PATTEN REPORT RECOMMENDATIONS 69 AND 70 RELATING TO PUBLIC ORDER EQUIPMENT A RESEARCH PROGRAMME INTO ALTERNATIVE POLICING APPROACHES TOWARDS THE MANAGEMENT OF CONFLICT THIS IS THE FOURTH REPORT PREPARED BY THE STEERING GROUP LED BY THE NORTHERN IRELAND OFFICE, IN CONSULTATION WITH THE ASSOCIATION OF CHIEF POLICE OFFICERS JANUARY 2004 CONTENTS Foreword by Jane Kennedy 1 Introduction Page number A. The background to the fourth report, including the consultation process now envisaged based on the statement of 9 April 2003 1 B. Feedback on the phase 3 report 2 C. An overview of this report and critical issues for consideration 4 D. The work of the Steering Group 5 2 Programme to find a replacement for the current baton round Dstl Programme on the Development of Less Lethal Technologies A. Introduction 11 B. Attenuating Energy Projectile (AEP) and Discriminating Irritant Projectile (DIP) operational requirements 11 C. Effectiveness Criteria 18 D. AEP and DIP Programme 19 E. Programme timescales 25 3 Commercial off the shelf product evaluations and update 12 Gauge Sock Round Assessment 27 4 The Management of Conflict Nothing happened? Extracts from an independent report on public disorder in Northern Ireland in Summer 2003 35 5 The International Context A. The International Law Enforcement Forum 47 B. Use of Less Lethal Technologies in the International Context 48 6 Water Cannon The introduction of new Water Cannon to the Police Service of Northern Ireland 51 7 UK use of less lethal technologies A. L21A1 Baton Rounds 61 B. The introduction of CS sprays to the Police Service of Northern Ireland 64 C. Operational Trial of Taser in England and Wales (including ACPO policy documents) 67 8 Independent Review and Accountability A. Introduction 113 B. Revised ACPO guidance on the use of the L21A1 round 113 C. Statement on the ricochet potential of the L21A1 baton round 119 D. Reports by the Police Ombudsman for Northern Ireland on the use of L21A1 baton rounds 121 E. Second report to the Defence Scientific Advisory Council Sub-Committee 124 9 Category B Technologies - Calmatives and Malodorants 125 Glossary of Terms 134 FOREWORD BY THE RT HON JANE KENNEDY, MINISTER OF STATE FOR NORTHERN IRELAND In December 2002, the Steering Group produced a full report on the third phase of the research programme. In line with the Patten report (recommendations 69 & 70) the programme was set up to: - establish whether an acceptable, effective and less potentially lethal alternative to the baton round is available; and - review the public order equipment which is presently available or could be developed in order to expand the range of tactical options available to operational commanders. Subsequently on 9 April 2003 I issued a statement on the use of baton rounds in Northern Ireland which contained the following paragraph: “On the basis that an acceptable and effective and less lethal alternative is available, the baton round would no longer be used after the end of 2003. In the event that that has not been achieved, the Government would report on the progress of the fourth phase of the research programme and review the options for less lethal alternatives, consulting widely with a range of interested parties including the Chief Constable and the Policing Board". Since then, the work has continued apace. I know that directly from my own involvement with the work. I am grateful to the Steering Group, and to the many contributors to the programme, including those in government service, the police, academics and other experts, for their sustained commitment. This programme has also been more detailed and wide-ranging than any other. Despite a protracted and international search for a commercially available product, we have been unable to find anything that meets the criteria of an acceptable, potentially less lethal alternative to the baton round currently in service which provides an effective capability that does not expose officers and the public to greater risk in violent public disorder. Government will continue to monitor all new and emerging commercial products and keep technological research under review. It will ensure that those systems appearing to have real potential are tested and medically evaluated if appropriate. This report thus contains for example a full account of the assessment of the 12 gauge sock round as against the existing L21A1 baton round (chapter 3). The Government has no intrinsic desire to run a programme itself to design and develop alternatives, if products or systems that meet the effectiveness criteria are made available on the market place. I regret that the position in that regard remains broadly as last year i.e. no commercial product in our judgement satisfies the safety, acceptability and effectiveness tests. This report references the work of the Steering Group in conjunction with academics, medical experts and police services in North America and elsewhere. I am particularly