DOCSLIB.ORG

Death, Injury and Disability from Kinetic Impact Projectiles in Crowd- Control Settings: a Systematic Review

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
Death, Injury and Disability from Kinetic Impact Projectiles in Crowd- Control Settings: a Systematic Review Open Access Research Death, injury and disability from kinetic impact projectiles in crowd- control settings: a systematic review Rohini J Haar,1 Vincent Iacopino,2 Nikhil Ranadive,3 Madhavi Dandu,4 Sheri D Weiser5 To cite: Haar RJ, Iacopino V, ABSTRACT Strengths and limitations of this study Ranadive N, et al. Death, Objective We conducted a systematic review of the injury and disability from available literature on deaths, injuries and permanent ► The review methodology incorporates all published kinetic impact projectiles disability from rubber and plastic bullets, as well as from in crowd-control settings: a and relevant information on various types of kinetic bean bag rounds, shot pellets and other projectiles used in systematic review. BMJ Open impact projectiles (KIPs) including rubber and plastic arrests, protests and other contexts from 1 January 1990 2017;7:e018154. doi:10.1136/ bullets and shotgun pellets. until 1 June 2017. bmjopen-2017-018154 ► The review allows understanding of the range of Data sources PubMed, Scopus, JSTOR and grey injuries and disabilities, these weapons can cause ► Prepublication history for literature. in myriad contexts. this paper is available online. Data synthesis We report on descriptive statistics as To view these files, please visit ► The review is limited by the limited quality and well as data on injury severity, permanent disability and the journal online (http:// dx. doi. number of published data on injuries secondary to death. We analysed potential risk factors for injury severity, org/ 10. 1136/ bmjopen- 2017- KIPs. including the site of impact, firing distance and access to 018154). ► Meta-analysis of the data is not possible secondary medical care. to the heterogeneity of the studies. Received 8 June 2017 Results Of 3228 identified articles, 26 articles met Revised 22 September 2017 inclusion criteria. These articles included injury data on Accepted 28 September 2017 1984 people, 53 of whom died as a result of their injuries. 300 people suffered permanent disability. Deaths and the unnecessary and disproportionate use permanent disability often resulted from strikes to the of force.3–5 Such use of force often involves head and neck (49.1% of deaths and 82.6% of permanent crowd-control weapons (CCWs) that cause disabilities). Of the 2135 injuries in those who survived preventable injury, disability and death. their injuries, 71% were severe, injuries to the skin and to the extremities were most frequent. Anatomical site of Kinetic impact projectiles (KIPs), impact, firing distance and timely access to medical care commonly called rubber or plastic bullets, were correlated with injury severity and risk of disability. are CCWs that are designed to incapacitate Conclusions Kinetic impact projectiles (KIPs), often individuals by inflicting pain or sublethal called rubber or plastic bullets, are used commonly in injury. Some KIPs target an individual with a crowd-control settings. We find that these projectiles have single projectile, while others target a group caused significant morbidity and mortality during the past by scattering multiple projectiles.6–8 Manu- 27 years, much of it from penetrative injuries and head, facturers produce more than 75 different neck and torso trauma. Given their inherent inaccuracy, 1School of Public Health, types of bullets and launchers in many coun- potential for misuse and associated health consequences Division of Epidemiology, tries, including Brazil, China, Israel, South of severe injury, disability and death, KIPs do not appear University of California, Berkeley, Africa, South Korea and the USA,9 10 and are California, USA to be appropriate weapons for use in crowd-control 2 marketed to military, police and private secu- Physicians for Human Rights, settings. There is an urgent need to establish international 11 New York, New York, USA guidelines on the use of crowd-control weapons to prevent rity forces throughout the world. Despite 3Emory University School of unnecessary injuries and deaths. the widespread use of KIPs and the numerous Medicine, Atlanta, Georgia, USA types available, there is limited regulation 4Department of Medicine, of the development of these weapons and University of California, San limited public information provided by Francisco, California, USA 5 BACKGROUND manufacturers on their design and guidelines Division of HIV, ID and 12 13 Global Medicine, Department In recent years, there has been significant for use. of Medicine, University of attention to the number of popular protests All projectile weapons function by trans- California, San Francisco, challenging governments and other powerful ferring kinetic energy from a weapon California, USA actors.1 2 In many cases, police and security into the body of an individual. Ballis- Correspondence to forces have responded in ways that funda- tics data indicate that denser objects and Dr Rohini J Haar; mentally undermine freedom of peaceful faster projectile speeds increase the force rohinihaar@ berkeley. edu assembly and often lead to escalation through of impact.14 KIPs have a wide range of Haar RJ, et al. BMJ Open 2017;7:e018154. doi:10.1136/bmjopen-2017-018154 1 Open Access variables that can impact injury patterns and severity, Table 1 Search terms including the material composition, shape, number, muzzle velocity (projectile speed exiting the weapon) area round less-lethal ballistics and flight path of projectiles, the firing distance and attenuated energy projectiles nonlethal gun the location