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

Plastic bullet can refer to:

  • Plastic baton round: a large, blunt, low-velocity projectile fired from a specialized gun, intended as a less-lethal weapon for riot control.[6][7]
  • Plastic bullet: a conventionally sized and shaped bullet made from a composite material including plastic, fired from a conventional rifle and capable of penetrating human tissue, intended as a less lethal weapon for riot control.[8][9]
  • Plastic bullet (target shooting): a blunt, lightweight handgun bullet intended for short-range target practice, not intended for use as a weapon.[10]

Both types of plastic bullet intended for riot control have caused deaths.[11][12]

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.

Plastic baton rounds were invented by British researchers to provide a more accurate alternative to rubber bullets, and were intended to be fired directly at rioters in Northern Ireland during The Troubles.[7][13]

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

History

The plastic baton round was developed in the UK by Porton Down scientists and intended for use against rioters in Northern Ireland during The Troubles, first used there in 1973.[7][14][15]

The first version was the L5 Plastic Baton Round (PBR, commonly called plastic bullet).[16] It was created to replace rubber baton rounds (rubber bullets), which had been used in Northern Ireland since 1970 and which were withdrawn by the end of 1975. Rubber bullets were meant to be fired at the legs of rioters or the ground in front of them. However, they were often fired directly at people from close range and sometimes at the totally innocent. The use of rubber bullets in Northern Ireland resulted in at least three people being killed and many more badly injured.[7][15]

The plastic bullet could be fired directly at people and at longer ranges. It was intended to be a projectile of similar effect on its target as the rubber bullet. Officially, its advantage over the rubber bullet was claimed to be greater accuracy.[7][13]

The first plastic bullet was made of PVC (some sources say polyurethane),[13][17][18] weighed 135 g (4.75 oz), was 38 mm (1.5 in) diameter and 'rather over' 102 mm (4 in) long. The new plastic bullet was a similar size to but lighter than the 149 g (5.25 oz) rubber bullet, but the considerably longer range of the plastic bullet—33–66 m (36–72 yd) against 23–46 m (25–50 yd)—implies an appreciably higher muzzle velocity. An analysis made in 1976 concluded that the plastic bullet would prove to be more dangerous than the rubber bullet it replaced, especially if used abusively at short distances.[7][14]

In Northern Ireland between their first use in February 1973 and February 1983, plastic bullets killed four times as many people round for round as the rubber bullets they replaced.[14]

The final variant of the L5 plastic bullet—the L5A7—was introduced in 1994. The L5 was replaced by the L21A1 in 2001. The L21 plastic bullet was fired from a new launcher, the HK L104A1 riot gun, a rifled weapon which gives greater accuracy when used with an optical sight than the smooth bore weapons used to fire the earlier L5 rounds.[16]

A 2003 study for the Northern Ireland Human Rights Commission found that the new L21 round was 'potentially more lethal' since it was inaccurate and 2.5 times more likely to penetrate body tissue than the older L5 round. One in three L21 rounds missed their target, while 10% of the L21 rounds fired caused injury compared to 1.14% of the L5 rounds.[17]: 8-9  The Defence Scientific Advisory Council found that the L21 round hitting end on could penetrate a human skull and lodge in the brain, killing the victim; also that the L21 round posed more risk to innocent bystanders than the L5 due to its greater potential ricochet.[17]: 8 

The L21 was replaced by the L60A1 Attenuated Energy Projectile in June 2005 due to tests showing that the L21 was more dangerous than earlier rounds especially when striking the head.[19][20]

Usage—plastic baton rounds

Use in Northern Ireland

Numbers of rubber and plastic bullets fired in Northern Ireland 1970–1981[21][22]
Year Rubber bullets Plastic bullets
1970238
197116,752
197223,363
197312,72442
19742,612216
19751453,556
19763,464
19771,490
19781,734
19791,271
19801,231
198129,665
Sub-total 55,83442,669
Total 98,503

