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.