Police Tasers have been drawn and pointed at people in the Waikato nearly 100 times since they were introduced in 2010, and in one out of every five instances they have been fired.

And that number could be set to rise with the firing power of Waikato police almost doubling in the past six months.

Information released by the New Zealand Police under the official information act showed out of the 98 cases where a Taser had been drawn on a person in the Waikato since their introduction in March 2010, they had been fired 18 times.

That was slightly above the national average of one Tasering in every six draws, in total 183 Taserings out of 1145 draws.

In the past six months the number of Tasers available to Waikato police has risen from 41 to 70 Tasers.

Sergeant Craig Scott, head of the Canterbury Taser project, said the increase was part of a national roll-out to have both a Taser and a firearm in every first-response police vehicle.

Check out tomorrow’s Waikato Times to find out who is most likely to be Tasered, what it feels like to be Tasered, and when Tasers are most likely to be put into action.

- © Fairfax NZ News

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