Baton rounds, also known as kinetic impact projectiles (KIPs), are a

less lethal Non-lethal weapons, also called nonlethal weapons, less-lethal weapons, less-than-lethal weapons, non-deadly weapons, compliance weapons, or pain-inducing weapons are weapons intended to be less likely to kill a living target than conventiona ...

alternative to traditional bullets. Baton rounds are designed to impact rather than to penetrate and are typically used for

riot control Riot control is a form of public order policing used by law enforcement, military, paramilitary or security forces to social control, control, disperse, and arrest people who are involved in a riot, unlawful Demonstration (people), demonstration ...

. Common types of baton round have included the: *

Bean bag round A bean bag round, also known by its trademarked name flexible baton round, is a type of baton round, fired from a shotgun, and used for Non-lethal weapon, less lethal apprehension of suspects. Description The bean bag round typically consists ...

, a less-lethal projectile fired from a normal 12-gauge shotgun * Plastic baton round or

plastic bullet Plastic bullet can refer to: * Plastic baton round: a large, blunt, low-velocity projectile fired from a specialized gun, intended as a less-lethal weapon for riot control and an alternative to rubber bullets. * Plastic bullet: a conventionall ...

, a less-lethal projectile fired from a specialised gun * Rubber baton round, commonly called the

rubber bullet Rubber bullets (also called rubber baton rounds) are a type of baton round. Despite the name, rubber bullets typically have either a metal core with a rubber coating, or are a homogeneous admixture with rubber being a minority component. Altho ...

, 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 A sponge grenade is a riot control weapon, intended to be non-lethal, which is fired from a 40 mm grenade launcher to cause confusion, or otherwise temporarily disable its target. As a single blunt force object, it is best used when aimed at ...

Such munitions are meant to cause pain and incapacitation but not penetrate flesh. However, baton rounds can cause death and serious injuries such as damage to internal organs, permanent disabilities including

blindness Visual or vision impairment (VI or VIP) is the partial or total inability of visual perception. In the absence of treatment such as corrective eyewear, assistive devices, and medical treatment, visual impairment may cause the individual difficul ...

, especially when fired from close range at the head, neck, chest, or abdomen.

History

The use of baton rounds dates back to the 1880s, when Singapore police fired sections of broom handle at demonstrators in

Singapore Singapore, officially the Republic of Singapore, is an island country and city-state in Southeast Asia. The country's territory comprises one main island, 63 satellite islands and islets, and one outlying islet. It is about one degree ...

. The

Hong Kong police The Hong Kong Police Force (HKPF) is the primary law enforcement, investigative agency, and largest Hong Kong Disciplined Services, disciplined service under the Security Bureau (Hong Kong), Security Bureau of Hong Kong. Pursuant to the one c ...

subsequently developed wooden baton rounds, but they were likely to splinter and cause wounds. Rubber bullets were invented by the British

Ministry of Defence A ministry of defence or defense (see American and British English spelling differences#-ce.2C -se, spelling differences), also known as a department of defence or defense, is the part of a government responsible for matters of defence and Mi ...

for use against rioters in

Northern Ireland Northern Ireland ( ; ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, part of the United Kingdom in the north-east of the island of Ireland. It has been #Descriptions, variously described as a country, province or region. Northern Ireland shares Repub ...

during

The Troubles The Troubles () were an ethno-nationalist conflict in Northern Ireland that lasted for about 30 years from the late 1960s to 1998. Also known internationally as the Northern Ireland conflict, it began in the late 1960s and is usually deemed t ...

, and were first used there in 1970. Rubber bullets tend to bounce uncontrollably, 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 Porton Down is a science and defence technology campus in Wiltshire, England, just north-east of the village of Porton, near Salisbury. It is home to two British government facilities: a site of the Ministry of Defence's Defence Science and ...

scientists and intended for use against rioters in Northern Ireland, first used there in 1973.

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. 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. Baton rounds can cause

as shown by their use by police in the 2019-2020 Chilean protests. During the first 3–4 months of protests in Chile, rubber bullets contributed to have a toll of 427 persons with eye injuries, an extremely high number when comparing to other protests or conflict zones in the world.

References

{{Reflist Non-lethal projectiles Paramilitary cartridges

History

Injuries

See also

References