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A northern California police department is adding an unlikely weapon to its arsenal to make the fight against crime safer for both officers and those being apprehended.

The police department in Anderson, a town of about 10,000 people roughly 240 kilometres north of Sacramento, is equipping 20 of its officers with nunchaku sticks, also known as nunchucks, to help take down suspects.

“It gives us the ability to control a suspect instead of striking them,” Sgt. Casey Day told the Los Angeles Times.

Day, a 15-year police veteran, said the department was looking for a non-lethal weapon that would limit injuries to officers when making an arrest while still being effective in subduing a suspect.

“I see the value and the safety they bring to me,” he said, adding that he has since given up his police baton.

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Officers with the force will not be required to use the martial arts weapon but if they do, they will be required to pass a 16-hour course.

Orcutt Police Defensive Systems Inc., the nunchakus’ manufacturer, said on its website the non-lethal weapon offers several advantages as it is both lightweight, versatile and a reduces an officers exposure to “bloodborne pathogens” by preventing direct contact with the subject during an arrest. Nunchucks can also reduce the need for excessive use of Tasers, the company said.