of impact on the body.15 It is important ballistics and injuries nonlethal projectiles to note that many KIPs have muzzle velocities equal to baton rounds peacekeeper bullet those of live ammunition. Most KIPs are designed with bean bag rounds pepper ball a large surface area to produce a rapid loss of speed bird shot plastic bullets during flight and reduce the chance of skin pene- tration, but this also results in unpredictable flight blunt force rounds projectile round paths and reduced accuracy.16 Newer weapons include buck shot protest projectiles with a hard outer shell coating, tear gas or bullets protest bullet pepper spray that explodes on impact, and ‘attenuated civil disturbance riot energy projectiles’ with hollow tips to limit the risk of crowd control riot control ricochet or penetration.17 KIPs can cause blunt and penetrative injuries, crowd control munition rubber ball ranging from localised contusions to severe organ crowd control projectiles rubber bullets damage and death.18–20 While there has been much deaths AND protest rubber coated bullets recent media attention globally on the significant extended range impact weapons shotgun 21–28 dangers of misusing these weapons, efforts to Flash ball sponge bullet provide systemic documentation on injuries is limited foam bullet sponge rounds for a number of reasons. There are limited regulations on the development of weapons, and manufacturers foam coated bullet Sting ball are not required to keep records on injuries from their injuries AND protest wooden bullets products in development, field trials or actual use,17 In kinetic impact projectiles most countries, there is no legal requirement for law enforcement to collect data on injuries from KIPs.11 Though police may record related deaths, these data METHODS are often not publicly available or complete.29 Simi- Search strategy larly, military data on both international and domestic We conducted a systematic review in accordance with the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and use of these weapons is confidential. There is often 33 limited communication between the healthcare Meta-Analyses guidelines. We searched JSTOR, PubMed providers who treat and manage injuries and police and Scopus using search terms cross-referenced with who typically use the weapons.30 While non-govern- the MeSH database without any language restrictions. mental organisations and human rights groups may We included varied terminology for ‘rubber bullets,’ report injuries or deaths in specific incidents, they ‘plastic bullets,’ ‘bean bag rounds,’ ‘baton rounds’ and have not established surveillance mechanisms to other projectiles used in crowd-control and other settings 11 31 around the world (see table 1). systematically collect injury data. In addition, most of the medical literature on KIPs is sourced in case Study selection 32 reports and case series. Retrospective cohort studies Given the paucity of literature on KIP injuries, we and prospective studies have been conducted but have designed a broad search strategy to identify all potential been limited to specific locations and time frames literature on KIP-related injuries. We included studies and by challenges in developing adequate studies of that documented injuries, deaths or other health conse- weapons injuries in potentially volatile and politically quences of KIPs on any human participants and that were difficult conditions. published between 1 January 1990 and 1 June 2017. In Given the limited knowledge of the health conse- addition to civilian protestors, we included other indi- quences of KIPs, we undertook a systematic review of viduals who may have had exposure to KIPs, including the literature to evaluate the morbidity and mortality sports fans, police officers and prisoners. We included associated with these weapons. We assessed injury all contexts, including peaceful demonstrations, riots, type and severity as well as potential exacerbating and sporting events, prison uprisings, arrests and accidental
Load more

Recommended publications
  • Two Days in Palestine,’ Was Written in April 1989, Soon After a Brief Trip to the Occupied Territories with Some Colleagues
    Note The following essay, ‘Two Days in Palestine,’ was written in April 1989, soon after a brief trip to the occupied territories with some colleagues. It was published in two parts in the August 1989 (pp. 11–18) and September 1989 (pp. 21–27, 36) issues of The Message International (New York), the monthly magazine published by the Islamic Circle of North America (ICNA). The editors, in their wisdom, changed the title to ‘In the Eye of the Intifada, A Muslim’s Journey to the Land of Oppression;’ they also added pictures and inserts of their own. Here is the original text, with some minor corrections. The first Intifada began in December 1987 and is generally considered to have continued till the signing of the Oslo Accords in September 1993. During that time Israeli security forces killed 1070 Palestinians in the Occupied Territories (including East Jerusalem), including 237 minors; in addition 54 Palestinians, including 13 minors were killed by Israeli civilians. The Israeli casualties at the hands of the Palestinians during the same time were 47 civilians, including 3 minors, and 43 army personnel. (Source: B'tSelem, the Israeli Information Center for Human Rights in the Occupied Territories. <<http://www.btselem.org/english/statistics/first_Intifada_ Tables.asp>> as viewed on 10 April 2009.) (April 2009) 1 C. M. Naim Two Days In Palestine Introduction There were six of us in the group: five academics from the University of Chicago and one lawyer. Five males and one female. One of us was a devout Catholic, three claimed Islam as their religion, while the remaining two identified with Judaism.
