An incident in Cincinnati has raised a lot of question and debate about the use of force on a child.

21 News posed that question to some local police departments to try to explain how taser policies are put in place.

Tasers at the center of a serious debate after Cincinnati Police used a taser on an 11-year-old girl accused of stealing from a supermarket.

Each law enforcement agency has its own policy on when to deploy a taser.

While no two policies are exactly the same, there are some common threads.

"What is the severity of the crime? Does the subject pose an immediate threat to officers and/or others? And is the suspect actively resisting or evading arrest?", explained Austintown police lieutenant Tom Collins.

Cincinnati PD justified its use of the tasers through its own policy, saying it's acceptable to use on anyone between the ages of seven to 70.

But Lt. Collins says formulating those policies is done through different means for different agencies.

"The reason they probably came up with that policy is from their own legal department. We adopt our policy for use of a taser through (manufacturer) Taser International. They've expended the resources and the financial backing to test the taser on a multitude of scenarios," Collins said.

Niles Police Captain John Marshall said his department's own taser policy has been thoroughly researched and tweaked through the years.

It suggests uses of force based on things like age, gender, and relative size or strength, but it has its limitations.

"(It) really is based on an incident by incident basis," Capt. Marshall said. "There isn't for us any particular age that's OK or not OK to use force."

Hubbard Township Police Chief Todd Coonce added that the taser policy is pretty much like the policy for an officer or deputy's gun.

The officer or deputy has to record any time he even pulls a taser or gun, even if it isn't deployed.