The team examined over 24,000 cases where police had used force, including almost 5500 incidents involving a Taser. After controlling for factors such as the amount of resistance shown by the suspect, they found that Taser use reduced the overall risk of injury by 65 per cent.

[New Scientist]

The Travis County cop says that he had to pull out the Taser last week because she wouldn't sign her ticket and then started to act violent. Sadly, his commanding officer backed him up.

Now look here, piggies: I'd be tempted to tase the woman too for getting out of line when you may or may not be trying to do your job. But seriously, you could toss her in a cop car with one arm tied behind your back if you wanted to. And using a leopard-print taser doesn't count. Just because it looks feminine doesn't mean it packs any less of a punch.

Also, thank god the cop cam had video AND audio, because the dialogue from 40 seconds and on made me laugh. Multiple times (yes, I'm going to hell). The best part—the cop actually expected her to put her arms behind her back after being tased. Aaron Sorkin couldn't have written that better. [Shiny Objects via Obscure Store]

Yes, the CoolCop is a hose that runs the output of an AC vent right into the top of your shirt. For some reason, it's being marketed to cops and cops alone, because they're the only ones who get hot in cars.

On a hot day there's nothing more uncomfortable than having to wear a T-shirt soaked with sweat. Add a bulletproof vest over it and no amount of air conditioning coming from your car vent is going to keep you cool and dry.

The CoolCop dash attachment attaches easily to the air conditioning vent. The soft vinyl vest attachment fits comfortably between your vest and undershirt. Cool air is then delivered under your vest to keep you cool, dry and comfortable.

Next time I'm cruising the steamy streets of Atlanta wearing a bulletproof vest, I'm totally going to jury rig one of these things out of a vacuum hose. That's a promise. [CoolCop via Book of Joe]

Two more cops arrived in an unmarked car, and moments later, Chad Hastings was freed. According to Hastings, the arresting officer muttered, "Get a new steering wheel lock, it looks like a bloody gun," and told him he was a "a lucky boy," since "any other cop would have had you at gunpoint."

I have to say, if there was a gun that looked just like the Club, it would probably be a space death ray gun, so I think I'd have probably done same thing. [Courier Mail via digg]

Last summer, when the team was busy mapping the streets of London for the recent European Google Maps Street View rollout, one of its speedier drivers was pulled over by Britain's finest for a traffic violation.

True to form, the entire thing is now preserved in its entirety on the Internet, and we expect nothing less of the team (although it's been suspiciously blacked out by Google as of this writing).

At least all this Street View driver got was a ticket. Can't say the same of that poor Google sap who tried to map Buckinghamshire the other day. [neatorama via Jalopnik]

On March 18, Chief Wilson was at a red light when he took his foot off the brake to check his e-mail and news updates on his BlackBerry, causing his unmarked police car to move forward and rear-end the vehicle in front of him. It is reported that soon after, Chief Wilson, who was given a verbal reprimand but not a ticket, Twittered declared that he was "mortified" at the situation. [APP via Topix. Image courtesy of Oxford Mail.]

Connecting via 3.5mm jack existing radio systems (like walkie talkies), the video signal appears to piggyback on existing transmissions, allowing remote monitoring and recording of what a police officer sees from their perspective. Shooting color and lowlight IR modes, the system is being pitched as a means to provide accurate footage in cases where a police officer is questioned in court.

Still, we can't help but consider the Axon possibly the first practical camera to record our whole lives, with most people assuming that you were merely donning a Bluetooth mic through the day. [Axon via Engadget]

Mounties corporal Scott Wilson defended his colleague's grandad-bashing actions. "Whether the person is 80 or 20, we are dealing with a person who had a deadly weapon in their hand. We could not deploy our ... pepper spray, because we could potentially contaminate the entire hospital."

Lasser, a former prison guard, reckons they overdid it, claiming that, with three Mounties in the room, they could have overpowered him without using a Taser. Lasser said there were three RCMP officers in his hospital room and believes they could have easily handled him without the use of a Taser. "I was laying on the bed by then and the corporal came in, or the sergeant, and said to the guys, 'OK, get him because we got more important work to do on the street tonight,'" he said.

"And then, bang, bang, bang, three times with the laser, and I tell you, I never want that again." That'll teach him to bring a knife to hospital, then. [CBC News via Dvorak]

Diesel powered with 40% better fuel economy than a standard police vehicle, the E7 will still get 0-60 in 6 seconds with a lifespan of nearly 3 times that of standard patrol vehicles. But the even more appealing advantage is its ability to shrug off bullets. Door and dashboard armor will deflect small arms fire up to 9mm. Meanwhile, cops can trace the shooters through infrared cameras that will cut through the cloak of night.

And that fancy paint job you are admiring wouldn't be paint at all, but thermoplastics that can take a lot more abuse from your area's pissed-off teenager with car keys.

Given that the E7's $20,000-$70,000 price tag could make it accessible to the masses, you might want to ditch that "herbal garden" before it's too late. Hit up Popular Mechanics for their other future cop tech. [popularmechanics]

From September 1, the warnings will appear every 30 minutes on 13 of China's top portals. The virtual cops are expected to be rolled out to all websites registered with Beijing servers, according to the Beijing Public Security Ministry.

Whether this means that the 137 million Chinese who surf the web will be further monitored than they already are is, however, unclear. Clicking on the cops will direct users to the Public Security website. "We will continue to promote new images of the virtual police and update our internet security tips in an effort to make the image of the virtual police more user friendly and more in tune with how web surfers use the internet," it said.

The Chinese Communist Party regards the internet as the devil incarnate and is constantly blocking its people's access to foreign sites, and anything that doesn't float their political or moral boats is banned. Nudity, profanity, illegal gambling, and pirated music, books and film are still, however, available on Chinese internet servers. [Yahoo!]

Three hundred police officers were given access to 50 cameras and body-worn video equipment, which they could strap on during day or night patrols. The visual evidence of crimes meant that it was well-nigh impossible for the perpetrators to get away with it, as was frequently the case. There was less paperwork for the police, less time spent in court, earlier guilty pleas and an increase in convictions.

At the end of the yearlong pilot, arrests for violent crime were up by a massive 85 percent, while the police's detection of violent crime was up by 40 percent. Devon and Cornwall Constabulary, the force which undertook the trial, also claimed to have reduced violent crime by 8 percent.

At the same time as the report was aired, the Home Office published guidance on police proceedures for recorded arrests. Although nothing was mentioned about smiling for the camera and only showing one's best side, it did suggest that the cops notify suspects that their actions are being digitally preserved for posterity (unless it's a covert operation in which case anything goes*).

*That's a joke, by the way.

[Kablenet via The Register]

Text Messages Lands Teacher in Hot Water [USA Today]

Gunshot Sensors Are Giving DC Police Jump on Suspects [via Sci Fi Tech]