    [Show full text]
  • 7.62×51Mm NATO 1 7.62×51Mm NATO
    7.62×51mm NATO 1 7.62×51mm NATO 7.62×51mm NATO 7.62×51mm NATO rounds compared to AA (LR6) battery. Type Rifle Place of origin United States Service history In service 1954–present Used by United States, NATO, others. Wars Vietnam War, Falklands Conflict, The Troubles, Gulf War, War in Afghanistan, Iraq War, Libyan civil war, among other conflicts Specifications Parent case .308 Winchester (derived from the .300 Savage) Case type Rimless, Bottleneck Bullet diameter 7.82 mm (0.308 in) Neck diameter 8.77 mm (0.345 in) Shoulder diameter 11.53 mm (0.454 in) Base diameter 11.94 mm (0.470 in) Rim diameter 12.01 mm (0.473 in) Rim thickness 1.27 mm (0.050 in) Case length 51.18 mm (2.015 in) Overall length 69.85 mm (2.750 in) Rifling twist 1:12" Primer type Large Rifle Maximum pressure 415 MPa (60,200 psi) Ballistic performance Bullet weight/type Velocity Energy 9.53 g (147 gr) M80 FMJ 833.0 m/s (2,733 ft/s) 3,304 J (2,437 ft·lbf) 11.34 g (175 gr) M118 Long 786.4 m/s (2,580 ft/s) 3,506 J (2,586 ft·lbf) Range BTHP Test barrel length: 24" [1] [2] Source(s): M80: Slickguns, M118 Long Range: US Armorment 7.62×51mm NATO 2 The 7.62×51mm NATO (official NATO nomenclature 7.62 NATO) is a rifle cartridge developed in the 1950s as a standard for small arms among NATO countries. It should not to be confused with the similarly named Russian 7.62×54mmR cartridge.
    [Show full text]
  • An Assessment of Crowd Control Technology Options for the European Union(
    )Crowd Control Technologies : An Assessment Of Crowd Control Technology Options For The European Union( (An Appraisal of the Technologies of Political Control) (EP/1/1V/B/STOA/99/14/01) SECTION C TECHNICAL ANNEX The Omega Foundation. May 2000. Appendix 1 : 1 Table of Contents SECTION C: TECHNICAL ANNEX Appendix 1. Manufacturers, Suppliers or Distributers of Crowd Control products 1990-2000. Appendix 2. >Less-than-Lethal= Weapon Survey. Appendix 3. Tabular Summary of >Less Lethal= weapons and technologies Appendix 4. 2nd Generation >Less Lethal= Weapons Appendix 5. Countries deploying Chemical Irritant Weapons and Selected Injuries and Deaths Associated with deployment. Appendix 6. Use of >Less Lethal= technologies in Conjunction with Lethal firearms. Appendix 7. Worldwide deployment of Crowd Control Weapons. 1990-2000. Appendix 8. European Inventory of Crowd Control Technologies. Appendix 1 : 2 APPENDIX 1 SUMMARY TABLE (BY REGION) OF MANUFACTURERS, SUPPLIERS OR DISTRIBUTERS OF CROWD CONTROL PRODUCTS. 1990 - 2000. Chemical Kinetic Water Stun Electro- Irritants Weapons Cannon grenade shock s weapons Europe 88 61 19 22 30 Central / 7 9 - 5 6 East Europe Africa 10 6 2 1 3 Asia / 27 14 1 6 24 Pacific Latin 12 4 - 2 9 America Middle East 11 10 7 2 9 North 113 57 14 16 42 America Notes: (1) These figures are extracted from the larger table shown below. The data for this table comes from company information held by the Omega Foundation database on worldwide MSP (Military, Security, Police) products and services. The database is regularly updated but these figures should be taken as indicative only. They are not totally comprehensive and can not represent the true scale of the industry sectors identified.
