The US National Institute of Justice (NIJ) is funding research into three “less lethal” weapons to be used by police forces to bring down suspects and control crowds. They should be less harmful than tear gas and rubber bullets.

NIJ has provided a limited description of all three devices. The first is a radio-frequency weapon developed by Raytheon and based on a similar concept to the Active Denial System weapon developed for the US marines in 2001. Designed to heat people’s skin with a 95-gigahertz microwave beam at a range of 600 metres, it causes severe pain but, according to Raytheon, no damage. The police version will be portable, and will presumably use less power and work over a shorter range.

The second device is “the first man-portable heat compliance weapon of its kind“. It uses a semiconductor laser for “force protection, crowd control, and access denial”. No known weapon appears to work this way so its effects and effectiveness can only be guessed at.

The third less-lethal weapon is a laser which produces a “plasma flash bang” at the point of impact, stunning and disorienting the victim. This is similar to the Pulsed Energy Projectile system developed for the US marines. It uses a chemical laser and weighs around 200 kilograms. Sterling Photonics was asked to produce a “technology platform” for a police version that will be electrically powered and portable.

Mike McBride, editor of Jane’s Police and Security Equipment journal, says: “Until these systems have proven to be safer than existing systems- baton rounds, Tasers, tear gas- there is little likelihood of them being deployed operationally.”

Via Eurekalert. Picture.