UK: Police and army to deploy "unstable weapon of death"
Topic
Country/Region
01 March 2001
The Labour MP Kevin McNamara has condemned the Ministry of Defence for defying the recommendations of the Patten report into policing in Northern Ireland by planning “to re-equip Army and police in Northern Ireland with a new generation of plastic bullets.” The new L21A1 baton round has already been “issued to police forces in England, Wales and Northern Ireland and to the Army” (Jack Straw, Hansard 2.4.01, col 68W) and will be “fully in force from June 1”. It will replace the L5A7 (model 5, revision 7) version.
In July 2000 a steering committee was formed, comprising the Association of Chief Police Officers, HM Inspector of Constabulary, the Home Office, the Ministry of Defence, the Police Scientific Development Branch of the Home Office, the Police Authority of Northern Ireland, the Royal Ulster Constabulary and the Northern Ireland Office. Their report, dated April 2001, announced that:
A programme to improve the characteristics of the baton round has been recently completed and a new round, designated L21A1, has been produced. The sighting system for the baton gun has also been vastly improved and the new round along with the new sighting system offers much improved accuracy. Medical reviews of the round indicate the new system will reduce the incidence of life threatening injuries by virtue of the increased accuracy.(Paragraph 104)
However, in September 1999, when Chris Patten was finishing his recommendation for research to be undertaken into alternatives to the baton round, the Ministry of Defence was already testing the new generation of plastic bullets leading McNamara to condemn the Ministry for “defying the recommendations of Patten and pushing ahead with a secret plan to re-equip Army and police in Northern Ireland with a new generation of plastic bullets.” In August 2000 the Defence Scientific Advisory Council (DSAC) issued a Statement on the new baton round and sighting system which McNamara describes as “chilling reading”.
Under the section on “Characteristics” the report notes that:
To achieve...improvements in ballistic performance, the L21A1 differs in mass, velocity, shape and material from the L5A7: It is lighter, faster, aerodynamically shaped and manufactured from a stiffer material. (Paragraph 4)
Moreover, these “improvements” are in themselves likely to lead to more, not less, injuries;
The improved accuracy from the L21A1 will lead inevitably to an increase in the incidence of impacts to intended targets and thereby an increase in the incidence of non-serious (not life-threatening) injuries. (Paragraph 17)
An example of this potential increase is found in Paragraph 18a which states that: “The use of the L21A1 is likely to increase the incidence of some intra-abdominal injuries” .
Despite the claimed “improved accuracy” under test conditions the DSAC concludes that the round may actually prove unstable in practice:
The probability of ricochet within the normal operational range of batons will be higher with the L21A1.(Paragraph 16e)
Of particular concern here is the likelihood of dangerous head injuries, which the report says are likely to be less frequent, but more serious:
The severity of injuries to the brain is likely to be greater with the L21A1, due to higher pressures in the brain, and greater penetration of the projectile...If the L21A1 does contact the head, and it strikes perpendicular to the skull (“head on”), there is a risk that the projectile will be retained in the head.. (Paragraphs 18 c and d)
In summary, and largely ignoring voluminous reports on the misuse of plastic bullets in Northern Ireland the report concludes that:
The use of L21A1 according to the joint ACPO and MOD policy is likely to increase the incidence of injuries that are not normally life-threatening such as soft tissue contusions and simple bone fractures in limbs.
More tendentious, particularly given the history of the extensive misuse of plastic bullets by the British Army against young peopl