    [Show full text]
  • Plastic Justice a Report on the Use of Plastic and Rubber Bullets in Ireland
    Plastic Justice A Report on the use of Plastic and Rubber Bullets in Ireland FRANCIS ROWNTREE JULIE LIVINGSTONE MICHAEL DONNELLY TOBIAS MOLLOY THOMAS FRIEL STEPHEN GEDDIS BRIAN STEWART PAUL WHITTERS CAROL ANN KELLY HARRY DUFFY NORA MCCABE PETER DOHERTY PETER MCGUINESS STEPHEN MCCONOMY JOHN DOWNES KEITH WHITE SEAMUS DUFFY FRANCIS ROWNTREE JULIE LIVINGSTONE MICHAEL DONNELLY TOBIAS MOLLOY THOMAS FRIEL STEPHEN GEDDIS BRIAN STEWART PAUL WHITTERS CAROL ANN KELLY HARRY DUFFY NORA MCCABE PETER DOHERTY PETER MCGUINESS STEPHEN MCCONOMY JOHN DOWNES KEITH WHITE SEAMUS DUFFY FRANCIS ROWNTREE JULIE LIVINGSTONE MICHAEL DONNELLY TOBIAS MOLLOY THOMAS FRIEL STEPHEN GEDDIS BRIAN STEWART PAUL WHITTERS CAROL ANN KELLY HARRY DUFFY NORA MCCABE PETER DOHERTY PETER MCGUINESS STEPHEN MCCONOMY JOHN DOWNES KEITH WHITE SEAMUS DUFFY FRANCIS ROWNTREE JULIE LIVINGSTONE MICHAEL DONNELLY TOBIAS MOLLOY THOMAS FRIEL STEPHEN GEDDIS BRIAN STEWART PAUL WHITTERS CAROL ANN KELLY HARRY DUFFY NORA MCCABE PETER DOHERTY PETER MCGUINESS STEPHEN MCCONOMY JOHN DOWNES KEITH WHITE SEAMUS DUFFY The untold stories of Relatives, Victims and Survivors PLASTIC JUSTICE: A REPORT ON THE USE OF PLASTIC AND RUBBER BULLETS IN IRELAND Plastic Justice A Report on the use of Plastic and Rubber Bullets 1 in Ireland FraNCIS ROWNTREE JULIE LIVINGSTONE MICHAEL DONNELLY TOBIAS MOLLOY THOmaS FRIEL STEPHEN GEDDIS BRIAN STEWART PaUL WHITTERS CarOL ANN KELLY HARRY DUFFY NOra MCCaBE PETER DOHERTY PETER MCGUINESS STEPHEN MCCONOMY JOHN DOWNES KEITH WHITE SEamUS DUFFY FraNCIS ROWNTREE JULIE LIVINGSTONE MICHAEL
    [Show full text]
  • The Meaning of Motherhood During the First Intifada: 1987-1993.” the Dissertation Will First Examine the Symbolism of Gender in the Language of Nationalism
    The Meaning of Motherhood during the First Intifada: 1987-1993 Kanako Mabuchi St. Antony’s College, University of Oxford Trinity Term 2003 M.Phil Thesis in Modern Middle Eastern Studies Acknowledgements If there was a “Thank You Bank,” my account has been wiped out and is clearly in a state of overdraft. I owe my largest debt to my supervisor, Dr. Walter Armbrust, who had to read everything from my “Very Very Rough Draft” I came up with in January to this final product. His thorough comments, relaxed manner and comfort of knowing that he would always be there in times of crisis are the recipe for a great supervisor. Much thanks and love is long overdue to Ross, who had to listen AND rightly respond to all my dissertation-related tantrums and sulks. Many more thanks to Dr. Eugene Rogan for setting straight all the rumors concerning dissertation-writing that circulated like Chinese whispers, to Mr. Ron Nettler for all his concerns and encouragements (especially the one about having a first draft by the end of last summer), and to Dr. Dawn Chatty for pointing me to the right direction. Last but by no means least, I am greatly indebted to all the people who have found the time to share their experiences, thoughts and feelings with me: Khalid, Dr. Hala Salem Abuateya, Nedaa and the Qato family. They truly made my dissertation a special experience for me. 2 Table of Contents ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS.............................................................................................................2 TABLE OF CONTENTS.................................................................................................................3
    [Show full text]
  • Msfi/CENTRAL
