SCIENTIFIC AND TECHNOLOGICAL OPTIONS ASSESSMENT

(STOA )

 

AN APPRAISAL OF TECHNOLOGIES
OF POLITICAL CONTROL

Working document
(Consultation version)


Luxembourg, 6 January 1998

PE 166 499


Directorate General for Research

AN APPRAISAL OF THE TECHNOLOGY OF POLITICAL CONTROL

PROJECT No I/STOA/RSCH/LP/POLITCON.1

Weapons (2)

Manufacturer

Country

Weight of
Projectile

Range

Impact Energy /
Joules (1)
L5A3 Plastic Bullet Royal Ordinance UK 135g 25-60m 150-210
'Cross Cartridge' Heckler and Koch Germany 179g up to 30m above 125
Flash Ball Verney Carron France 28g 12m 200
Jelly Baton Crown
Aircartridge		 Netherlands N/A N/A 265
Bean Bag MK Ballistics USA 40g 10-30m 120
'Cease and Desist' Milstor Corp USA N/A Less than 18m 130

Impact Energy Severity of Injury
Under 20 Joules Safe/low
Between 40-122 Joules Dangerous
Over 122 Joules Severe damage region


5. INNOVATIONS IN CROWD CONTROL WEAPONS

5.1 Cost-Effective Crowd Control Weapons

 

5.3 Harmless Kinetic Impact Weapons?

 

Chart 5. US Human Engineering Laboratory Technology
Assessment of various 'less lethal' kinetic weapons


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Chart 6. Trends in Riot Weapon use in Northern Ireland from 1969 - 1986


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Chart 7. Impact of introduction of new riot weapons on
the level of political killings in Northern Ireland


28

Chart 8. Structure of riot weapon use


5.4 Harmless Chemical Irritant Weapons?

 

5.5 Harmless Irritant Gas Sprays?

 

5.6 Second Generation Incapacitation Weapons


7. INTERROGATION, TORTURE TECHNIQUES & TECHNOLOGIES

7.1 Torture Hardware

7.2 Torture Software 

7.3 Torture Liveware


General Method

 Effects (Purposes)

Variants
1. Isolation. Deprives victim of all social support of
his ability to resist. Develops and intense
concern with self. Makes victim
dependent upon interrogator.		 Complete solitary confinement. Complete isolations. Semi isolation.
Group isolation.
2. Monopolisation of
Perception.		 Fixes attention upon immediate
predicament. Fosters introspection.
Eliminates stimuli competing with those
controlled by captor. Frustrates all
action not consistent with compliance.		 Physical isolation. Darkness or bright light. Barren environment.
Restricted movement. Monotonous food.
3. Induced Debility
Exhaustion		 Weakens mental and physical ability to
resist.		 Semi-starvation. Exposure. Exploitation of wounds. Induced illness.
Sleep deprivation. Prolonged constraint. Prolonged interrogation.
Forced writing. Over-exertion.
4. Threats. Cultivates anxiety and despair. Threats of death. Threats of non return. Threats of endless
interrogation and isolation. Threats against family. Vague threats.
mysterious changes of treatment.
5. Occasional indulgences. Provides positive motivation for
compliance. Hinders adjustment to
deprivation.		 Occasional favors. Fluctuations of interrogators's attitudes.
Promises. Rewards for partial compliance. Tantalising.
6. Demonstrating
'Omnipotence'.		 Suggests futility of resistance. Confrontation. Pretending co-operation taken for granted.
Demonstrating complete control over victim's fate.
7. Degradation. Makes cost of resistance more
damaging to self esteem than
capitulation. Reduces prisoner to
'animal level' concerns.		 Personal hygiene prevented. Filthy infested surrounds.
Demeaning punishments. Insults and taunts. Denial of privacy.
8. Enforcing Trivial
Demands.		 Develops habits of compliance. Forced writing. Enforcement of minute rules.

Chart 10. Biderman's Chart of Coercion


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CHART 11: PRE-INTERROGATION TREATMENTS USED ON DETAINEES


1. General assault with truncheons and knuckledusters. Kicks to testicles and stomach. Faces slapped, ears drummed, arms twisted, chest hair pulled. Nose, chest, mouth and throat were held. During these attacks, detainees were alternatively threatened and bribed.

2. Men were forced to run barefoot over broken glass and stones whilst being beaten .

3. Some men were dropped blindfold from helicopters hovering near the ground.

4. Alsatian dogs were used to savage some of the men.

5. Torturous exercises were imposed - up to 48 hours for some men.

6. Men were forced to stand against a wall for many hours with their legs akimbo.

7. Detainees were repeatedly awakened as soon as they fell asleep.

8. Food and drink were withheld.

9. Bags were kept over the heads of some of the prisoners for up to six days.

10. On certain occasions an electric cattle prod was used.

11. Some victims had their testicles manually compressed.

12. Others were burned with matches and candles.

13. Detainees were urinated upon.

14. Injections of amphetamine drugs were given to some of the prisoners

15. Psychological tortures were used such as: Russian roulette; firing blanks, blindfolding; the use of stockings and surgical masks by the assailants; forcing men to stare at a white perforated wall in a small cubicle.


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CHART 12: TECHNIQUES USED BY THE BRITISH ARMY IN
NORTHERN IRELAND TO MIMIC SENSORY DEPRIVATION


1. Prisoners were hooded before interrogation.

2. A sound machine was used to produce a constant hiss of 'white noise'.

3. Long periods of immobilization in the 'stoika' position, i.e., being forced to lean against a wall with legs wide apart standing on the toes, with only the fingertips touching the wall. Detainees who collapsed from exhaustion were beaten back into position.

4. Little or no food or drink.

5. Prisoners were forced to wear loose overalls several sizes too big.

6. In addition these men were deprived of sleep for days on end.

EFFECTS OF THESE PROCEDURES

Although these processes were not technically the same as sensory deprivation, the purpose guiding their use was the deliberate production of related effects.

Measures 1, 2, 3 and 5 cause visual, auditory, tactile and kinaesthetic deprivation and thus mimic sensory deprivation. Measures 1, 4, and 6, deprive the brain of the sugar and oxygen necessary for normal functioning. Measures 1, 4 and 6, may also disturb normal body metabolism. Applied together in conditions of high physical and psychological stress, they could effect rapid nervous breakdown.