What if? Jersey firearms chief says response will be swift and sure

Thursday 15 September 2016

Who will ever forget the terrorist atrocities in Nice, Paris and London, or the lone gunmen who caused devastation to Hungerford, Cumbria and Dunblane?

In the extremely unlikely event such a tragedy could happen in Jersey, who is there to protect the public?

Jersey has its own firearms unit of around 30 officers, all of whom are fully trained in using guns and Tasers.

In the first of a two-part series, Sgt Dean Machin, Jersey’s chief firearms instructor, says he has nothing but sympathy for the shocking instances of terrorism and mass murder which have happened in recent years.  

“First of all, my first feelings go out to the victims, as anyone’s would in those awful circumstances,” he said. “You think of every police force in the UK and Europe, they are now armed to the teeth, 24/7 and they can’t stop it.

“If you look at Dunblane, it was over in 43 seconds, so it wouldn’t matter how many firearms you had on the street, it was over. Michael Ryan in Hungerford was around an hour and 15 minutes.   

“Basically, we have three levels of threat, they are actual, perceived and postulated, that is the what if? And nine times out of ten we are dealing with a postulated threat, the what if? We cannot afford as a governed state not to respond to that threat.”

Sgt Machin started his career in the police service in the 90s and moved to Jersey in 1997.

“My job primarily to provide the training for the firearms department. I develop the training from the first course to the finished article. It is an eight week course preceded by another week of teaching in the use of Tasers.”

Talk of terrorist atrocities on the streets of Jersey is somewhat ridiculous as we live in one of the safest and most crime-free areas in Europe. Crime figures are actually declining and the statistics tell their own story. 

Sgt Machin and his colleagues have NEVER had to fire a single shot at a human being in Jersey. 

“We have only ever discharged a firearm on three occasions and on those three occasions it was for animal destruction: cows or bulls. 

“The last one happened just over a year ago as a bull got out and was a danger to the public. It nearly trampled a farmer’s son to death. We had no way of anaesthetising the bull quick enough in that situation so we had to discharge.

“We have taken the Taser out of its holster on numerous occasions, but it has never had to be used. When you take it out of the hostler the red dot is placed on someone’s chest, you explain what it is and yet we have never had to use it. 

“We have had the Tasers 18 months now and we are around the 80-use mark, approximately. But four officers may be at an incident meaning the Taser could have been unholstered four times, so there hasn’t been 80 incidents.    

“We will turn up to an incident and declare ourselves as a firearms officer and you would be surprised how many people go, oh, ok, fair enough and that’s the end of the incident. There has been no use of force at all.”

Sgt Machin is one of thankfully very few people who has actually experienced what it is like to be hit by a Taser bolt as he volunteered for it when he was in training with the City of London police. 

“We have stopped that practice now, but back then I volunteered on the basis I thought it was important to know what it feels like and also I could show some empathy and compassion to those who have been Tasered. Actually, at an incident I can even say to people, take it from me, you don’t want this.”

Not surprising, as it discharges 50,000 volts, but it is the number of amps which could cause lasting damage. 

“I think the ampage is only about 0.000042, a really small number. It creates NMI - neuro muscular incapacitation, so you just freeze up and fall over. 

“It wasn’t very nice. You are totally locked up and you fall down, there is nothing you can do about it. However, when it is finished there are no after affects whatsoever.”

Stories of people with weak hearts dying after a Taser hit are ludicrous, according to Sgt Machin. 

“There is absolutely no proven medical evidence that a Taser has caused any long term damage. It has been tested and tested again and it doesn’t have an effect on the heart.”

Sgt Machin's unit is professional and precise, nothing like the gung-ho theatrics you would see in a Bruce Willis movie. 

"No, it's not like that at all. Our job is to protect the person involved in the incident from themselves, protect the general public and protect ourselves."