    00972B6777699 P.02/08 22-PIPR-2002 16:31 CDM-GEN'S OFFICE LJNRUJPi HQ UNITED NATIONS NATIONS U N I ES RELIEF AND WORKS AGENCY FOR OFFICE DE SECOURS ET DE TRAVAUX POUR UES PALESTINE REFUGEES IN THE NEAR EAST REFUGIES DE PALESTINE DANS LE PROCHE-ORIENT Postal Address: Vienna International Centre Tel: (+972-8)6777700 P.O. Box: 700 A-1400 Vienna -Austria Or 0 c/o HQ Amman ^-Fax: (+S72-S) 677 7707 P.O.Box 140157 I UNRWA Headquarters (+972-8) 677 7699 Amman 11814 - Jordan 5aza 22 April 2002 Dear Mr. Secretary-General, I assume you will be faced with a great many questions about the humanitarian situation in the Occupied Territories and, the UN's role in dealing with them, and the obstacles we are facing. I am aware that the report that I asked to be prepared for you is quite long but I nevertheless forward it to you in case you can find the time to peruse it - there is no substitute for telling detail. With best wishes, Yours sincerely Peter Hansen Mr. Kofi Annan Secretary-General United Nations New York, NY 5 2002 msfi/CENTRAL 22/04 '02 MON 10:26 [TX/RX NO 7612] 0002 22-OPR-2002 16=31 COM-GEN'S OFFICE UNRLJfl HQ 00972S6777699 P.03/08 Overview of the humanitarian situation in the occupied Palestinian territory: I September 2000 - April 2002 21 April 2002 UNRWA: Information on the situation in the Gaza Strip and the West Bank I. Deaths and injuries during the intifada Palestinian, deaths and injuries' Palestinian deaths (29 September 2000 - 26 March 2002): 1, 253 Palestinian injuries (29 September 2000 - 26 March 2002): 18, 547 Injury breakdown
    [Show full text]
  • Severe Eye Injury As a Result of the Shooting of an Elastic Bullet of a 12-Gauge Cartridge "Teren- 12P" - Case Study
    Sapielkin Viktor, Pletenetska Alina. Severe eye injury as a result of the shooting of an elastic bullet of a 12-gauge cartridge "Teren- 12P" - case study. Journal of Education, Health and Sport. 2020;10(10):42-50. eISSN 2391-8306. DOI http://dx.doi.org/10.12775/JEHS.2020.10.10.004 https://apcz.umk.pl/czasopisma/index.php/JEHS/article/view/JEHS.2020.10.10.004 https://zenodo.org/record/4079433 The journal has had 5 points in Ministry of Science and Higher Education parametric evaluation. § 8. 2) and § 12. 1. 2) 22.02.2019. © The Authors 2020; This article is published with open access at Licensee Open Journal Systems of Nicolaus Copernicus University in Torun, Poland Open Access. This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Noncommercial License which permits any noncommercial use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author (s) and source are credited. This is an open access article licensed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Non commercial license Share alike. (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/) which permits unrestricted, non commercial use, distribution and reproduction in any medium, provided the work is properly cited. The authors declare that there is no conflict of interests regarding the publication of this paper. Received: 09.09.2020. Revised: 22.09.2020. Accepted: 09.10.2020. SEVERE EYE INJURY AS A RESULT OF THE SHOOTING OF AN ELASTIC BULLET OF A 12-GAUGE CARTRIDGE "TEREN-12P" - CASE STUDY Viktor Sapielkin1, Alina Pletenetska2 1Kharkiv
    [Show full text]
  • Two Irelands.Indd
    REPORTING TWO IRELANDS Bus With CCSU Students A Target For Paint Attack Eight CCSU journalism students embark on a journey to Northern Ireland and the Republic. ANALISA NOVAK DILLON MEEHAN BY RUTH BRUNO Among the many we visited was Michael Gallagher, Micheál Smith of the Pat Finucane Center, which seeks who lost his 21-year-old son, Aiden, in a car bombing in to bring justice to the victims and survivors of terrorist The bus was filled with CCSU journalism, history and ollowing our Spring 2016 trip to Cuba, the Central 1998 in which 29 people were killed. and para-military organizations made up of both Irish sociology students. Connecticut journalism department began We shuffled into a meetinghouse in Omagh where Catholic, Republicans and Protestants loyal to the reigning preparations to return to the sun-kissed island to Gallagher discussed the attack made by a splinter group Great Britain throne. BY DILLON MEEHAN Freport on the unfolding United States – Cuba relationship. from the Irish Republic Army which opposed the IRA’s With Brexit threatening to tear Northern Ireland We had landed on the pulse of one of the biggest efforts to enter into peaceful negotiations with Great apart once again, the world will be watching to see if the hile driving on the A6 coming back international headlines when we covered the repeal of the Britain, Protestant loyalists and their respective violent Good Friday Agreement will hold. But many fear that from Belfast, the bus containing CCSU long-standing embargo two years ago and were rearing for groups. along with the United Kingdom’s decision to overrule students was struck by paint from a follow-up stories.
