The relentless rise in the police use of Tasers, the American “electroshock” stun guns, is confirmed with Home Office figures showing they were used more than 5,100 times in England and Wales in the first six months of 2014.

The official figures show that officers fired their Tasers at suspects on 826 of the 5,107 occasions they used them between January and June this year. They used them on a stun setting a further 123 times.

The rapid rise in the use of Tasers by police officers who face violence or the threat of violence is confirmed by a further 13% rise in their use in the past 12 months.

The 5,107 figure for the first six months of this year compares with 4,999 times during the same period in 2013 and 1,297 times in 2009.

Police were ordered to apologise in person last year to a blind man who was Tasered after his white stick was mistaken for a samurai sword.

This week five Greater Manchester police officers requested their identities be kept secret at an inquest into the death of an innocent man who had been Tasered after they were called to a house where he was having a row with a neighbour. The non-lethal stun weapons have been linked to at least 10 deaths in England and Wales over the past decade.

But the Association of Chief Police Officers defended the use of Tasers, saying the officers selected to carry them had a proven track record of policing.

Commander Neil Basu, of Acpo, said the most frequent use of the device was to “red-dot” the suspect, which accounted for 2,636 or 52% of occasions in the latest – while the Taser was only “fired” in 19% of incidents.

“Taser has been utilised to resolve situations where a person has been intent on life-threatening self-harm as well as where a subject has posed a risk to other members of the public or police. Officers are trained to factor in the potential vulnerability of the person and such factors as age and stature when assessing each situation,” said Basu.

“Analysing the figures released today, it has remained the case that Taser use by officers is actually very infrequent. Taser is used on less than 1% of those arrested over a similar period. When Taser-carrying officers attend an incident, it may be drawn, it may even be aimed or the red dot activated, but on 81% of occasions the device is not fired. Its mere presence continues to act as a very effective deterrent.”

Police say the rise in the use of Tasers has been driven by increased Home Office funding, which has enabled 5,500 more stun weapons to be distributed to forces. They add that although the stun gun is powered by 50,000 volts, the energy expended in a single shot is a very low amperage.