Riots

CROWD CONTROL TECHNOLOGIES
(An appraisal of technologies for political control)

Final Study

Working document for the STOA Panel

Luxembourg, June 2000

PE 168.394/FinSt.

Cataloguing data:

Title: Workplan Ref.:

CROWD CONTROL TECHNOLOGIES
(An appraisal of technologies for political control)

EP/IV/B/STOA/99/14/01/A

Publisher:

European Parliament Directorate General forResearch Directorate A The STOA Programme

Author: Editor:

OMEGA Foundation, Manchester, UK

Graham Chambers, Head of STOA Unit

Date:

June 2000

PE number:

PE 168. 394/Fin.St.

This document is a working Document for the 'STOA Panel'. It is not an official publication of STOA. This document does not necessarily represent the views of the European Parliament

ii

)CrowdControl 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)

The Omega Foundation. May 2000.
iii

Crowd Control Technologies - An Assessment Of Crowd Control Technology Options For The European Union
(EP/1V/B/STOA/99/14/01) FINAL REPORT TO STOA FROM THE OMEGA FOUNDATIONABSTRACT
This study grew out of the 1997 STOA report, 'An Appraisal of the Technologies of Political Control' and takes that work further. Its focus is two fold:(i) to examine the bio-medical effects and the social & political impacts of currently available crowd control weapons in Europe; (ii) to analyse world wide trends and developments including the implications for Europe of a secondgeneration of so called >non-lethal= weapons. Seven key areas are covered by the report=s project: (a) a review of available crowd control technologies; (b) relevant legislation at national and EU levels; (c) the relative efficiency of crowd control technologies; (d) their physical and mental effects on individuals; (e) the actual and potential abuse of crowd control technologies; (f) an assessment offuture technologies and their effects; and finally (g) an appraisal of less damaging alternatives such as CCTV.The report presents a detailed worldwide survey of crowd control weapons and the companies which manufacture supply or distribute them. It was found that at least 110 countries worldwide deploy riot control weapons, including chemical irritants, kinetic energy weapons, water cannon andelectro-shock devices. Whilst presented as humane alternatives to the use of lethal force, the study found examples in 47 countries of these so called >non-lethal= crowd control weapons being used in conjunction with lethal force rather than as a substitute for it, leading directly to injury and fatalities. Within Europe, the study found that the biomedical research necessary to justify the deploymentof certain crowd control technologies was either absent, lacking or incomplete and that there was inadequate quality control at production level to ensure that adverse or even lethal effects were avoided. Evidence is also presented of the misuse of these technologies and the breach of deployment guidelines which can make their effects either severely damaging or lethal. Member States currentlyhave inadequate export controls to prevent the transfer, brokerage or licensed production of crowd control weapons to human rights violators, including weapons such as electroshock devices which have been directly implicated in torture. The report warns against adopting ever more powerful crowd control weapons as > technical fixes=. It suggests their use should be limited and provides a number ofoptions to make the adoption and use of these weapons more democratically accountable. These include licensing and independent evaluation of the biomedical impacts of such weapons via a formal process of >Social Impact Assessment=; legal limits on weapons which are exceptionally hazardous or lethal; legally binding rules of engagement; better post incident inquiry procedures and more effective,...