[Greens-Media] Media Release - Taser Report Raises Stop and Search Concerns

[Jurak, Nina]

Taser report raises stop and search concerns

"The Government should abandon its proposed stop and search laws in the wake of the Corruption and Crime Commission's findings on the use of tasers in WA," said Greens MLC Giz Watson.

"I welcome the CCC' s report and I am greatly concerned it found that tasers are increasingly being used for compliance not to prevent injury or reduce the use of firearms," she said.

"Tasering a person thirteen times for not complying with a request for a search is totally unacceptable," she said.

"The disproportional tasering of aboriginal people is also deeply disturbing," she said.

"At the same time the Government wants to dramatically increase police powers to search members of the public where there is no reasonable suspicion of them committing an offence. This expansion of powers must be rejected," she said.

Ms Watson has raised questions about police use of tasers in the Parliament including the number of people tasered more than once (138 in 2008 and 80 in 2009) and the numbers needing medical attention after being tasered (98 in 2008 and 88 in 2009). She also had the guidelines for the use of weapons, including tasers tabled. (See attached questions)



Nina Jurak
Electorate Officer for Giz Watson MLC
Member for North Metropolitan Region

339 Oxford Street Leederville  WA  6007
Ph - (08) 9201 0582
Fax - (08) 9201 0583

http://www.mp.wa.gov.au/giz-watson

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