The deadly truth about ‘less-lethal’ weapons used in law enforcement

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In print

OCCUPATIONAL HEALTH

The deadly truth about ‘less-lethal’ weapons used in law enforcement

23 September 2020

David McBride

Wednesday 23 September 2020, 12:50 AM

With anti-lockdown and anti-racism protests going on around the world, law enforcement officials are turning to crowd control measures dubbed as “less-lethal”.

Occupational health expert David McBride reviews the history of these weapons and whether they are truly less than lethal

Key points, Wooden and rubber baton rounds have largely been superseded by plastic bullets, sponge grenades (used in New Zealand) and other kinetic impact project, Pract Green w Pale Yellow

Clinical

References

References:

1. Millar R, Rutherford WH, Johnson S, Malhotra VJ. Injuries caused by rubber bullets: a report on 90 patients. Br J Surg 1975;62(6):480–86.

2. Sheridan SM, Whitlock RI. Plastic baton round injuries. Br J Oral Surg 1983;21(4):259–67.

3. Cardwell, H. Sponge bullets fired at Māori in more than half of incidents - police data. 16 July 2020. www.rnz.co.nz

4. Haar RJ, Iacopino V, Ranadive N, et al. Death, injury and disability from kinetic impact projectiles in crowd-control settings: a systematic review. BMJ Open 2017;7:e018154

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