Less-lethal Weapons Technology
Knowledge of weaponry is valuable for a forensic examiner in determining the cause of injury. One group of weapons that can be encountered, and which can produce various injuries and wounds, includes those known as less-lethal weapons.
Less-lethal weapons are tools and techniques designed for riot control and other security functions with the intention of neutralizing hostile activity without killing or causing permanent bodily harm. Varieties of less-lethal weapons technology range from batons and beanbag rounds (non-lethal bullets fired from an ordinary or modified rifle or shotgun) to electric Tasers, pepper spray and tear gas, and equipment that emits loud noises, bright lights, or even bad smells.
As early as 1972, a report by the United States National Science Foundation identified no less than 34 varieties of less-lethal weapons technology then in the research or developmental stages. Among these were electrified water jets; stroboscopic light and pulsed sound weapons; infrasound weapons, which would use low-frequency noises inaudible to the human ear; guns for firing drug-filled rounds; "stench darts," which would emit a powerful and unpleasant smell; and a device called an "instant banana peel," designed to make pavement slippery. Less-lethal weapons technology in development at the beginning of the twenty-first century used sticky foam which, when fired at an attacker, made it impossible for that person to move.
Among the most well known of such devices is the M26 Advanced Taser, which can be used to neutralize an individual by means of electric shock. Similarly, electronic riot shields and electro-shock batons also use voltage to neutralize attackers. Manufactured since the mid-1980s, electrified riot shields make use of special plates fitted with metal strips. In the handle of the shield is a button which, when pushed, can send as much as 100,000 volts—twice the capacity of an ordinary Taser—through the metal, an act accompanied by the emission of loud noises and bright sparks.
Numerous varieties of less-lethal weapons are fired from an ordinary rifle or shotgun, or one that has been modified for that purpose. This technology originated with British colonial forces in Hong Kong, who used wooden rounds. Varieties of less lethal ammunition include baton rounds or plastic bullets; wooden bullets; hollow-point rounds; rubber balls; beanbag rounds; and nylon bags filled with lead pellets. All are capable of making a penetrating wound, but more likely result in deep bruising.
Less-lethal weapons technologies also make use of sounds, smells, or light. The basic idea behind such techniques is not new; biblical texts report that prior to attacking the city of Jericho, the Israelites marched around it seven times, shouting and smashing cymbals to intimidate the inhabitants. In World
War II, the U.S. Office of Strategic Services (OSS) issued to its operatives in Asia a "psychological harassing agent" called "Who, Me?" According to an OSS manual, the gas "is to be squirted directly upon the body or clothing of a person a few feet away. The odor is that of Occidental feces, which is extremely offensive. . ."
In the late twentieth century, a British government research project was tasked with developing means of using noxious odors for crowd control in Northern Ireland. Among the items in development, according to a Financial Times report, were chemical compounds intended to produce "transient symptoms of nausea and gagging." The principle is not different from that of tear gas and pepper spray (itself a variety of tear or CS gas), chemicals long used to quell riots or neutralize attackers.
Researchers at U.S. national laboratories are also reportedly in the process of developing various means for using sound and light as weapons. For example, ultra-sound generators, as well as microwave and acoustic disabling systems, may be used to disturb the inner ear, throwing an individual off balance. Another item of future technology is a radiator shell that would use superheated gaseous plasma, or ionized gas, to produce bursts of light.
