Plastic bullet

Left and right: composite plastic/aluminium plastic baton round projectile from L21 round^{[1][2][3][4][5]} and case of L5 round.

A plastic bullet or plastic baton round (PBR)^[6] is a non-lethal projectile fired from a specialised gun. Although designed as a non-lethal weapon, they have caused a number of deaths when used incorrectly.

Plastic bullets are generally used for riot control. Some plastic bullets are intended to be skip fired, hitting the ground and ricocheting into the intended target; while others were designed to be fired directly into the target.^{[citation needed]}

Plastic bullets were invented in 1973 by British security forces to replace rubber bullets in an attempt to reduce fatalities. They were first deployed against demonstrators in Northern Ireland during The Troubles.

An unrelated small-calibre handgun bullet made of plastic is sometimes used for short-range target practice (see recreational use).

History[]

The first plastic bullet was the L5 Plastic Baton Round.^[7] It was developed by the British security forces for use against demonstrators in Northern Ireland during The Troubles. They were to replace rubber bullets, which had been used in Northern Ireland since 1970.^[8] Rubber bullets were meant to be fired below waist level, to reduce the risk of lethal injury. However, they were often fired directly at people from close range, which resulted in three people being killed and many more badly injured.^[8] If fired too low, rubber bullets would ricochet uncontrollably from the ground. The plastic bullet could be fired directly at targets. It was intended to be a projectile of similar effect on its target as the rubber bullet, but with less risk of ricochet and less risk of serious injury or death.^{[citation needed]}

The first plastic bullet was made of PVC,^[9] was 89 mm (3.5 inches) long and 38 mm (1.5 in) in diameter, and weighed approximately 131 g (4.6 oz). The weight was similar to the rubber bullet but the new projectile had a lower muzzle velocity.

Usages[]

Use in Israel[]

In August 1988 the Israeli army introduced the use of plastic bullets for crowd control by the military administration of the West Bank and Gaza Strip. In March 1990 an army report - "Uprising Data" - found 128 "local residents" had been killed by plastic bullets. According to the army rules of engagement the use of plastic bullets is permitted in case of a "violent riot", defined as: "a disturbance with the participation of three or more persons, including stone throwing, erection of a barrier or barricade, burning a tire." Some of the instructions under Rules of Engagement include:

- Plastic bullet only to be fired under order from commanding officer

- Not to be fired at a range of less than 70 metres

- Aimed below knee

- "Avoid aiming fire at children below the age of 14 and at women."

From April to May 1989, during the early stages of the First Intifada, five young people were killed by plastic bullets fired by Israeli soldiers, four of the victims were under 14 years old.^[10]

Following a visit to a Nablus Hospital a group of four Israeli doctors reported: "The plastic bullet can penetrate all tissue. Even if the wound caused by the plastic is less severe than that caused by conventional bullets, it is still a very severe wound. The bullet is capable of striking internal organs, and as occurred in cases that were hospitalised in al-Ittihad hospital, the bullet struck the liver, intestines, spleen and blood vessels. It is superfluous to add that such a wound can be fatal."^[11]

Use in Northern Ireland[]

The plastic bullet was first used in 1973 by the Royal Ulster Constabulary (RUC), Northern Ireland's police force,^[14] and by 1975 it had replaced the rubber bullet.^[7] From 1973 to 1981, just over 42,600 plastic bullets were fired in Northern Ireland. By 2005, 125,000 baton rounds had been fired, most of them plastic bullets.^[7]