The British Army in Northern Ireland was issued with plastic bullets in August 1972, the intention being to replace the use of rubber bullets, and first used them in February 1973;[7] while the Royal Ulster Constabulary (RUC) first 'tried out' the new round during a riot on 12th August 1973.[23] Shortly after their introduction it was discovered plastic bullets were lethal at certain ranges.[24] Rubber bullets had been withdrawn from Northern Ireland by the end of 1975.[7]

Fourteen people were killed by plastic bullet impacts; half of them were children and all but one were from the Catholic community. The deaths occurred over 14 years, from 1975 to 1989.[11] Most of the deaths were allegedly[25][26][27] 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.

The first person to be killed by a plastic bullet was 10-year-old Stephen Geddis, who died on 30 August 1975 in hospital, two days after being shot by the British Army in west Belfast.[11] One of the most high-profile plastic bullet victims was 12-year-old Carol Ann Kelly from west Belfast, who died in hospital on 22 May 1981 after being shot in the head by a member of the Royal Regiment of Fusiliers on 19 May 1981.[28][29]

In 1982, the European Parliament called on member states to ban the use of plastic bullets.[30] 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.[31]

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.[16]

Use elsewhere

During the weekend of April 20, 2001, at the anti-FTAA protest in Quebec City, Canada, plastic bullets were used by police forces against protesters attempting to breach the security fences. 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.[32][33]

Plastic bullets were approved for policing in England and Wales in June 2001. Plastic bullets were also authorized for G8 summit protests in Gleneagles, Scotland in July 2005.[34] A plastic bullet was successfully used to disarm a hostage taker armed with a machete in Dorchester, England in November 2002.[35]

In September 2004, seven picketing shipbuilders were injured in a tear-gas and plastic bullet assault in Cadiz, Spain.[36]

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.[37]

Venezuelan police and soldiers fired plastic bullets at student protesters in Caracas in December 2010.[38]

Foam-tipped plastic bullets were employed by U.S. Marines in a trial in the Iraq War but were determined to be ineffectual.[39]

Usage—penetrating plastic bullets

Use in Israel

Israeli plastic bullets are not baton rounds and are capable of penetrating all body tissue.[8][40]

In August 1988, the Israeli army began using plastic bullets for crowd control by the military administration of the West Bank and Gaza Strip. Israeli Defense Minister Yitzhak Rabin explained the plastic bullets were intended to cause more injuries to Palestinian rioters. Army commanders hoped that their use would reduce Palestinian stone-throwing, however this did not happen during the first month of their use in which Israeli plastic bullets killed eight Palestians.[12]

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 whom were under 14 years old.[40]

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."[40]

Use in Jammu and Kashmir

India's Terminal Ballistics Research Laboratory in Chandigarh has developed plastic bullets designed to be fired from conventional rifles as an alternative to using pellet guns for crowd control.[9]

These plastic bullets—not baton rounds—can be fired from AK-47 and INSAS rifles and have been used by 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 protesters during violent clashes in Jammu and Kashmir.[41]

According to Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) officials, the plastic bullets can only be fired in single shot mode and not in burst mode.[41] The bullets are claimed to penetrate 20mm into human targets.[9]

21,000 rounds of plastic bullets were sent to Kashmir in 2018 for riot control.[42] A anonymous source at the Indian Ministry of Home Affairs claimed that the use of plastic bullets is based on the list of non-lethal weapons approved by the United Nations peacekeeping standards for crowd control.[43]

Design

The original UK plastic bullet deployed in 1972 weighs around 135 g (4.75 oz) and was intended to be effective at a range of 33 to 66 m (36 to 72 yd).[7]

Recreational use

A type of reusable plastic bullet intended for short-range target practice using conventional handguns is available, designed to be propelled purely by an ordinary cartridge primer.

