-
Dogs and horses can therefore be used by police for riot control even when tear gas is used.
-
Throughout police will be videoing or photographing protesters for future arrests, “snatch squad” tactics might also be used where several police officers, usually in protective
riot gear, rush forwards, occasionally in flying wedge formation to break through the front of a crowd, with the objective of snatching one or more individuals from a riot that are attempting to control the demonstration at which they are
present; the target may be a leader or a speaker, or someone who seems to be leading the crowd. -
[citation needed] Dispensing large quantities[edit] Backpack dispensers for riot control agents, when the intent is to use a larger quantity than possible with grenades, are
one type of device used by organizations that might, for example, need to cover a prison yard. -
One of many additional concerns is to prevent people in the crowd from snatching officers’ side arms, which may be stolen or even used against the police.
-
[10] Tactics The front-line officers in a riot control are often fully armored and carry weapons such as batons, designed to be in direct contact with the crowd.
-
If tear gas or other riot control agents are to be used, gas masks may also be worn.
-
In the United Kingdom, usually when large demonstrations take place that are deemed unstable, the territorial police force responsible for the demonstration in that area will
usually deploy Police Support Unit personnel who are trained in riot tactics, along with normal divisional officers. -
• Intervention vehicle for social events that interfered with demonstrators in Gezi Park (Istanbul) in 2013 Riot control agent (RCA) Riot control agents (sometimes called
RCAs) are “ non-lethal lachrymatory agents “ used for riot control. -
Having been used for years against demonstrators, it is increasingly being used by police in routine interventions.
-
In some cases, riot squads may also use Long Range Acoustic Devices, water cannons, armoured fighting vehicles, aerial surveillance, police dogs or mounted police on horses.
-
Until early in the 20th century, no dedicated force really existed in most countries and the traditional response when the regular police force proved inadequate was to call
upon the army, often with disastrous results: either fraternization or use of excessive violence. -
Stink bombs are believed to be less dangerous than other riot control chemicals, since they are effective at low concentrations.
-
As a less aggressive step, mounted police may first be sent into the crowd.
-
[7][8] Whilst the use of tear gas in warfare is prohibited by various international treaties[NB 1] that most states have signed, however police and private self-defense use
is not banned in an international manner. -
Vehicle-mounted water cannons may serve to augment personal weapons.
-
If the demonstration turns violent, police will seal roads and other exits to contain protesters in a single area (known as kettling) to prevent widespread damage and wait
until the protesters tire. -
• French gendarmes mobiles using tear gas • This gendarme is shooting tear gas canisters using an Alsetex “Cougar” launcher • U.S. Army troops are shown attempting to keep
Vietnam War protesters from rioting in Washington, D.C., 1967. -
[2] Long the only large force specialized in maintaining or restoring law and order in France during demonstrations or riots, the GRM progressively developed the doctrine
and skills needed in that role: exercise restraint, avoid confrontation as long as possible, always leave an “exit door” for the crowd, etc. -
Most commonly used riot control agents are pepper spray and various kinds of tear gas.
-
Tear gas[edit] Main article: Lachrymatory agent Tear gas is a non-specific term for any chemical that is used to temporarily incapacitate through irritation of eyes and/or
respiratory system. -
[citation needed] A more straightforward tactic police may use is a baton charge which involves police officers charging at a crowd of people with batons and in some cases,
riot shields. -
In a very heavy crowd, the officer may not be able to see who is responsible for snatching a weapon, and may not even notice that it has happened.
-
In these situations, the police may use pepper spray, or water cannons to neutralize the threat.
-
The decision is based on the perceived level of threat and the existing laws; in many countries it is illegal to use lethal force to control riots in all but the most extreme
circumstances. -
These officers subdue rioters and subsequently allow the less heavily armoured, more mobile officers to make arrests where it is deemed necessary.
-
However, these methods usually fail when there is severe anger with a legitimate cause, or the riot was planned or organized.
