Police rethink shoot to kill policy

[cal04]

Britain's top police officers are reviewing the controversial shoot to kill policy after its first use ended in the gunning down of an innocent man, the Guardian has learned. The review by the Association of Chief Police Officers comes amid a continuing dispute around the Metropolitan police commissioner, Sir Ian Blair, over his handling of the killing of Brazilian Jean Charles de Menezes.
A senior police source and member of Acpo said: "The review is not theoretical, it is looking in great depth." Among the issues to be considered are:

· Whether any other non-lethal weapons exist or are in development that could rapidly incapacitate a suspected suicide bomber
· How much intelligence is needed before officers are authorised to shoot to kill
· How to assess intelligence rapidly when under massive pressure
· How to ensure effective communications between commanders at base and those pursuing a suspect.

The review will also look at the bomb attacks on London on July 7 and 21, seeking to draw lessons from them. The two attacks will also be examined to provide "real-time" scenarios to help develop the best way to implement the policy. In addition it will focus on the lesser-known Operation Clydesdale, which covers tactics on a planned raid against a suicide bombing suspect and which also authorises officers to shoot to to kill.

The policy which claimed Mr de Menezes's life is known as Operation Kratos. Senior officers who support the policy have privately said there is anxiety about whether using the tactic again would result in another innocent being killed.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/attackonlondon/story/0,16132,1552976,00.html

[wli]

1. whitewashing the death squads some more?

No big surprise.

[uppityperson]

2. Able to learn and try something different. Good. Hey Mr.bushhhh

Look and learn. oops, that's right, that's the problem.

[Anarcho-Socialist]

3. Good. A rethink needed to be done

[LeftishBrit]

4. Good

Too late for Menezes, but it may be in time to prevent other unnecessary deaths.

[Briar]

5. So much for that

the police prefer to play judge, jury and executioner (the Mail and its readers will be celebrating):

London police maintain "shoot-to-kill" policy
By Tim Castle

LONDON (Reuters) - London's police force has reviewed its controversial "shoot-to-kill" policy and left it largely unchanged despite the killing of a Brazilian mistaken for a would-be suicide bomber, Scotland Yard said on Saturday.

"We have reviewed it and we have made one or two small changes, but the operation remains essentially the same," a Metropolitan police spokeswoman told Reuters.

The spokeswoman declined to detail the changes, but London police chief Ian Blair said officers would continue to use deadly force to stop possible terror attacks.

"The methods that were used appeared to be the least worst option (for tackling suicide bombers) ... we still have the procedure in use," he told the Daily Mail...

http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20050820/ts_nm/security_britain_police_dc