Hostname: page-component-78c5997874-mlc7c Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-12T22:31:59.221Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Tasers and psychiatry: some thoughts and observations

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  09 May 2012

John D. Little ,
Ian Hogbin  and
Michaela Burt
John D. Little*
Affiliation:
Bowman Low Secure Unit, Cornwall Partnership Foundation Trust, Bodmin, Cornwall, UK
Ian Hogbin
Affiliation:
Bowman Low Secure Unit, Cornwall Partnership Foundation Trust, Bodmin, Cornwall, UK
Michaela Burt
Affiliation:
Bowman Low Secure Unit, Cornwall Partnership Foundation Trust, Bodmin, Cornwall, UK
*
Correspondence to: Dr John D. Little, Bowman Unit, Cornwall Partnership Foundation Trust, Bodmin, Cornwall, UK. E-mail: [email protected]
Get access

Abstract

Tasers are tools of law enforcement. With their increasing use, Tasers may also be deployed on those occasions where the person is both threatening and mentally ill. This article considers various ethical propositions and describes the ability of psychiatry to minimise the use of physical interventions.

Keywords

Taserpsychiatrylow secure unit
Type
Review Article
Information
Journal of Psychiatric Intensive Care , Volume 9 , Issue 1 , April 2013 , pp. 49 - 55
Copyright
Copyright © NAPICU 2012

