ABSTRACT
This chapter introduces electric-shock technologies, including the TASER brand, and some of the myths that have arisen around them, while setting out the aims and structure of the book. It starts by outlining differing views on such weapons and argues that there is a need for more work looking at electric-shock weapons in situ and for more work looking closely at technologies and the impacts associated with them. This is particularly important because debates around use of force are closely connected to broader debates around technologies and technological development: discretion, police subculture, and police accountability. Against this backdrop, the aims of the book are specified and the research methods outlined. Limitations and qualifications of the book are also addressed. In so doing, key terms—such as projectile electric-shock weapons and myths—used in the book are discussed, and I clarify my intention not to formulate a final analysis of whether beliefs around electric-shock weapons constitute myth or reality but, rather, to see them as myths and realities, exploring both their constraints as well as their possibilities and productive capabilities. Finally, the structure of the book is set out and the key arguments made in each of the chapters are outlined.