-
Usually, when front-facing a riot, officers slowly walk in a line parallel to the riot’s front, extending to both its ends, as they noisily and simultaneously march and beat
their shields with their batons, to cause fear and psychological effects on the crowd. -
New policing methods, including combat pistol shooting, hand to hand combat skills, and knife fight training, were pioneered by British Assistant Commissioner William E. Fairbairn
and officer Eric Anthony Sykes of the Shanghai Municipal Police as a response to a staggering rise in armed crime in the 1920s — Shanghai had become one of the world’s most dangerous cities due to a breakdown in law and order in the country
and the growth of organised crime and the opium trade. -
Tear gas and other more offensive tactics are used as a last resort.
-
Baton charging is designed to cause the maximum amount of pain, in the hope that they would be compelled to move away from the scene, dispersing the crowd.
-
Stink bombs are devices designed to create an extremely unpleasant smell for riot control and area denial purposes.
-
For example, the helmets worn by riot control officers have an additional outward-extending part that protects the back of the neck from assault.
-
A netgun is currently in development for non-lethal riot control.
-
The gear frequently worn by riot control officers protects the entire body with no vulnerable spots to exploit.
-
For this reason, riot police may have holsters with positive locking mechanisms or other extra means of retention, if their agencies can afford such tools.
-
Among a long list of substances, these three have become of greater importance than the others because of their effectiveness and low risks when used.
-
The might and height offered by the horse are combined with its training, allowing an officer to more safely infiltrate a crowd.
-
The first squad trained in modern techniques of riot control in Asia was formed in 1925 in colonial Shanghai as a response to the mismanaged riot of the May Thirtieth Movement.
-
As a reserve unit, it was used to forcibly disband riots as well as to respond to high-level criminality like kidnappings and armed robberies.
-
They run at the crowd hitting people with their batons, and in some situations use riotshields to push them away.
Works Cited
[‘1. e.g. the Geneva Protocol of 1925: ‘Prohibited the use of “asphyxiating gas, or any other kind of gas, liquids, substances or similar materials”‘
2. A Hash House Haul 1915
3. ^ Gainot, Bernard (October–December 2005). “Histoire de la Maréchaussée
et de la Gendarmerie. Guide de recherche” [History of the National Gendarmerie and the Gendarmerie]. Annales historiques de la Révolution française (in French). 342 (342): 253–255. doi:10.4000/ahrf.1961.
4. ^ Bruneteaux, Patrick (1996). Maintenir
l’Ordre: Les transformations de la violence d’Etat en régime démocratique [Maintaining Order: The Transformations of State Violence into a Democratic System] (in French). Paris: Presses de Sciences Po. ISBN 978-2724606768.
5. ^ Histoire de la
Gendarmerie mobile d’Île-de-France [History of the Île-de-France Mobile Gendarmerie] (in French). Spe Barthelemy Eds. 24 November 2006.
6. ^ Vortisch, Hans-Christian (10 January 2008). Masters, Phil (ed.). “GURPS Martial Arts: Fairbairn Close Combat
Training” (PDF). Steve Jackson Games.
7. ^ “Article II. Definitions and Criteria”. OPCW. Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons. Retrieved 31 March 2018.
8. ^ “CS Gas”. h2g2, The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition.
British Broadcasting Corporation. 19 April 2011. Retrieved 26 December 2008.
9. ^ “CS Gas: How to combat the effects”. Do or die: Voices from Earth First!. United Kingdom (7): 135. 1998. ISSN 1462-5989. Archived from the original on 24 October 2002.
10. ^
U.S. Army Chemical and Biological Defense Command (CBDCOM) (June 1998), Commercial Backpack Blower/Sprayer System (PDF), archived from the original (PDF) on 28 July 2004
11. ^ “Operation TAILWIND Review: Extract of U.S Air Force Report”. Air Force
Historical Office. 16 July 1998. Archived from the original on April 20, 2009.
12. ^ Kostof, Spiro (1991). The City Shaped: Urban Patterns and Meanings Through History. Bulfinch Press. p. 230. ISBN 978-0821218679.
13. ^ “Experimental Riot Control:
Riot Foam”. How It Works Magazine. How It Works. August 2011.
Photo credit: https://www.flickr.com/photos/prayitnophotography/12045735155/’]