THE world has embarked on a new arms race – and rather than nuclear warheads, the currency this time is arms that don’t kill. Governments, armies and police forces hope that “non-lethal” weapons will not only offer more effective methods of crowd control, but help draw a line under the bloody conflicts of the 20th century. The philosophy – if we can’t stop people fighting let’s try to stop them killing – seems admirable. But there’s a catch. In many situations NLWs may cause more suffering than they prevent.
The field took off in 1996, when the US Department of Defense set up…