    [Show full text]
  • "Death Foretold: Firing of "Rubber" Bullets to Disperse
    מרכז המידע הישראלי לזכויות האדם בשטחים )ע.ר.( B’Tselem – The Israeli Information Center for Human Rights in the Occupied Territories Information Sheet, December 1998 DEATH FORETOLD Firing of "Rubber" Bullets to Disperse Demonstrations in the Occupied Territories Researched and written by Iris Giller Fieldwork by Fuad Abu-Hamed, and Bassem 'Eid Translated by Zvi Shulman Graphic design by Dina Sher Introduction The Israeli security forces' arsenal of means to disperse demonstrations in the Occupied Territories includes the use of "rubber" bullets. These bullets are steel covered with a thin rubber coat. Their use to disperse demonstrations is based on the perception held by security officials that "rubber" bullets are less lethal than live ammunition, and are, therefore, an appropriate means where security forces or other persons are not in life-threatening situations. Furthermore, the Open-Fire Regulations contain several rules restricting the use of rubber-coated steel bullets, the declared objective being to prevent unregulated firing at demonstrators, which is liable to cause serous bodily injury or death. According to B'Tselem's figures, from January 1988 to the end of November 1998, at least fifty-eight Palestinians were killed by rubber-coated steel bullets. This figure includes twenty-eight children under seventeen, of whom thirteen were under the age of thirteen. Since 13 September 1993, when Israel and the Palestinian Liberation Organization signed the Declaration of Principles, rubber ammunition has killed at least sixteen Palestinians, seven of them under the age of seventeen.1 This report will examine the Israeli security forces' use of "rubber" ammunition in the Occupied Territories in light of the high number of persons killed.
    [Show full text]
  • Is Use of Rubber Bullets Justified? M Mir, U Malik, M Buch, H Wani
    The Internet Journal of Surgery ISPUB.COM Volume 29 Number 1 Is Use Of Rubber Bullets Justified? M Mir, U Malik, M Buch, H Wani Citation M Mir, U Malik, M Buch, H Wani. Is Use Of Rubber Bullets Justified?. The Internet Journal of Surgery. 2013 Volume 29 Number 1. Abstract Background: The study has been conducted with the aim to assess the severity of trauma in patients injured with rubber bullets.Methods : This prospective study included 64 consecutive patients of rubber bullet injury who reported to the surgical department of this hospital over a period of three years. After detailed history and clinical examination, hemodynamically stable patients were subjected to investigations and unstable ones were operated. Data collected was tabulated and subjected to appropriate statistical analysis.Results: Urban male teenagers were the most common individuals injured by rubber bullets during the riots or protests in the Indian Administered Kashmir valley. The limbs were the most common and less severely injured sites (38 patients; 59.375%), while the head and neck region was least commonly and most severely injured (4 cases; 6.25%). The mortality observed was 1.563%, which was due to carotid artery injury. The colon and the small gut were the most common hollow viscera injured with 8 cases (12.5%) each and the kidneys and the liver were the most commonly injured solid viscera with 6 cases (9.375%) each.Conclusion: The use of rubber bullets is unjustified for controlling mobs or protestors and law enforcement authorities should use other less lethal means. INTRODUCTION (composition), ballistic properties (velocity) and size (cross- Currently, mob control is enforced by trained police or sectional area) in order to reduce the likelihood of skin military and paramilitary forces by using less lethal penetration.