Speer plastic bullets, the only widely available brand, are flat-nosed hollow plastic cylinders, are available in .357/.38/9 mm, .44, and .45 calibers, and are designed for use primarily in revolvers, as the flat nose of the bullet does not feed well in most magazine fed actions. 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.[10]

See also

References

  1. ↑ Nick Lewer (2002). Advanced Book Search The future of non-lethal weapons: technologies, operations, ethics and law. Taylor & Francis. ISBN 0-7146-8265-9.
  2. ↑ "Written Answers to Questions [7 Jun 2004]". 7 June 2004. Retrieved 22 December 2010.
  3. ↑ Chris Talbot (26 June 2001). "Sectarian riots in Northern Ireland". World Socialist Web Site. Retrieved 17 December 2010. who retaliated by firing rounds of a new type of plastic bullets, L21 A1,
  4. ↑ "A Draft Chronology of the Conflict -2001". Retrieved 17 December 2010. During the riots the RUC fired a number of the new 'L21 A1' plastic baton rounds.
  5. ↑ LAURA FRIEL (11 July 2002). "Victims and their families take action". Retrieved 22 December 2010.
  6. ↑ Yearbook of the European Convention on Human Rights. Martinus Nijhoff Publishers. 1989. p. 133. ISBN 0-7923-0207-9.
  7. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 Rosenhead, Jonathan (16 December 1976). "A new look at 'less lethal' weapons". New Scientist. Vol. 72, no. 1031. Reed Business Information. ISSN 0262-4079. Archived from the original on 14 March 2023. Retrieved 14 March 2023. Thirteen year old Brian Stewart died in October from a fractured skull after being hit by a plastic bullet fired by the Army.
  8. 1 2 Yellin, Alon; Golan, Michael; Klein, Ehud; Avigad, Hamar; Rosenman, Judith; Lieberman, Yair (February 1992). "Penetrating thoracic wounds caused by plastic bullets" (pdf). Journal of Thoracic and Cardiovascular Surgery. 103 (2): 381–385. doi:10.1016/S0022-5223(19)35042-1. PMID 1736005. Archived from the original on 15 March 2023. Retrieved 15 March 2023. The plastic bullet (Fig. I) is a 5.62 mm missile, 1.5 cm long, weighing 0.85 gm, and composed of metal particles sustained in a plastic (polyvinylchloride) substance. The bullet is shot by conventional military weapons, usually the M-16 rifle.
  9. 1 2 3 Ray, Kalyan (4 January 2019). "Plastic Bullet to replace the pellets in Kashmir valley". National/North and Central. Deccan Herald. Bangalore, India: The Printers Mysore. Archived from the original on 4 January 2019. Retrieved 15 March 2023. The bullets with plastic tips can pierce the skin up to 20 mm
  10. 1 2 "SPEER Specialty Products". Speer. Archived from the original on 10 April 2008. Retrieved 29 May 2008.
  11. 1 2 3 Melaugh, Martin. "List of People Killed by 'Rubber' and 'Plastic' Bullets". CAIN (Conflict Archive on the INternet). Ulster University. Archived from the original on 8 August 2022. Retrieved 15 March 2023.
  12. 1 2 "Israel Defends Plastic Bullets in Face of Growing Criticism". Jewish Telegraphic Agency. 30 September 1988. Archived from the original on 15 March 2023. Retrieved 15 March 2023. eight Palestinians have been killed by plastic bullets in the month since they were first employed
  13. 1 2 3 Mr Hugh Jenkins, MP for Wandsworth Putney (30 December 1976). "Bullets". Parliamentary Debates (Hansard). Vol. 921. UK: House of Commons. col. 78W–79W. Archived from the original on 14 March 2023. The rubber baton round was withdrawn from Northern Ireland towards the end of 1975 by which time it had been replaced by the plastic (PVC) round which is inherently more accurate, particularly at longer ranges.
  14. 1 2 3 Vines, Gail (3 February 1983). "New plastic bullets squirts noxious chemicals". New Scientist. Vol. 97, no. 1343. Reed Business Information. ISSN 0262-4079. Archived from the original on 14 March 2023. Retrieved 14 March 2023. Plastic bullets were invented by Porton Down scientists for use in Northern Ireland.
