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This book addresses an important but little-noticed phenomenon in the revolutionary world of military technology. Across a wide range of otherwise-unrelated weapons programs, the Pentagon is now pursuing arms that are deliberately crafted to be less powerful, less deadly, and less destructive than the systems they are designed to supplement or replace. This direction is historically anomalous; military forces generally pursue ever-bigger bangs, but the modern conditions of counter-insurgency warfare and military operations 'other than war' (such as peacekeeping and humanitarian assistance) demand a military capable of modulated force. By providing a capacity to intervene deftly yet effectively, the new generations of 'useable' weaponry should enable the U.S. military to accomplish its demanding missions in a manner consistent with legal obligations, public relations realities, and political constraints. Five case studies are provided, regarding precision-guided 'smart bombs', low-yield nuclear weapons, self-neutralizing anti-personnel land mines, directed-energy anti-satellite weapons, and non-lethal weapons.

Truck theft in Peru is ranked among the 10 most dangerous countries in the world. In that sense, the registered cases of vehicle theft in the year 2012 were a total of 16 357 and in the year 2019 was 20 159 stolen vehicles increasing a percentage of 18.89% in only 7 years. This paper shows as an objective, the development of the Proof of Concepts of an Advanced Security System Taser - Stungun semi-automatic for Volvo FH - 12. In this system, a TTL device (PIC) is used as hardware and a voltage booster from 5v to 5000v generating protection for the easiest and most valuable parts to steal. The proof of concept is activated by the user by buttons and sensors assigned for the protection of the truck, since the installed devices will be aesthetically located in the truck to not be found by the thief, besides being very reliable so that the driver can use it, also in its installation. The prototype will use a shock as self-defense since the system will generate an electric shock of 10 mA with a frequency of 2 seconds, which can immobilize or temporarily paralyze the thief. Therefore, it will analyze the alternatives with the help of the morphological matrix to choose the ideal solution, then we will design the electrical circuit, the programming in pseudocode, validating the proof of concepts, and the selection of the insulator. Finally, it must consider the correct selection of sensors and actuators thus allowing security reliability in different circumstances of the theft.

Purpose - The purpose of this paper is to examine the effect of police use of conducted energy devices (CEDs) on officer and suspect injuries while controlling for other types of force and resistance and other factors.Design methodology approach - Data on 1,645 use-of-force incidents occurring between January 1, 2002 and July 2006 were obtained from two different law enforcement agencies. Logistic and generalized ordered logistic regressions are used to model the odds of injury and severity of injury.Findings - The use of CEDs was associated with reduced odds of officer and suspect injury and the severity of suspect injury in one agency. In the other agency CED use was unrelated to the odds of injury; however, the use of pepper spray was associated with reduced odds of suspect injury. Among other findings, in both agencies the use of hands-on tactics by police was associated with increased odds of officer and suspect injury, while the use of canines was associated with increased odds of suspect injury.Research limitations implications - Although this research was carried out in two distinctly different law enforcement agencies with different histories of CED adoption, the fact that CED use was associated with reductions in injuries in one agency but not the other indicates the need for additional research on the impact of CED use in other settingsPractical implications - The analysis suggests that relative to other forms of force, the use of CEDs and pepper spray can reduce the risk of injury to both suspects and law enforcement officers. This information should prove useful to law enforcement agencies considering adopting CEDs and suggests that agencies should consider the use of these less lethal alternatives in place of hands-on tactics against actively resistant suspects.Originality value - At the time of this writing there was no published independent research on the risks of injury associated with CED use in field settings. The findings reported herein will help inform the public debate on the utility of CEDs for law enforcement.

In the 1980s the traditional Hippocratic term excited delirium was transplanted from the bedsides of febrile, agitated and disoriented patients to the streets of Miami. Deaths in custody of young men who were intoxicated with cocaine and who were restrained by the police because of their erratic or violent behaviour were attributed to excited delirium. The blood concentrations of cocaine in these subjects were approximately ten times lower than the lethal level and other factors which might have contributed to the fatal outcome, such as the police use of neck-holds, choke-holds or ‘hog-tying’, were relegated to a minor role compared with the reframed ‘diagnosis’ of excited delirium. Over the course of the next few decades ‘excited delirium’ might be applied to virtually any highly agitated person behaving violently in a public place and who subsequently died in custody while being restrained or shortly afterwards. Expert witnesses, mainly forensic pathologists, testified that the deceased's death was probably inevitable given the perilous nature of excited delirium, even though this diagnostic entity lacked any consistent neuropathological basis and depended entirely on observed behaviour. This history of the rise and fall of this disputed diagnosis is a partial response to the sociologist Phil Brown's 1995 paper asking who benefits, or at least avoids trouble, by the identification and use of a diagnosis.

