Water cannon too dangerous for use in England and Wales
Just days after the PSNI deployed water cannon during disturbances in north Belfast, British home secretary Theresa May has banned the use of the crowd control equipment in England and Wales.
Speaking in Westminster yesterday Ms May told MPs that she had given the matter much thought but would not authorise the use of water cannon for crowd control. Scotland Yard purchased three second-hand Wasserwerfer 9000 water cannon from German police last year at a cost of more than £200,000.
Conservative mayor of London Boris Johnson backed the move even though the policing authority had still not received necessary authorisation from the Home Office.
Ms May told MPs that “medical and scientific evidence suggests” granting police powers to use water cannon “could cause serious harm”.
That is despite water cannon being used for crowd control in Northern Ireland since 2005.
“This country has a proud history of policing by consent and this is a decision which goes to its very heart”, said Ms May.
“Since I became home secretary I have been determined to give the police the powers and tools they need to cut crime and tackle disorder on our streets.
“But where the medical and scientific evidence suggests those powers could cause serious harm, where the operational case is not clear, and where the historic principle of policing by consent could be placed at risk, I will not give my agreement.
“The application for the authorisation of the Wasserwerfer 9000 water cannon does not meet this high threshold”, she added.
Ms May said medical evidence indicated indirect medical risks from their use, including spinal fractures, eye injury and blunt trauma adding that in “areas with a history of social unrest or mistrust of the police water cannon could be entirely counter productive”.
Policing in Scotland is devolved and it’s a matter for the Scottish assembly to decide if water cannon can be used in that jurisdiction.
