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]

Once one of these babies has been attached to a bad guy's car, the fuzz can sit back and watch him run away on their GPS screens, catching him at their leisure. Great for the cops and all the rest of us, but not good for the ratings of local TV newscasts. Guess it's back to covering a cat stuck up a tree for them. The new program, to be tested with just a few cars at first, will go a long way toward eliminating those murderously dangerous high-speed pursuits.

LAPD to test the use of GPS darts to end high speed chases [GPS Reviews and News]