Kerre McIvor: Good report card for Taser

Constable Mike Smith falls in pain after being shot with a Taser gun by Sergeant Darrin Putt in a 2006 demonstration of the device. Photo / NZPA

I've always supported the decision to allow the police to use Tasers and the latest stats show they have been worthwhile - for the police and the people they deal with.

Detailed data analysis of Taser use since 2009 shows police are not using them in a cavalier fashion.

A good old-fashioned tussle is still the most common tactic when force is required, followed by handcuffs then pepper spray, with Tasers causing the least harm of all these methods.

I know it's a bit like the choice between crucifixion or stoning offered to captives in The Life of Brian but, on balance, I'd rather have a light Tasering than a well-trained, sharp-fanged, 35kg German Shepherd coming at me.

It would be a lot easier to recover from 50,000 volts coursing through you for a couple of seconds than it would be from being gnawed by a furious police dog. Besides, according to the data, it's not the Tasering that has caused injuries; it's the falling to the ground.

There were 31 Taser-related injuries since March 2010, half of those moderate and not requiring attention. That covers grazes and scrapes like those your kid might get if they tripped over. Three people were "severely" injured and taken to hospital, the most serious injury being a broken arm.

Those people who were dead against the introduction of Tasers must be reassured by this data. Not only do Tasers help protect police, they also appear to save the skin of irrational, ranting individuals facing off against police.

Before Tasers were introduced, police could bellow until they were blue in the face that people needed to drop weapons and put up their hands. It might take hours to end a standoff. Now, when the red dot of a Taser plays over their body, an offender's attention is immediately captured.

"Ohhhhh. Hang on, wait. Now I get it. This weapon down. My hands in the air. Gotcha."

Everyone lives to see another day.

According to the stats, Tasers have been shown 2646 times, and discharged in only 13 per cent of those cases.

So all indications are that this is a very useful tool.

Some opponents to Tasers will never be happy. Veteran activist John Minto reckons it's only a matter of time before someone is killed by Tasers. He wants their use limited to the armed offenders squad.

However, the release of these statistics shows police aren't using stun guns as their weapons of first resort.

And it's also worthwhile mentioning that of the millions of face-to-face interactions the police have with the New Zealand public, less than 1 per cent of those encounters ends with police having to use force.

In spite of all the bad news headlines, the New Zealand Police really are a service and not a force.