The police Taser stun guns are being fitted with new prongs to penetrate thicker clothing after a high failure rate.
Police figures show the stun guns, introduced in January last year, had a 25 per cent failure rate because the prongs either missed their targets or failed topenetrate thicker clothing, the Otago Daily Times reported today.
The guns were now being fitted with new cartridges which had longer electric prongs and a greater range.
Tasers are battery powered guns which fire two electric prongs penetrating the skin and delivering a 50,000 volt shock, disabling the offender. Police introduced them as another option for dealing with aggressive offenders, rather than firearms.
The newspaper said police had been using the new Taser guns since January 2010. The guns had been fired 63 times since they were first introduced, failing to work 17 times.
