NCJ Number
232754
Editor(s)
Ed Hughes
Date Published
November 2006
Length
78 pages
Annotation
This report is a summary of the discussions and the associated conclusions derived from the sessions of the Fifth International Law Enforcement Forum on Minimal Force Options and Less-Lethal Technologies held in Virginia and Washington, DC in 2006.
Abstract
The Fifth International Law Enforcement Forum on Minimal Force Options and Less-Lethal Technologies was co-hosted by the National Institute of Justice and the Metropolitan Police Department of the District of Columbia in November 2006 and held in Fairfax, VA and Washington, DC. The 2006 forum addressed many issues related to best practices in controlling aggressive individuals, maintaining public order, conducted energy devices, and less-lethal applications, as well as less-lethal weapons and issues in counterterrorism. Delegates participated in six distinct workshops: (1) Aggressive Individual Control Techniques; (2) Crowds and Less-Lethal Weapons; (3) Conducted Energy Devices; (4) Strategy, Tactics, and Technology in Antiterrorism Scenarios; (5) Community Impact and Public Order in Antiterrorism Scenarios; and (6) Policies and Technologies for Individuals Conveying Terrorist Threats. The forum resulted in 12 major recommendations in the areas of : (1) testing repeatability, (2) policy consulting, (3) operational requirements - individuals, (4) operational requirements - crowds, (5) chemical irritant projectile research, (6) conducted energy device (CED) research, (7) instantaneous incapacitation, (8) standards, (9) discarded technologies, (10) calmatives and immobilizing technologies, (11) suicide bombers, and (12) distraction devices. Less-lethal technologies continue to provide officers with the capability of a variety of force options which reduce the need to resort to lethal force. Appendixes A-E