Tasers in NZ

Tasers were introduced to the New Zealand Police Force in September 1, 2006 by police Commissioner Howard Broad. There was a report that "taser guns have been a valuable addition to their crime fighting arsenal and officers are keen to see them widely deployed." Broad also said that police officers weren't going to be armed at all times with tasers, only during situations in which the offender may become dangerous to the officers. 

Member of Parliament, Chester Burrows had supported the idea of having tasers for the officers to work with saying that "Police were gradually losing their aility to engage in dialogue in tense or hostile situations and Mr Broad admitted that was a concerning trend. Such situations  were becoming more dangerous for police as weapons became more commonplace in the hands of criminals. Fighting with someone now has the added risk". 

But since tasers were only introduced eight years ago, the taser has only been used 180 times. 

There has been a couple of cases where there has been anti-taser campaigners, due to the fact that it may cause death with the electrical shock travelling to the heart or through brain damage, also because of the electrical shock. 

-annie =)