A new law aims to allow environmental inspectors to carry non-lethal weapons like gas cannisters and batons, amid a surge in organized crime relating to the environment.
Under the proposed Ministry of Climate plan, all inspectors would be allowed to carry, and where needed, use, non-lethal weapons such as telescopic batons, in self-defense. Officials who weren’t already authorized to use handcuffs would be granted it.
The risks, according to the climate ministry official, are not just theoretical.
“Often, supervision work has to be done around the clock, at night, in unfamiliar places and strange situations, and you never know who you might encounter or what their motives are,” said Timo Kark, head of the biodiversity protection department at the Ministry of Climate.
“There have certainly been real physical confrontations in the past, where there was actual physical contact or where firearms were used during a pursuit — for example, shots fired into the air. These are real incidents, and it is reasonable to prevent them,” Kark said.
Read more: ERR.EE