  15. 1 2 Melaugh, Martin. "A Chronology of the Conflict - August 1970". CAIN (Conflict Archive on the INternet). Ulster University. Archived from the original on 24 December 2022. Retrieved 14 March 2023. The rounds were intended to be fired at the legs of rioters or the ground in front of rioters [...] Often the weapons were fired directly at people [...] These weapons were to result in a number of deaths and serious injuries.
  16. 1 2 3 Anthony G Williams. "Less-lethal Ammunition". Archived from the original on 3 September 2009.
  17. 1 2 3 Omega Foundation (March 2003). Baton Rounds (PDF). Temple Court, Belfast, BT1 1NA, UK: Northern Ireland Human Rights Commission. ISBN 1-903681-33-2. Archived from the original (PDF) on 16 September 2021. A review of the human rights implications of the introduction and use of the L21A1 baton round in Northern Ireland and proposed alternatives to the baton round{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location (link)
  18. ↑ Williams, Anthony G. (2 August 2022). "British 37 mm baton rounds". Small Arms Review. Chipotle Publishing. Archived from the original on 25 March 2023. Retrieved 25 March 2023. The obvious difference is that the baton is flat-nosed and made from polyurethane polymer. The L5 remained in service for a long time and went through several marks, the last being the L5A7. The baton is 98mm long, weighs 131g and is fired at 63 m/s.
  19. ↑ "Appendix 1". The work of the Committee in 2005, Second Report of Session 2005–06 (PDF) (Report). HC 928. London: House of Commons: Northern Ireland Affairs Committee. 28 February 2006. p. 10. Archived (PDF) from the original on 25 February 2017. Retrieved 15 March 2023. The Attenuated Energy Projectile (AEP) became operational on 21 June 2005 and replaced the previous L21 Baton Round.{{cite report}}: CS1 maint: others (link)
  20. ↑ Hallett, Edward (13 January 2020). "L21A1 Baton Round Cartridge". Tales from the Supply Depot; Collecting British Militaria. hatchfive. Archived from the original on 30 September 2022. Retrieved 23 March 2023. The L21A1 round only lasted in service for a very short time. The Defence Scientific Advisory Committee tested the round and concluded that whilst it had similar kinetic impact energies to its predecessors, it could be slightly more dangerous if it struck someone in the head.
  21. ↑ The Royal Ulster Constabulary acquired plastic bullets in 1978, but the figures for 1978, 1979 and 1980 refer only to the number of plastic bullets fired by the British Army. The 1981 figures include plastic bullets fired by the RUC
  22. ↑ They Shoot Children: The use of rubber and plastic bullets in the north of Ireland. Ivor Place, London: Information on Ireland. 1982. ISBN 0-9507381-2-3.
  23. ↑ Melaugh, Martin. "A Chronology of the Conflict - August 1973". CAIN (Conflict Archive on the INternet). Ulster University. Archived from the original on 14 March 2023. Retrieved 14 March 2023. Sunday 12 August 1973 The Royal Ulster Constabulary (RUC) tried out a new plastic baton round during a riot.
  24. ↑ Coker, Christopher (2008). Ethics and war in the 21st century. Routledge. p. 129. ISBN 978-0-415-45282-3.
  25. ↑ "Dispute over plastic bullets use". BBC News. 18 July 2001. Archived from the original on 15 October 2002. Retrieved 6 January 2010. Seventeen people have been killed by plastic bullets in Northern Ireland. Nine of those who died were children under the age of 18 - the youngest aged 10.
  26. ↑ McKittrick (1999). "Victims of Plastic and Rubber Bullets, Lost Lives (1999)". Archived from the original on 16 May 2003. Brian Stewart. Age 13. Shot October 10 1976. Shot in the head by British Army from a distance of 10 yards. Non-riot situation
