Friday, April 03, 2009

BC Taser Testing Results



FIRST ROUND OF TASER
TESTING RESULTS RELEASED

Results from the independent testing of 82 model-X26 conductive energy weapons (CEWs) used by B.C. municipal police and corrections officers show eight devices failed to meet manufacturer’s specifications and must therefore be destroyed, or repaired and retested, before going back into service.

Of the models tested, seven failed to produce a pulse rate high enough to meet manufacturer’s specifications. The other Taser failed due to a combination of factors. The New Westminster, Port Moody and Saanich police departments each had one Taser fail, Vancouver had two and BC Corrections had three failed Tasers. Overall, this represents a failure rate of approximately 10 per cent, which is consistent with testing results in other jurisdictions.

As a result of this information, police agencies have been advised that effective immediately, departments can put all X26 Tasers that have met manufacturer’s specifications back into service.

The ministry is still waiting for the test results of 128 M26 model Tasers. Until the results are known, police agencies cannot use this CEW model. The Province is also committed to testing all remaining Tasers – 200 – used by municipal police and corrections which were manufactured post 2006 to ensure they meet manufacturer’s specifications.

In December, the solicitor general directed B.C.’s municipal chiefs of police to pull from service Tasers that were acquired before Jan. 1, 2006 for testing. RCMP ‘E’ Division advised it would comply with the request from the solicitor general.

Taser testing was done in the interest of public and officer safety after independent testing suggested a few of the Tasers were giving out a greater electrical charge than expected by the manufacturer’s specifications.

MPB Technologies, a laboratory near Ottawa that has experience in aeronautical, military and compliance testing has been retained by the Province to conduct the initial round of tests for municipal police at a total cost of $36,000, which includes the Tasers manufactured post-2006.

allvoices

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