Plastic Bullets - A Reasonable Force?

Abstract

Why do the police need plastic bullets? The police themselves give two reasons. First, plastic bullets keep stone-throwers out of range. Secondly, firing plastic bullets will disperse a crowd. Plastic bullets work by causing pain, or the fear of pain, resulting from the impact of a projectile roughly the same weight as a cricket ball, but travelling twice as fast as a ball thrown by a good fast bowler. According to the Home Office's guidelines, police should fire them only if the Chief Constable judges such an action necessary as a last resort, because of the risk to life or serious injury, or the widespread destruction of property.

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Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
Oct 17, 1985
Accession Number
ADA385684

Entities

People

  • Jonathan Rosenhead

Organizations

  • London School of Economics and Political Science

Tags

Communities of Interest

  • Biomedical
  • Weapons Technologies

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Ammunition
  • Bone Fractures
  • Brain Injuries
  • Death
  • Energy Levels
  • Facial Bones
  • Health Services
  • Hospitals
  • Kinetic Energy
  • Nonlethal Ammunition
  • Public Opinion
  • Riot Control
  • Riots
  • Security
  • Water Cannons
  • Weapons
  • Wounds And Injuries

Readers

  • Educational Psychology
  • Marksmanship and Weaponry.