NATIONAL TASER STAKEHOLDERS ADVISORY GROUP (NTSAG)
Taser has been found to be capable of use as a device of torture (United Nations Committee on Torture, 2009)
Taser definition
Taser is the best known brand name for projectile electro shock weapons, or stun guns as they are more commonly known. Tasers are usually yellow and black in colour so that they stand out and can be distinguished from a real gun. Electro shock weapons are controlled by the 1968 Firearms Act (Section 5) and they are prohibited weapons, meaning that it is unlawful for a person (other than a police officer) to be in possession of them.
Tasers work by firing two probes, attached to thin wires on the weapon that carry an electrical current. When both probes make contact with the skin a significant electrical shock is delivered to the person (50,000 volts) which causes ‘neuro-muscular incapacitation’, stopping the muscles from working, as well as causing pain, disorientation and loss of balance. A single discharge of taser should last for 5 seconds, although officers can reactivate the stun effect whilst the probes are still in contact with the person by pressing the trigger again.
Projectile electro shock weapons are designed to be used at a distance from a person, but they can also be used up close. There are seven defined ‘uses’ of taser – drawn (taser is taken out of its holster), aimed (at the person), arced (the officer pulls the trigger which makes the taser visibly spark), red dot (the officer aims a red dot laser on the person), drive-stun and angled drive stun (the officer activates the taser whilst it is directly in contact with the person), and probes fired (the officer fires the taser probes from a distance).