Baton round

Baton rounds, also known as kinetic impact projectiles (KIPs), are a less lethal alternative to traditional bullets. Baton rounds are designed to impact rather than to penetrate and are typically used for riot control.

Common types of baton round have included the:

  • Bean bag round, a less-lethal projectile fired from a normal 12-gauge shotgun
  • Plastic baton round or plastic bullet, a less-lethal projectile fired from a specialised gun
  • Rubber baton round, commonly called the rubber bullet, a rubber-coated projectile with a metal or ceramic core.
  • Wooden baton round (which are meant to be skipped off the ground into the targeted area), also called a wooden bullet (a bullet is a direct impact round).
  • Foam baton round, also called a sponge grenade

Such munitions are meant to cause pain and incapacitation but not penetrate flesh.[1] However, baton rounds can cause death and serious injuries such as damage to internal organs, permanent disabilities including blindness, especially when fired from close range at the head, neck, chest, or abdomen.[2]

History

The use of baton rounds dates back to the 1880s, when Singapore police fired sections of broom handle at demonstrators in Singapore.[1] The Hong Kong police subsequently developed wooden baton rounds, but they were likely to splinter and cause wounds.

Rubber bullets were invented by the British Ministry of Defence for use against rioters in Northern Ireland during The Troubles, and were first used there in 1970.[3]

Rubber bullets tend to bounce uncontrollably,[4] and have largely been replaced by other types of baton rounds, including plastic bullets: solid PVC cylinders 10 cm long, 38 mm in diameter, and weighing 135g. They were invented by Porton Down scientists and intended for use against rioters in Northern Ireland, first used there in 1973.[3][5][6]

Injuries

In a 1975 study of injuries in 90 patients injured by rubber bullets, 1 died, 17 suffered permanent disabilities or deformities and 41 required hospital treatment after being fired upon with rubber baton rounds.[7] A review of studies covering multiple different munition types/designs, which covered 1,984 people injured by "kinetic impact projectiles" and found that 53 died, plus 300 permanently disabled.[2] Baton rounds can cause blindness as shown by their use by police in the 2019-2020 Chilean protests.[8][9][10] During the first 3–4 months of protests in Chile, rubber bullets contributed to have a toll of 427 persons with eye injuries,[10] an extremely high number when comparing to other protests or conflict zones in the world.[9]

See also
  • Baton charge, a coordinated tactic for dispersing crowds of people

References
  1. Emily Yoffe (Oct 4, 2000). "What Are Rubber Bullets?". Slate.
  2. Haar RJ; Iacopino V; Ranadive N (2017). "Death, injury and disability from kinetic impact projectiles in crowd-control settings: a systematic review". BMJ Open. 7 (12): e018154. doi:10.1136/bmjopen-2017-018154. PMC 5736036. PMID 29255079.
  3. Melaugh, Martin. "A Chronology of the Conflict - August 1970". CAIN (Conflict Archive on the INternet). Ulster University. Archived from the original on 2022-12-24. Retrieved 2023-03-14. The rounds were intended to be fired at the legs of rioters or the ground in front of rioters [...] Often the weapons were fired directly at people [...] These weapons were to result in a number of deaths and serious injuries.
  4. Hogg, Ian V. (1985). The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Ammunition. London: The Apple Press. ISBN 1-85076-043-8.
  5. Rosenhead, Jonathan (1976-12-16). "A new look at 'less lethal' weapons". New Scientist. Vol. 72, no. 1031. Reed Business Information. ISSN 0262-4079. Archived from the original on 2023-03-14. Retrieved 2023-03-14. Thirteen year old Brian Stewart died in October from a fractured skull after being hit by a plastic bullet fired by the Army.
  6. Vines, Gail (1983-02-03). "New plastic bullets squirts noxious chemicals". New Scientist. Vol. 97, no. 1343. Reed Business Information. ISSN 0262-4079. Archived from the original on 2023-03-14. Retrieved 2023-03-14. Round for round, plastic bullets have killed more than four times as many people as their rubber predecessors.
  7. Millar, R.; Rutherford, W. H.; Johnston, S.; Malhotra, V. J. (1975). "Injuries caused by rubber bullets: A report on 90 patients". British Journal of Surgery. 62 (6): 480–486. doi:10.1002/bjs.1800620613. PMID 1148650. S2CID 20892343. Archived from the original on 2013-01-06.
  8. Montes, Rocío (21 November 2019). "La policía de Chile suspende el uso de perdigones tras herir a mil personas" (in Spanish). El País. Archived from the original on 21 November 2019. Retrieved 29 November 2019.
  9. "Récord mundial de lesiones oculares durante protestas en Chile" (in Spanish). Cooperativa. 6 November 2019. Archived from the original on 14 December 2019. Retrieved 29 November 2019.
  10. McSherry, J. Patrice (24 February 2020). "Chile's Struggle to Democratize the State". NACLA. Archived from the original on 29 February 2020. Retrieved 29 February 2020.
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