VICTORIAN police officers trained to respond to serious incidents have used Taser guns in apparent breach of force policy, including on people doused with or near flammable material, according to confidential police records.

The records, obtained under freedom-of-information laws, show police may have also breached protocol by using Tasers on three people in jail cells or interview rooms.

The records detail 83 incidents between 2004 and late 2009 in which police from elite units have used the Taser, a weapon that fires a 50,000-volt barb at a person to temporarily immobilise them, causing immense pain.

The documents show that members of the Critical Incident Response Team and Special Operations Group use Tasers relatively infrequently.

In many cases, they appear to be used as a last resort in volatile situations involving armed, intoxicated or drug-affected people, including known criminals.