Pepper Spray, Tazer Guns.... Are they Legal?

The below apps/weapons have been reviewed keeping in mind the following points -

During an attack  you will be in panic unless you have been trained to stay calm.

During an attack your pulse is anywhere between 150 to 190 bpm, with irregular breathing, sending less oxygen to your brain narrowing your peripheral vision, your brain secreting neuro-chemicals that in most cases freeze your muscles (unless trained to respond accurately) and do not allow you to respond.

Now lets review the options available through applications & otherwise available in the market:

Option 1 - Pepper Spray

It is one of the WORST counter offensive you could think of. Here's why -

It takes a min of 4 to 5 seconds for you to take it out of your bag (if you are trained to stay calm) else its 15 to 20 seconds in panic. As shared earlier the neuro-chemicals freeze you.Where you use it is very critical for you and your adversary. If you are in a room or a cab then you dare not use it (specially if its in motion). If you are in open you'll have to first check the direction of the wind before you can use it. You don't want to use it when the wind is against you. A friend once sprayed a very small amount of pepper spray in a room we were and we could't get in till almost a few hours.

I sent many messages to the official Bangalore City Police twitter handle (@cpblr) inquiring if it was legal to use pepper spray. I NEVER got any response.You do not want to take it for granted b'coz the law can be used against you anytime.What i found online in a few places, said -  only the NSG was authorized to use it in some cases. Also - there are 2 kinds of Pepper Spray. One that sprays like a Deo and the other that sprays liquid. Out of the 2 - The liquid is more safe in case you wanna have some spice in your life. (Plz beware. I've experienced a very minute dose of this and my throat infection lasted a few days)

The last thing you need is to inhale the pepper and become an easy victim for your attacker.

Option 2 - Stun Gun aka 'Taser'

IT IS NOT LEGAL in INDIA. In India the use of stun guns are subject to legal restriction. Under the Indian Arms Act only  licensed police officials, NSG can use it under the situation where its use is found reasonable from the perspective of a reasonable officer who at the time was present in the scene. The law also limits the use to any dangerous individual and not those who passively resist arrest.It is also banned in a few states in the USA and some European countries.You could KILL a man; if you give too much of the current in the burst of anger.

Option 3 - Mobile Phone Applications (with or without bluetooth triggers)

We assume the attacker is a novice dumb f*^k. He don't know no technology, no brains, uneducated (dangerous to consider your enemy as such a guy). We also assume that you are kidnapped in a cab (driven out of route) the driver/attacker lets you hold on to your cell phone (any cab driver who gets his bookings by an app, today knows that phones can be and are being tracked). He lets you keep your phone and send repeated distress alerts to your loved ones. We assume there is Full Cell Phone coverage with internet 3G/Edge thought out the city and outskirts where your are being driven. We assume your cell phone is connected to a power bank 24/7 and you never forget to leave home with an uncharged phone or your magic Bluetooth device (watch, band, pendent etc) Most of these apps have similar features. They send your location to your chosen contacts.When your contacts get the info - They must be someone who check their phone every time it beeps. Else they will miss your SOS message. When you trigger an alert, most apps send the location at the time of trigger. So if your cab driver is taking you away from your destination, you'll have to keep sending them alerts at every 30 seconds for them to know which way you are heading. There is no option for live monitoring or tracking in most apps. 

Even before you buy that safety watch or that safety band you'll need to check your cellphone battery life. Leave your GPS and Bluetooth on for an entire day and see how long it lasts. Whatever the time divide it by nearly half as with the device there will be active communication and more battery usesage.When your chosen contacts get your location, they have to be able to get to you in time. With city traffic (in all major cities) jammed at all time, every second of yours with your adversary will count. Its not really as easy as they make it look in advertisements that sell these products. End of the day - The product company won't take any guarantee of your life just because you bought their product.  Most importantly - the trigger devices (watch, band etc) are just triggers. If your attacker gets rid of your phone then all you can do with that watch (nothing against the product in market) is count your last few minutes you have. There are a few apps that are quite innovative, like - they send your distress signal to anyone using that app around you. But I'm not very sure if that really works. 

Again if your movement is not being tracked live, then there is NO USE of that app. By the time help reaches that location, you could be at a different one.

So, trusting your life on only technology that has NO Tactics, is never my choice for my wife, sister or friend. I train my women to build their mind and body as their ultimate weapons. I train them on Personal Security Tactics.

If there are any apps, weapons, or safety devices you want us to review - send us details on cd@armoredspirit.com   or   WhatsApp us on +91 807 368 0835 and we'd love to share our take on them.

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