    [Show full text]
  • Baton Rounds
    BATON ROUNDS A review of the human rights implications of the introduction and use of the L21A1 baton round in Northern Ireland and proposed alternatives to the baton round by the Omega Foundation ISBN: 1 903681 33 2 Published March 2003 Northern Ireland Human Rights Commission Temple Court 39 North Street Belfast BT1 1NA Tel: 028 9024 3987 Fax: 028 9024 7844 Email: [email protected] Website: www.nihrc.org CONTENTS FOREWORD by Brice Dickson, Chief Commissioner ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS WHAT’S IN A NAME? - BATON ROUND OR PLASTIC BULLET EXECUTIVE SUMMARY 1. INTRODUCTION 1.1 Key Developments in Baton Round Technology 2. THE L21A1 BATON ROUND 2.1 Technical Briefing 2.1.1 What is a baton round? 2.1.2 The new baton round 2.1.3 Physical properties Table1: Comparison of physical properties of the new and old baton round 2.1.4 The weapon 2.1.5 Accuracy 2.2 Medical Briefing 2.2.1 Minimum firing distance 2.2.2 The danger of ricochets 2.3 Guidelines 2.4 Experiences of Use Table 2: Numbers of baton rounds fired 2000-2002 Table 3: Incidents of PSNI baton round discharge Table 4: Incidents of army baton round discharge 2.4.1 Injury Data Table 5: A survey of some injuries caused by the new baton round in Northern Ireland 2.5 Accountability 2.5.1 The firing of baton rounds by the army 2.5.2 The forensic trail 2.6 Policing without the Baton Round 3. AN ASSESSMENT OF THE FRONT RUNNER ALTERNATIVES Table 6: Potential health and human rights impacts of alternative “less lethal” weapons 3.1 Impact Devices or Kinetic Energy Rounds 3.2 Long Range Chemical Delivery Devices 3.3 Water Cannon, both Vehicle Mounted and Portable 3.4 Electrical Devices 3.5 Distraction / Disorientation Devices 3.6 Further Less Lethal weapons 4.
    [Show full text]
  • Northern Ireland Human Rights Commission Study Into the Rucs
    THE RECORDING OF THE USE OF PLASTIC BULLETS IN NORTHERN IRELAND Published May 2001 ISBN 1 903681 15 4 Northern Ireland Human Rights Commission Temple Court 39 North Street Belfast BT1 1NA Tel: 028 9024 3987 Fax: 028 9024 7844 Email: [email protected] Website: www.nihrc.org FOREWORD Plastic bullets – or plastic baton rounds as they are sometimes called – have been a source of great controversy in Northern Ireland for many years. The consequences of their use have been fairly well documented, although the Human Rights Commission is in the course of preparing additional information on that topic for publication later in 2001. What has been less carefully examined is the system in place for recording the use of the weapon in the first place. This report is the result of the first external survey of the methods employed by the Royal Ulster Constabulary in this regard. The survey was a small-scale one and it was made possible only because the RUC itself granted access to relevant files. Unfortunately access was not possible to files which related to incidents where further disciplinary, civil or criminal proceedings were contemplated. It is possible that the system for record- keeping was operated differently in relation to those incidents. The report contains a number of recommendations as to how the methods used for recording the use of plastic bullets – assuming, of course, that they should be used at all (a large assumption) – could be improved. The Human Rights Commission is placing it in the public domain so that further debate can take place as to how police accountability in this context can be made consistent with international human rights standards.
    [Show full text]