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Andrews, C. (1978) The Dark Awakening. London: Cox & Wyman Ltd.Google Scholar
Ball, H.N. (2005) Death in restraint: lessons. Psychiatric Bulletin. 29: 321–323.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Belkin, G.S. (2002) Self-restraint, self-examination: a historical perspective on restraints and ethics in psychiatry. Psychiatric Services. 53: 663–664.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Burti, L., Andreone, N.Mazzi, M. (2004) Reassessing treatment environments after two decades: client and staff perceptions of an Italian community mental health service environment, then and now. Community Mental Health Journal. 40: 199–210.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Busch, A.B.Shore, M.F. (2000) Seclusion and restraint: a review of recent literature. Harvard Review of Psychiatry. 8: 261–270.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
De Wijze, S. (2004) Tragic-remorse – the anguish of dirty hands. Ethical Theory and Moral Practice. 7: 453–471.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Derby, I.M. (1933) Manic-depressive “exhaustion” deaths. The Psychiatric Quarterly. 7: 436–449.Google Scholar
Dix, R. (2008) Restraint and physical intervention. In: M.D. Beer, S. Pereira, C. Paton (eds). Psychiatric Intensive Care. 2nd ed.Cambridge University Press. pp 123–131.Google Scholar
Dix, R.Betteridge, C. (2002) Seclusion. In: M.D. Beer, S. Pereira, C. Paton (eds). Psychiatric Intensive Care. Cambridge University Press.Google Scholar
Donat, D.C. (2005) Special section on seclusion and restraint: encouraging alternatives to seclusion, restraint, and reliance on PRN drugs in a public psychiatric hospital. Psychiatric Services. 56: 1105–1108.Google Scholar
Dvoskin, J.A., Radomski, S.J., Bennett, C., Olin, J.A., Hawkins, R.L., Dotson, L.A.Drewnicky, I.N. (2002) Architectural design of a secure forensic state psychiatric hospital. Behavioral Sciences & the Law. 20: 481–493.Google Scholar
Dworkin, G. (1976) Autonomy and behaviour control. Hastings Center Report. 6: 23–28.Google Scholar
Erwin, C.Philibert, R. (2006) Shocking treatment: the use of tasers in psychiatric care. Journal of Law, Medicine & Ethics. 34: 116–120.Google Scholar
Fish, R.M.Geddes, L.A. (2001) Effects of stun guns and tasers. Lancet. 358: 687–688.Google Scholar
Frueh, B.C., Knapp, R.G., Cusack, K.J., Grubaugh, A.L., Sauvageot, J.A., Cousins, V.C., Yim, E., Robins, C.S., Monnier, J.Hiers, T.G. (2005) Patients’ reports of traumatic or harmful experiences within the psychiatric setting. Psychiatric Services. 56: 1123–1133.Google Scholar
Gordon, H., Harvey, N., Marsden, A.Shivayogi, M. (1999) The use of mechanical restraint in the management of psychiatric patients. Journal of Forensic Psychiatry and Psychology. 10: 173–186.Google Scholar
Gunderson, J. (1978) Defining the therapeutic processes in psychiatric milieus. Psychiatry. 41: 327–335.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Hansen, J.T.Slevin, C. (1996) The implementation of therapeutic community principles in acute care psychiatric hospital settings: an empirical analysis and recommendations to clinicians. Journal of Clinical Psychology. 52: 673–678.Google Scholar
Jenkinson, E., Neeson, C.Bleetman, A. (2006) The relative risk of police use-of-force options: evaluating the potential for deployment of electronic weaponry. Journal of Clinical Forensic Medicine. 13(5), 229–241.Google Scholar
Johnson, M.E.Hauser, P.M. (2001) The practices of expert psychiatric nurses: accompanying the patient to a calmer personal space. Issues in Mental Health Nursing. 22: 651–668.Google Scholar
Kleinig, J. (2007) Ethical constraints on Taser use by police. Policing. 1: 284–292.Google Scholar
Lanza, M.L., Kayne, H.L., Hicks, C.Milner, J. (1994) Environmental characteristics related to patient assault. Issues in Mental Health Nursing. 15: 319–335.Google Scholar
Lebel, J.Goldstein, R. (2005) The economic cost of using restraint and the value added by restraint reduction or elimination. Psychiatric Services. 56: 1109–1114.Google Scholar
Link, M.S.Estes, N.A.M. III III (2008) Cardiac safety of electrical stun guns: letting science and reason advance the debate. Pacing & Clinical Electrophysiology. 31(4): 395–397.Google Scholar
Little, J.D. (1996) Intervention and social breakdown in the elderly. Austalian & New Zealand Journal of Psychiatry. 30: 681–684.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Little, J.D.Burt, M. (2012) Tasers and psychiatry: the use of a Taser in a low secure unit. Journal of Psychiatric Intensive Care. Published online May 2012. doi:10.1017/S1742646412000106.Google Scholar
Mann, S.C., Caroff, S.N., Bleier, H.R., Welz, W.K., Kling, M.A.Hayashida, M. (1986) Lethal catatonia. American Journal of Psychiatry. 143: 1374–1381.Google Scholar
Mistral, W., Hall, A.McKee, P. (2002) Using therapeutic community principles to improve the functioning of a high care psychiatric ward in the UK. International Journal of Mental Health Nursing. 11: 10–17.Google Scholar
Mohr, W.K. (2010) Restraints and the code of ethics: an uneasy fit. Archives of Psychiatric Nursing. 24: 3–14.Google Scholar
Mohr, W.K., Petti, T.A.Mohr, B.D. (2003) Adverse effects associated with physical restraint. Canadian Journal of Psychiatry. 48: 330–337.Google Scholar
New Zealand Police (2008) Operational Evaluation of the NZ Taser Trial: Police Operations Group and the Evaluation Team at Police HQ. Wellington: NZ Police.Google Scholar
O'Connor, S. (1998) An analytic approach in a psychiatric intensive care unit. Psychoanalytic Psychotherapy. 12: 3–15.Google Scholar
Ordog, G., Wasserberger, J., Schlater, T.Balasubramanium, S. (1987) Electronic gun (Taser) injuries. Annals of Emergency Medicine. 16: 73–78.Google Scholar
Pellegrino, E.D. (1998) Emerging ethical issues in palliative care. JAMA. 279: 1521–1522.Google Scholar
Robb, M., Close, B., Furyk, J.Aitken, P. (2009) Review article: emergency department implications of the TASER. Emergency Medicine Australasia. 21: 250–258.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Robins, C.S., Sauvageot, J.A., Cusack, K.J., Suffoletta-Maierle, S.Frueh, B.C. (2005) Consumers’ perceptions of negative experiences and “sanctuary harm” in psychiatric settings. Psychiatric Services. 56: 1134–1138.Google Scholar
Ruttenber, A.J., Lawler-Heavner, J., Yin, M., Wetli, C.V., Hearn, W.L.Mash, D.C. (1997) Fatal excited delirium following cocaine use: epidemiologic findings provide new evidence for mechanisms of cocaine toxicity. Journal of Forensic Science. 42: 25–31.Google Scholar
Rynard, P.Shugarman, D. (eds) (2000) Cruelty and Deception. Broadview Press.Google Scholar
Sclafani, M. (1986) Violence and behaviour control. Journal of Psychosocial Nursing. 24: 8–13.Google Scholar
Sharfstein, S.S. (2008) Commentary: reducing restraint and seclusion: a view from the trenches. Psychiatric Services. 59: 197.Google Scholar
Smith, G.M., Davis, R.H., Bixler, E.O., Lin, H.M., Altenor, A., Altenor, R.J., Hardentstine, B.D.Kopchick, G.A. (2005) Pennsylvania State Hospital system's seclusion and restraint reduction program. Psychiatric Services. 56: 1115–1122.Google Scholar
Strumpf, N.E.Tomes, N. (1993) Restraining the troublesome patient. A historical perspective on a contemporary debate. Nursing History Review. 1: 3–24.Google Scholar
Tarassoff v Regents of the University of California, 551 P.2d 334 (1976).Google Scholar
Taxis, J.C. (2002) Ethics and praxis: alternative strategies to physical restraint and seclusion in a psychiatric setting. Issues in Mental Health Nursing. 23: 157–170.Google Scholar
Vilke, G.M., Sloane, C.M., Suffecool, A., Kolkhorst, F.W., Neuman, T.S., Castillo, E.M.Chan, T.C. (2009) Physiologic effects of the TASER after exercise. Academic Emergency Medicine. 16: 704–710.Google Scholar
White, M.Ready, J. (2009) Examining fatal and nonfatal incidents involving the Taser. Criminology & Public Policy. 8: 865–891.Google Scholar