Police use stun guns three times

The police were forced to use stun guns three times since their introduction in the second half of last year because suspects were clearly going to be violent.

A police circular outlines the specific circumstances in which stun guns may be used: "The (stun) gun should not be used except in cases of imminent violence by a firearm or any other irregular weapon against a member of the police force or third parties and after all other methods of persuasion fail. Therefore, the (stun) gun should never be used in verbal confrontation".

Stun guns are designed to incapacitate people without injuring them by sending an electric current through their bodies. They use compressed air to shoot two pins that puncture the suspects' body and transmit an electric current that immobilises the person for five seconds.

They also have a microchip, that cannot be tampered with, which records information about the guns' use, including the duration of the shock.

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http://www.timesofmalta.com/articles/view/20090525/local/stun-guns-used-three-times-since-being-introduced