GARDAI are instructed to use the "Stinger" - the device to stop cars as safely as possible - when they are in a narrow road without bystanders or other traffic.
In the last issue of the Garda Review an article describes how the device was used successfully to stop a stolen car in Portlaoise after an armed robbery earlier this year.
"The Stinger was thrown across the road as the suspect vehicle approached at 80 mph. The car came to a halt 500 yards away, its tyres deflated. The occupants of the car fled the scene through nearby fields," the article said.
Hollow spikes enter the tyres as a car is driven over the Stinger and the air released under control, avoiding the danger of a blow-out. The largest Stinger, a 25-feet long model, costs more than £900. The Garda has purchased the 15-feet model.
The device has not been used by gardai against youths driving stolen vehicles. Last month, Garda authorities said they had not been informed by the Department of Justice that they were entitled to use it in such circumstances.
Following the Easter weekend disturbances in Tallaght, Co Dublin, local gardai said the circumstances were not suitable for the use of the Stinger due to the risk to bystanders. According to the Garda Review, officers who have driven cars over the device in tests report "that while there is no great loss of control . .. the steering becomes unbearably heavy".
It also reports that Greater Manchester Police have made nearly 70 arrests from 40 deployments of the device. "Members of the Garda have already received Stinger training here, from vi siting Surrey police officers."
The manufacturers have told users of a few potential problems. "We have heard of Stinger cases being left behind and run over; officers in the excitement, and the adrenaline running high, treading back onto the spikes (they will do it only once); and deployed units being run over by the chase cars."