The electrical current causes involuntary stimulation of the sensory and motor nerves, resulting in muscle contractions and severe pain. The muscle contractions are intended to immobilise the victim by causing him or her to fall to the ground, regardless of the pain tolerance or mental focus of the individual.

Spillbunding

The Federation of Community Legal Centres has long been concerned that Tasers should not be seen as the panacea to police use of a firearm.

Please note that we currently do not have capacity for clients. If you’d like help finding a referral to your local service, you can call us on 03 9328 1885

There are significant risks that Tasers can kill or harm when used on vulnerable groups or in particular ways. These are the same vulnerable groups that are overrepresented in statistics relating to police use of lethal force in Victoria.

Canadian Broadcasting Corporation claims that there have been over 26 deaths attributable to Tasers in Canada since 2003.

Types ofbunding

This technique can be tricky to get right; it takes great skill and understanding of machine operators. To make sure this technique is appropriate for a site, and we are not ultimately going to cause any stability issues, we now follow a specially developed peat slide risk assessment process.

2. In Drive-Stun Mode the weapon is pressed directly against the skin of a victim causing intense pain (and sometimes burns), but not causing any electro-muscular disruption.

This series of blogs shines a light on peatland restoration techniques, why and when we use them, and what drawbacks they may have. Take a look at our previous blogs here.

It’s important when creating trench bunds not to have the area enclosed, often referred to as cells, too large; this can result in the wind causing too much wave action across any standing water (eroding the surface bund) or putting too much pressure on a single bund feature which makes it at higher risk of bund failure.

Bundingmeaning construction

Bundingmeaning

The causal link between Tasers and death is hotly contested by researchers and advocates. Nevertheless the sheer numbers of Taser proximate deaths raises questions about the safety of the weapon.

When creating surface bunds it is also important to make them as stable as possible by making sure surface bunds are capped with turves (healthy peat and its vegetation). Often, animals like to use these drier ridges as walkways, and deer in particular can cause erosion.

Tasers are promoted by their proponents around the world as an alternative to police use of lethal force to resolve a critical incident.

If you’re involved with peatland and interested in learning more about restoring them, you can read the other blogs on restoration techniques here, and join our training mailing list here.

What isbundingin agriculture

1. In Probe Mode a Taser shoots two barbed darts into a victim or their clothing following the release of compressed nitrogen. These two darts are connected to insulated wires that deliver multiple pulses of a 50,000 volt electrical current lasting over 5 seconds.

The Police Accountability Project acknowledges the Wurundjeri people of the Kulin Nations upon whose beautiful and unceded lands we live and work. We also acknowledge that both Victoria Police and the Victorian legal system were and remain a core component of colonisation, a process which included the violent removal of people from their land and which continues today in many forms including the disproportionate policing and imprisonment of Aboriginal people.

Bunding can also be useful when dealing with the artificial edge of a bog. Kirkconnel Flow (Dumfries) is a good example of where bunding has been used along an edge of lowland raised bog which had been cut for peat in the past, leading to the long-term drying out of the more intact dome.

Bundingart

Bundingwall

Catch and hold rainfall and slow the lateral (internal) movement of water from the bog, particularly one that is persistently dry

We can reduce this risk by using lots of bunds, creating lots of cells, often in a “fish scale” formation around the edge of a bog – see figure 2.

Amnesty International reported in December 2008 that more than 330 people had died after police Taser shocks in the USA since 2001.

Evidence from overseas, and increasingly from Australia, suggests that Tasers are prone to misuse. We also know that use of lethal force by police can be avoided in most instances with tactical communication, nonviolent intervention and other lower use of force strategies.

FloorBunding

Victoria Police were first authorised to use Tasers as part of a 12 month trial in 2003.  Tasers were trialled in Bendigo, Morwell, Traralgon, Moe, Geelong and Ballarat, and used by specialist units, such as critical response teams, in Melbourne.

Bunds can also fail to prevent the flow of water if there’s too much woody debris in the peat; it is important in any technique where peat is moved and used as a restoration feature to ensure it is compacted well and knits together – otherwise water can move through the feature and will, over time, erode and potentially damage the feature to the point where it no longer works. This makes it challenging when using the technique on site which have been previously afforested. However, even in these instances the technique, if done well, can work brilliantly to raise the water table and improve the hydrology and function of a bog. A great example of this is Moss of Cree in Dumfries and Galloway.

In 2014, Tasers were rolled out to most frontline police in regional Victoria. As part of a $13.5 million government plan, 580 Taser weapons will be provided to all 24-hour police stations across regional Victoria.[ref]580 police Tasers to hit the streets across Victoria, The Age, Mex Cooper 23 April 2014 http://www.theage.com.au/victoria/580-police-tasers-to-hit-the-streets-across-victoria-20140423-373ds.html#ixzz2zmSqKkFN[/ref] What are Tasers? A Taser is a brand of stun gun that uses electricity to subdue people. Tasers are promoted by their proponents around the world as an alternative to police use of lethal force to resolve a critical incident. Tasers can be used in two modes. 1. In Probe Mode a Taser shoots two barbed darts into a victim or their clothing following the release of compressed nitrogen. These two darts are connected to insulated wires that deliver multiple pulses of a 50,000 volt electrical current lasting over 5 seconds. The electrical current causes involuntary stimulation of the sensory and motor nerves, resulting in muscle contractions and severe pain. The muscle contractions are intended to immobilise the victim by causing him or her to fall to the ground, regardless of the pain tolerance or mental focus of the individual. 2. In Drive-Stun Mode the weapon is pressed directly against the skin of a victim causing intense pain (and sometimes burns), but not causing any electro-muscular disruption. In this second mode, the Taser is intended as a pain compliance tool. Tasers can kill The causal link between Tasers and death is hotly contested by researchers and advocates. Nevertheless the sheer numbers of Taser proximate deaths raises questions about the safety of the weapon. Amnesty International reported in December 2008 that more than 330 people had died after police Taser shocks in the USA since 2001. Canadian Broadcasting Corporation claims that there have been over 26 deaths attributable to Tasers in Canada since 2003.

Trench bunding is a useful way of restoring the hydrology of a bog while limiting the impact on surrounding areas. For example, on lowland raised bogs (often adjacent to agricultural fields or commercial forestry, particularly here in the Southwest) bunds hold water on the restored bog and reduce water loss to surrounding drains.

The terminology around bunding does vary but essentially bunds can be constructed in peat itself (by using compacted peat) to stop the internal flow of water (internal bund), or can be constructed on the peat (again, using compacted peat) to stop the surface flow of water (surface bund). Bunds can also be constructed to do both – this is usually referred to as “trench bunding”. See figure 1:

Arming police with Tasers increases the likelihood that weapons rather than negotiation, containment, retreat and deescalation will be used when a difficult situation arises.