Stun guns used three times since being introduced

Stun guns were only used three times by the police since they started being given to officers last year, despite concerns that they may be overused.

The police said that in all three cases the weapon was used because a suspect was clearly going to violently resist arrest. An internal circular outlines clearly 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".

Police Sergeant Frans Schembri, an instructor at the police academy, said that if stun guns were used five times a year it would have been "too much".

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.

Nevertheless, people worldwide are still concerned about them being abused.

Just last week, prison warders in Florida, US, were dismissed after deliberately using stun guns on their children when they accompanied them to work. In one case, the children were told to hold hands in a circle before one of them was shocked. No one was injured but the warders behaviour was described as "inexcusable".

kbugeja@timesofmalta.com