Steve Brown, Assistant Police Commissioner of Western Australia, deinies allegations that initiation rituals involving Taser are a part of their culture.

Rockingham police station's senior constable and sergeant have been stood down and charged with full pay after allegedly misusing Tasers in initiation rituals and as modes of punishment.

Another two junior constables have also been relieved from operational duty after being accused of involvement in the misbehavior.

Mr. Brown assures the public the problem is neither extensive nor widespread.

"It's a very small discrete number of people. This behaviour appears at this stage to be contained to within the Rockingham police station, it's not the entire contingent of police there at Rockingham," the Assistant Commissioner said.

Mr. Brown asserts that this behavior is not systemic to police culture.

"In 28 years, I have not experienced in this agency any form of initiation. And I can say pretty much the same for my colleagues. It's something that we are surprised about and that we are taking very seriously," Mr. Brown stated.

Russell Armstrong, president of the Police Union, is lobbying for the involved police officers not to be totally removed from their positions.

"We are disappointed that it's happened. They've let people down, including themselves," the union president said.

"It's an isolated incident, it's not widespread and it's certainly not widespread as part of the wider community of WA Police."

Margaret Quirk, the Opposition's police spokeswoman, says these accusations are stunning just when a recent report came saying that the Tasers were being put to good use by the WA authorities.

"If there is any evidence this is systemic then that is a matter of the gravest concern," she remarked.

However, Ms. Quirk says that it would not be appropriate to restrict the Taser access of the WA police.

"By and large they are used appropriately, so I think we need to wait and see, we shouldn't be throwing the baby out with the bath water," she commented.

Tasers are electroshock weapons developed and made by Taser International. They are considered to be less lethal than fire ammunition weapons like guns, and are mainly used to subdue suspects. Their use is varied depending on the state and territory in Australia.