Tasers used more often in Bay of Plenty police district, but small number of serious injuries

Police in the Bay of Plenty district used their Tasers more often than other police districts last year but serious injuries were rare . Photo / File

A recent police report shows Tasers were used more often by police officers in the Bay of Plenty district last year than any other district in the country.

The 2017 NZ Police Tactical Options Research Report said Tasers were deployed 1189 times across the country last year, including 169 times in the Bay of Plenty police district - the highest number of uses across each of the 12 police districts.

The police districts with the next highest levels of Taser use were Central District (141), Wellington (132) and Auckland (123).

During most incidents that use was "show only", meaning the weapon was presented but not discharged.

Bay of Plenty police officers drew their Tasers 143 times in 2017, including laser painting 105 alleged offenders, again the highest number of times in the country.

Of the 26 times the Tasers were discharged, 25 were the use of the taser with probes and one was a contact stun incident.

Of the 22 people who were injured by Taser discharges nationwide, two were from the Bay of Plenty district. One was moderately injured and the other seriously injured.

Eleven Bay of Plenty officers were also injured during taser-related incidents, including two who were moderately injured and one who was seriously injured.

Bay of Plenty police operations support manager Inspector Kevin Taylor said in a statement Bay of Plenty Police had invested heavily in tactical communication training to give staff more tools to resolve difficult situations.

"The fact that in the vast majority of situations in which a Taser is deployed are resolved without the Taser being used on a subject shows the worth of this tactical option," he said.

Taylor said just showing a Taser helped to de-escalate potentially volatile or violent situations.

Taser-related injuries were "very low", Taylor said, accounting for only 3 per cent of injuries nationally.

He said there had been no complaints to the Independent Police Complaints Authority relating to Taser use by Bay of Plenty police in 2017.

NZ Police Association president Chris Cahill said Tasers were an "invaluable tool" to help keep the public and police officers safe.

"They have prevented many more serious assaults that could have occurred, and are an option for dealing with offenders which, in general, does not risk serious injury to any offender or the officer involved. "

2017 Taser events ranked by highest number of uses for each police district

Bay of Plenty: 169, 26 discharges
Central: 141, 16 discharges
Wellington: 132, 26 discharges
Auckland city: 123, 27 discharges
Canterbury: 118, 16 discharges
Waikato: 94, 16 discharges
Counties Manukau: 79, 13 discharges
Waitemata: 78, 25 discharges
Eastern: 71, 9 discharges
Tasman: 69, 1 discharge
Southern: 68, 5 discharge
Northland: 47, 4 discharges