because the cop thought it was a gun.)
I would be happy to see tasers as an adjunct to firearms, but not as a replacement. As you've noted, they're short-range. From my understanding, they're single-shot. This combination does NOT make for an effective weapon. Even at 35', in a dangerous situation, I would not be surprised if the cop missed with one shot. Firefights are rough! And if a taser's all you have...well, you're up the creek without a paddle after that one shot.
Are there certainly more situations where a taser would be useful? Sure, and that's why I don't mind seeing them as a support. But they are in no way a replacement for a firearm.
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timeasmymeasure
no subject
Date: 2009-04-11 02:11 am (UTC)* Now that I think about it, I expect that our campus officers are already highly trained since they're police, so I wonder how much good extra training would even do.
And two more thoughts.
* What do you think about non-lethal weapons such as tasers?
* It's my understanding that the push to arm our campus police is out of fear of a school shooter - a particular category of violent crime. While the incidence of such an event at one particular college in a given year is negligibly small, the possible consequences are devastating.
no subject
Date: 2009-04-11 02:47 am (UTC)- I really think that preparing every campus for a school shooting is ridiculous. Whoever is proposing that must not see that having guns on campus is inherently more likely to hurt someone than the remote possibility of a school shooting; I can imagine that if every cop on campus had a gun, it would be likely that they'd shoot someone because they mistakenly thought they were dangerous. (I recall an incident in New York when a cop shot a man as he took a candy bar out of his pocket because the cop thought it was a gun.)
no subject
Date: 2009-04-11 02:54 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-04-11 03:50 am (UTC)Are there certainly more situations where a taser would be useful? Sure, and that's why I don't mind seeing them as a support. But they are in no way a replacement for a firearm.