Shortly after their introduction it was discovered they were lethal at certain ranges.^[15] Fourteen people were killed by plastic bullet impacts; half of them were children and all but one were from the Catholic community.^[16] Most of the deaths were allegedly^[17][18][19] caused by the British security forces misusing the weapon, firing at close range and at chest or head level rather than targeting below the waist. In 2013 however, Ministry of Defence papers declassified from 1977 indicated in one case that a single round was fired because the lives of the soldiers were believed to be in danger, and for this reason the MoD was not prepared to accept that the soldiers acted wrongly.^[20] The first person to be killed by a plastic bullet impact was 10-year-old Stephen Geddis, who died on 30 August 1975, two days after being struck in west Belfast.^[16] One of the most high-profile victims was 12-year-old Carol Ann Kelly from west Belfast, who died on 22 May 1981, having been struck by a plastic bullet fired by a member of the Royal Fusiliers.^[21][22] In 1982, the European Parliament called on member states to ban the use of plastic bullets.^[23] However, they continued to be used by the British security forces in Northern Ireland. In 1984 the United Campaign Against Plastic Bullets was founded, calling for plastic bullets to be banned in Northern Ireland. One of its founders, Emma Groves, had been permanently blinded in 1971 when a British soldier shot her in the face with a rubber bullet. During rioting in July 1997, a 14-year-old boy was struck in the head by a plastic bullet and spent three days in a coma.^[24]

The latest variant of the L5 PBR—the L5A7—was introduced in 1994 along with a new more accurate launcher, the HK L104 riot gun. The L5 was followed by the L21A1 in 2001. The L21 PBR is fired from a rifled weapon which gives greater accuracy when used with an optical sight.^[7] The L21 was replaced by the Attenuating Energy Projectile in June 2005.^[25]

Use in Jammu and Kashmir[]

Plastic bullets that can be fired from AK-47 and INSAS rifles have been used by the Indian security forces for Crowd control in Jammu and Kashmir in India. They are used along with other riot control agents such as tear gas, chili grenades, and pellet guns (riot shotguns that fire pellet cartridges) by security forces against stone pelting protestors during violent clashes in Jammu and Kashmir.^[26] According to CRPF officials, the plastic bullets can only be fired in single shot mode and not in the burst mode.^[26] The problem in using the plastic bullets is it can only be used on one person at a time while the pellet guns could cover a larger area with multiple persons.^[27] 21,000 rounds of plastic bullets were sent to Kashmir in 2018 for riot control.^[28] Usage of plastic bullets is based on the list of non-lethal weapons that are approved by the United Nations peacekeeping standards for crowd control.^[29]

Use elsewhere[]

In 1990, Kenyan riot police raided a room at the University of Nairobi beating students with batons. A fleeing female student was shot in the stomach with a plastic bullet.^[30] Plastic bullets were used against protesters at a protest against globalization in Quebec in 2001, where one individual reportedly underwent an emergency tracheotomy after being hit in the throat.^[31][32] Plastic bullets were approved for policing in England and Wales in June 2001.^{[citation needed]} Plastic bullets were also authorized for G8 summit protests in Gleneagles, Scotland in July 2005.^[33] In September 2004, seven picketing shipbuilders were injured in a tear-gas and plastic bullet assault in Cadiz, Spain.^[34] Foam-tipped plastic bullets were employed by U.S. Marines in a trial in the Iraq War but were determined to be ineffectual.^[35] A plastic bullet was successfully used to disarm a hostage taker armed with a machete in Dorchester, England in November 2002.^[36] Venezuelan police and soldiers fired plastic bullets at student protestors in Caracas in December 2010.^[37] Israeli security forces used non-lethal weapons such as plastic bullets in an eviction of Israeli settlers in the West Bank settlement of Havat Gilad.^[38]

Design[]

A typical plastic bullet weighs around 4.75 ounces (135 g). The bullets were originally intended to be effective from 36 to 72 yards (33 to 66 m).^[9]

Recreational use[]

Speer plastic bullets, the only widely available brand, are hollow based plastic cylinders, and are available in .357/.38/9 mm, .44, and .45 calibers, and are designed for use in handguns, primarily revolvers, as the flat nose of the bullet does not feed well in most magazine fed actions. The propulsion is provided only by the primer, and the slow moving plastic bullets may be captured undamaged and reused numerous times if a suitable backstop is used. For use in revolvers, .38 Special and .44 Special versions also include plastic cases, which can be primed and de-primed by hand with minimal tools. For other calibers, standard brass cases are used.^[39]

See also[]

• Airsoft pellets
• Eye injury in the 2019–2020 Chilean protests
• Sponge grenade
• Wax bullet
• Wooden bullet

References[]