Water cannons may be on our streets within months: Tear gas and Tasers also on police ‘wish list’ to combat riots…(UK…Wonder Why?)
Senior officers say they are ‘valuable’ crowd control weapons
Machines cost £1.3m but could provide fast response to violent outbreaks
The Government signals it will foot the bill
Critics say they will turn police into ‘paramilitary force’
By Chris Greenwood
DailyMailUK
13 March 2012
Every police force could have access to a water cannon within months as police chiefs vow to prevent a repeat of last summer’s riots.
Senior officers are demanding the ‘valuable’ crowd control weapons, previously deployed by UK police only in Northern Ireland, and the Government has signalled that it will foot the bill.
Three of the fearsome £1.3million machines could be held at strategic locations to provide fast response to any outbreaks of violence.
Chief constables are also considering whether tear gas and Taser stun guns could be used to restore order.
It would be the first time that any of the three weapons have been used for crowd control on the British mainland, and would represent a dramatic escalation in the armoury available for tackling mass disorder.
But critics said the move risks further transforming the police into a ‘paramilitary force’.
It came as the Metropolitan Police published a review of the four days of rioting that shamed the nation last August.
With Art…HERE
