Nonlethal weapons
Nonlethal weapons are tools designed to incapacitate individuals or manage situations without causing permanent harm or death. Emerging from advancements in technology, these weapons are particularly relevant for law enforcement and correctional facilities, where the goal is to control violent offenders while minimizing severe injury risks. Common examples include batons, beanbag shotguns, water cannons, and various forms of chemical agents like tear gas and pepper spray. These instruments can be effective in both individual altercations and crowd control scenarios.
While categorized as "nonlethal," it's important to note that these weapons can still pose life-threatening risks, especially if misused. As a result, some professionals prefer terms like "less-lethal" to highlight the potential dangers involved. The proper application of nonlethal weapons focuses on avoiding sensitive areas of the body to prevent serious harm. Overall, nonlethal weapons offer a viable solution for law enforcement aiming to balance public safety with the humane treatment of suspects during volatile situations.
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Nonlethal weapons
SIGNIFICANCE: Nonlethal weapons hold out the promise of providing adequate protection to law-enforcement and corrections personnel who need to bring violent offenders under control, while minimizing the chances of killing or seriously injuring the offenders.
Technological advances of the late twentieth and early twenty-first centuries have improved the possibility of stabilizing violent incidents through the employment of nonlethal weapons by law-enforcement personnel. However, even weapons classified as “nonlethal” may have the potential to cause death if used inappropriately. In acknowledgment of that risk, some people in law enforcement prefer to describe such weapons as “less-lethal” or “less-than-lethal.”
Examples of nonlethal weapons are batons, including “billy sticks” and “night stick”; water cannons; beanbag shotguns; plastic and rubber bullets; tear gas and pepper spray dispensers; and stun and laser guns. Batons, pepper spray, and stun and laser guns are most effective in one-on-one and small-scale confrontations. Water cannons, beanbag shotguns, and plastic and rubber bullets can be used in small-scale confrontations and are also effective in controlling crowds. A key to using any of these weapons properly is avoiding directing them against sensitive body parts, especially when using them at close range. A rubber bullet fired into a human chest from a distance of one hundred feet is likely to cause a painful bruise; the same bullet fired into a face at fifty feet might be lethal
A typical scenario in which law-enforcement personnel might employ a nonlethal weapon is stabilizing a domestic dispute involving a knife-wielding man. If the man refuses to surrender his weapon to the police, he would be quickly disarmed by a pepper spray projectile fired into his chest. The pepper spray would cause him such facial irritation that he would instinctively drop his knife to grab his face, allowing police officers to take him into custody safely.
Civil litigation and public pressure have caused criminal justice professionals to seek less dangerous and less intrusive methods to subdue suspects, arrestees, and prison inmates who present potentially dangerous threats. Nonlethal weapons are one answer to the problem. They have the potential of protecting officers and prison guards, while reducing the changes of killing or causing serious injuries to the offenders.
Bibliography
Gillespie, T. T., D. G. Hart, and J. D. Boren. Police Use of Force: A Line Officer’s Guide. Kansas City, Mo.: Varro Press, 1998.
Pate, Anthony, and Lorie A. Fridell. Police Use of Force. 2 vols. Washington, D.C., 1993.
"National Use-of-Force Data Collection." Federal Bureau of Investigation, www.fbi.gov/how-we-can-help-you/more-fbi-services-and-information/ucr/use-of-force. Accessed 8 July 2024.
"Use of Force." Bureau of Justice Statistics, 18 Feb. 2021, bjs.ojp.gov/topics/use-of-force. Accessed 8 July 2024.