Herein, we report the death of a man, approximately thirty years old, victim of a short-range shot to the thorax from a PIEXON JPX4, a hand weapon classed category D in France, said to be non-lethal. External examination of the lesion revealed characteristics similar to those of ballistic injuries. The autopsy found an intercostal wound that reached the pulmonary parenchyma and the pulmonary artery, with severe hemothorax. By the end of the autopsy, no projectile had been found in the body, nor any exit orifice. Death was caused by the effects of hemorrhagic shock. The PIEXON JPX4 has four cartridges, projecting a capsaicin gel that is designed to irritate the ENT area (ear nose throat) to incapacitate an assailant. The manufacturer recommends not to use it at distances of less than 1.5 m. Experimental shots were performed on gelatine blocks at point-blank range and at distances of 5, 10, 20, 30, 50, 100 and 150 cm to evaluate the distance necessary for the jet of gel to have a penetrating effect. Shots at 5–30 cm penetrated the structure. None of the other shots were penetrating. The autopsy and experiment data therefore show the penetrating potential of the jet of gel. Herein, we report the first death due to use of the PIEXON JPX4. From a forensic investigation viewpoint, we add a new exception to the “bullet rule”. (The odd and even bullet rule states that if the number of gunshot wounds of entrance and exit found in the body is even, the presumption is that no bullet is lodged in the body. If the number of gunshot wounds of entrance and exit is odd, the presumption is that one or more bullets have been lodged in the body.). •We reported the case of a man, who bled to death after a chest wound inflicted by another man with the PIEXON JPX4, a weapon normally used for self-defense.•At the autopsy, the chest wound was very similar to a gunshot injury. PIEXON JPX4 project a capsaicin gel which played the role of the bullet.•We reported another case of lethal injury caused by a self-defense arm. Awareness about the dangers of these weapons is still necessary.•The case is an exception of the rule of parity, with a chest wound alike a gunshot injury without projectile at the autopsy.

TASER weapons, classified as Conducted Energy Weapons (CEWs) are used by law enforcement as electrical, non-lethal weapons. A CEW’s long distance method of deployment launches two barbed probes that embed into the target, before electricity is cycled from one probe to the other. The resulting muscle contractions help incapacitate the intended target. Currently, there is no research on the accuracy of variability of CEW probe spread in determining the distance of the shooter. Thus, in this study, a method of distance determination for TASER models X26P, X2, and TASER 7 was established to help estimate the relative locations of individuals during crime scene reconstruction. Each of four probe cartridge types were launched for six repetitions towards vertical cardboard targets from three different distances (n = 72). The probe spread on the targets was measured for each cartridge and plotted against CEW-To-Target (CTT) distance. Linear regression trendlines and standard deviations were generated for each cartridge type. Results demonstrated probe spread distances to be proportional to probe launch angles, and greater CTT distances resulted in greater standard deviation. Standard error of the estimate was calculated for all four linear regression equations and their ability to predict CTT distance when given probe spread measurements. The mean standard error values appeared acceptable for the X2 (0.460 m), TASER 7 CQ (0.273 m), and X26P (0.322 m) CEW models, while the mean error calculated for the TASER 7 Standoff model (0.846 m) was considerably greater. We expect our findings will help establish a reliable method of distance determination for CEWs, and perhaps with a larger sample size, more thoroughly examine the accuracy of the linear regression equations. CEW distance determination has the potential to provide support in contextualizing crime scene reconstruction with further research. By providing distance estimations alongside a standardized guide of error allowance, it would be possible to induce how far apart individuals were at the time a CEW was fired, within the calculated window of deviation, and in a statistical degree of confidence. •Mostly linear relationships between CEW-to-target distances and probe spread for all tested CEW models and cartridge types.•Standard error of the estimate was calculated for distance prediction accuracy of 4 linear regression equations.•3 of the 4 linear regression equations had relatively low standard error for distance determination.•Distance determination accuracy is generally lower at longer distances for all tested models.

A Non-lethal electric shock generator is presented and tested. This non-lethal electric shock generator without trail wires, is different from Taser series stun guns or Husha TX series electric shock guns which all have trail wires. And the intensity of electric shock can be adjusted by remote control device according to the status of the target. This no-lethal electric shock generator extends the range of application of electric shock from about 9 meters to 30 meters. The manner of using electric shocks of single intensity is also changed by telecontrol adjustment. It can provide electric shocks of different intensities for different conditions, such as different distances from special electrodes to targets, different targets with different clothes and different height or weight. Basic functions of the non-lethal electric shock generator are tested. Results show that the prototype projectile can be launched from a barrel stably, and the flight range is over 30 meters. When it captured the target, it can be triggered via the telecontrol adjustment. The prototype projectile can support a series of pulses at a rate of 20 r/s with the peak voltage of 30kV.