  27. ↑ "Plastic and Rubber Bullet Victims". Archived from the original on 24 July 2011. John Downes, 23, from Andersonstown, west Belfast, killed in the most public fashion when he was struck on the chest at point blank range by an RUC plastic bullet in front of television cameras at a Republican rally
  28. ↑ "The Victims". Relatives for Justice. 2009. Archived from the original on 29 March 2009. Retrieved 25 March 2023. The coroner in his 'findings' said that Carol Ann Kelly was an innocent bystander when she was 'struck on the head by the second of two plastic bullets fired as she passed Aspen Park.'
  29. ↑ Human Rights in Northern Ireland. Human Rights Watch. 1991. p. 159. ISBN 978-0-300-05623-5.
  30. ↑ A Chronology of the Conflict - 1982. Conflict Archive on the Internet (CAIN).
  31. ↑ A Chronology of the Conflict - July 1997. Conflict Archive on the Internet (CAIN).
  32. ↑ KAREN W. ARENSON (28 December 2005). "When Scholarship and Politics Collided at Yale". The New York Times Company. Retrieved 16 December 2010.
  33. ↑ Mark Engler (22 April 2001). "Fortress Quebec: A Return to Tear Gas and Violence". Alternet. Retrieved 4 September 2014.
  34. ↑ Macdonell, Hamish; Gray, Louise (29 January 2005). "Ring of steel to protect city from G8 mayhem". The Scotsman. Edinburgh. Retrieved 12 September 2011.
  35. ↑ "Police plastic bullet ends siege by machete man". The Daily Telegraph. 25 November 2002. Retrieved 9 August 2011.
  36. ↑ "Shipbuilders in Spain strike in privatisation protest". World Socialist Web Site. 17 September 2004. Retrieved 5 February 2011.
  37. ↑ "Kenya:Brutal Seventh". The Economist. 17 July 1997. Retrieved 4 February 2011. a female student was shot in the stomach with a plastic bullet as she tried to flee
  38. ↑ Sanchez, Fabiola (23 December 2010). "Venezuelan students protest against university law". boston.com. Associated Press. Archived from the original on 15 March 2023. Retrieved 5 March 2023. Police and soldiers fired water cannons and plastic bullets as thousands of students protested against a law passed by Venezuela's congress that increases government powers over the country's universities.
  39. ↑ Nick LEWER and Neil DAVISON (2005). "Non-lethal technologies—an overview" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 27 July 2011. Retrieved 5 February 2011.
  40. 1 2 3 Talmor, Ronny (July 1990). The Use of Firearms by the Security Forces in the Occupied Territories (doc) (Report). Translator: Ralph Mandel. p.14 introduction + definition of riot, p.15 Rules of Engagement, p.17 uprising data, pp. 75,81 MK Yair Tsaban to defence ministers Yitzhak Rabin & Yitzhak Shamir. pp.75-6,84 total young persons killed by plastic bullets April 1989. Jerusalem: B’Tselem – The Israeli Information Center for Human Rights in the Occupied Territories. ISSN 0792-4003. Archived from the original on 5 March 2023. Retrieved 15 March 2023. Between the start of the Intifada and the end of May 1990, 630 Palestinians, including 138 children under the age of 16, were shot to death by the Israeli security forces.
  41. 1 2 Ahuja, Rajesh (20 June 2017). "Centre sends 1 lakh plastic bullets, chilli-filled PAVA shells to Kashmir Valley". Hindustan Times. Retrieved 4 January 2019.
  42. ↑ "CRPF sends 21000 "less lethal" plastic bullets to Kashmir". The Economic Times. PTI. 14 July 2018. Retrieved 4 January 2019.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: others (link)
  43. ↑ Kaur, Kamaljit (18 April 2017). "Using plastic bullets in Kashmir drawn from UN peacekeeping standards for crowd control". India Today. Retrieved 4 January 2019.
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