Amnesty International has called for Dutch police to abandon its trial of tasers after it emerged that the devices were used on suspects more than 100 times in 12 months.

Police forces in Rotterdam, Zwolle and Amersfoort have been using the electric shock weapons since last February. A report revealed last week that officers drew their tasers 300 times in total, but in two-thirds of cases did not fire them.

Tasers work by firing electric charges of around 50,000 volts at a suspect from a distance, temporarily disabling them. Police say the danger of serious or permanent injury is minimal, but experts disagree on the risk to the heart.

Amnesty pointed out that in 54 of the 119 cases where the electric charge was used, the officer pressed the taser against the suspect’s body, which gives them a painful electric shock but does not disable tyhem.

The organisation also said that officers used tasers in situations where they were not appropriate, for example when suspects were already handcuffed or detained in cells or solitary confinement in a mental health institution.

‘The weapon should only be used in life-threatening situations or where there is a risk of serious injury, but what we see is that the police use tasers relatively often,’ Amnesty spokesman Gerbrig Klos told NOS.

Police said they took Amnesty’s criticism seriously and were constantly reviewing how tasers were used during the trial.

‘It’s an extremely unpleasant experience, but you need to look at the alternatives we have,’ said acting police chief Willem Woelders. ‘The consequences for a suspect can be far worse if we end up deploying a police dog or firearm.’