interested in the work of the transatlantic teams looking at the scope for harmonising operational requirements and common approaches to testing and understanding medical outcomes. These contacts are intended in part, from our perspective at least, to lead towards a situation where manufacturers are clearer on the characteristics that will be sought in future systems and products. Members of the Steering Group believe it may represent a significant step forward in creating a broader suite of acceptable, alternative less potentially lethal systems. It is against this background that Government has concluded that it would be right to continue with the development of the Attenuating Energy and Discriminating Irritant Projectiles (AEP and DIP) mentioned in the last report which it believes represent the best opportunity to get an alternative to the L21A1 round into service as rapidly as possible. The progress made in the development of the AEP and the DIP is set out fully in the report (chapter 2). In addition to the technical programme, presentations to a number of interested bodies have included a description of their potential. It may be beneficial to summarise that here. Research into an attenuating energy projectile is in part a consequence of the independent medical evaluation of the L21A1 baton round that was published in April 2001. It is, put simply, a programme to develop a successor to the current baton round that would prove significantly safer should it strike the most vulnerable part of the body i.e. the head, while retaining its overall effectiveness. As the report brings out, the AEP would be discharged from the existing launch platform, and would be designed to have the same trajectory and other characteristics as the present round. This has several advantages – in particular it directly addresses safety issues, while keeping the development phase to a minimum. While there remain challenges, the projected timetable would make this projectile available by the end of 2004, ready for full operational use before summer 2005. However that is not the end of the story. In the meantime work is continuing on the second new projectile. This is based not on kinetic energy effects but on an irritant that would be delivered to a violent individual’s upper body. There are several commercial products that already operate on this basis and one used by some police services in North America and Western Europe, but we have been unable to identify any that meet our accuracy and safety criteria. The development of the DIP,as a new system, is inevitably a longer term project. It is by no means certain that it can be successfully achieved, although the signs are positive thus far. It will also require substantial continuing financial investment, and I am grateful to the Home Office and the Ministry of Defence for their contributions to the work. We believe that this combined programme has the potential to provide an acceptable, effective and less lethal alternative to the current, L21A1 baton round, which is in itself a safer and much more consistent round than the L5A7 Plastic Baton Round in use when the Patten Commission reported. As undertaken in the statement of 9 April, we will consult widely with a range of interested parties including the Chief Constable and the Policing Board. A major one day conference will be held in London on 5 February 2004 in support of this consultation process. Attendance at this conference is by prior arrangement only. I turn now to other elements in this important report. The human rights and acceptability issues set out at length in the phase 2 and 3 reports1 are still fundamental. The importance of understanding the underlying reasons for public disorder is re-emphasised in this report through the synopsis of the independent research into crowd dynamics in the summer of 2003 in Northern Ireland. The report also updates the public on the related developments over the past year, including water cannon. It brings out that no baton rounds have been fired at all in Northern Ireland since September 2002, although there have been a number of discharges in Great Britain. Resort to the L21A1 in those circumstances obviated the need to use higher levels of force, saved lives and did not result in serious or life threatening injuries being caused to the person struck by the baton round. This phase 4 report, like the previous three, is available on the Northern Ireland Office website (www.nio.gov.uk). Government Ministers and the Steering Group are committed to putting a wide range of information into the public domain. 1 “Patten Report recommendations 69 and 70 relating to public order equipment – A Research Programme into Alternative Policing Approaches Towards the Management of Conflict”. Phase 2 and 3 reports. www.nio.gov.uk/policing.htm. I again welcome the continued work of members of the Steering Group in forging closer ties with counterparts in North America and elsewhere.