Police Baton Research Articles

폭력적ㆍ치명적 공격에 대한 경찰 물리력 행사 연구

Since November 24, 2019, the police force regulations, “Rules on Standards and Methods of Using Police”, have been in effect. According to this rule, police determine that the act to be reported is ‘cooperative control’ at the ‘compliance’ stage, ‘contact control’ at the ‘passive resistance’ stage, ‘low-risk physical force’ at the ‘active resistance’ stage, and ‘medium-risk physical force’ at the ‘violent attack’ stage, ‘high-risk physical force’ is being used at the ‘fatal attack’ stage. The use of physical force by front-line police officers is active when the behavior of the person being reported is in the ‘compliance’, ‘passive resistance’, and ‘active resistance’ stages. However, it is not possible to be active when using ‘medium-risk physical force’ at the violent attack stage or ‘high-risk physical force’ at the fatal attack stage. The reasons why police officers on the front lines hesitate to use physical force in the event of a violent or fatal attack by a person to be reported are the criminal, civil, and administrative responsibilities they will experience after using physical force, and the「Police Officers Execution of Duties Act」and 「Rules on Standards and Methods of Exercise of Police Force」. This study was analyzed using a literature research method, and interview data from fellow police officers while working as a team leader at the police box was used as supplementary material. We presented a realistic plan for front-line police officers to actively use physical force in the event of violent or fatal attacks. As improvement measures, it was proposed to expand the reasons for reduction of sentences due to performance of police duties, revise the「Police Officers Execution of Duties Act」and 「Rules on Standards and Methods of Exercise of Police Force」, and improve the police baton, which is a police equipment.

Conflitos: Fotografia e violência política no Brasil, 1889–1964

Former Brazilian president Washington Luís's famous dictum, “The social question is a matter for the police,” expressed the sentiment of elite politicians during the last years of Brazil's First Republic (1889–1930), when few citizens were eligible to vote and coffee barons and other oligarchs ruled the country with an iron fist. The dire conditions of former slaves, rural peasants, and the urban poor—both freed people of color and recent European immigrants—generated popular dissent of all kinds, which was quickly met with the police's baton and the soldier's bullet. The state's brutal response to all forms of protest largely reflected the defense of a rigidly hierarchical and unequal society and a political system that offered few channels for effective legal petitions to power holders by those seeking social justice.This volume captures the nature of that political violence through an examination of social conflicts from the beginning of the republic in 1889 to the 1964 military coup d'état, drawing on a rich array of beautifully reproduced images from the Moreira Salles Institute, the largest and most diverse private photography collection in Brazil. Carefully curated and thoughtfully framed through essays opening the book's three sections by leading scholars—Angela Alonso, Angela de Castro Gomes, and Heloisa Murgel Starling—the book documents regional revolts, naval mutinies, pacification campaigns, and diverse insurrections.Some of these social conflicts have produced iconic images of the Brazilian state's callousness. One becomes freshly unsettled in observing the empty stares of the 400 African-descended women huddled together, many with their heads shrouded with rough peasant cloth, who had just survived the Canudos massacre of the 1896–97 federal government campaigns against religious leader Antônio Conselheiro and his followers (pp. 80–81). The worn faces and the dark skin of resting soldiers in the municipal park of Itapira during the São Paulo revolt of 1932 against the central government, who seem exhausted from marching or perhaps a recent skirmish, reveal their humble social origins (pp. 248–49). Throughout this work one notes how the state time and again forcibly mobilized the poor to fight the poor.In Brazil, as elsewhere, photography in the early twentieth century became an instrument of the victors, documenting the demise of the vanquished and circulating those images in newspapers and other print vehicles, and later in newsreels, to show the power of the state and the consequences of rebellion. The image of the severed heads of rural bandit Virgulino Ferreira da Silva, popularly known as Lampião, and ten of his men, displayed artfully on four steps at the entrance to a rural home with leather half-moon-shaped cangaceiro hats, ammunition belts, and two Singer sewing machines meticulously placed nearby, sends a clear message to the viewer (p. 295). Yet rebels also employed the same medium to promote their strength, power, and persistence, as in the posed photo published in a popular newspaper of Lampião's partner, Maria Bonita, elegantly seated somewhere in the barren sertão affectionately petting a dog, or in the group picture of leaders of the Prestes Column, from the late 1920s, sitting comfortably with their legs crossed wearing high leather boots and conveying a calm determination to continue their trek through the backlands of Brazil in their challenge to the country's ruling elites (pp. 210–11, 303).Cameras also recorded physical destruction of both rebels and the state. In a surrealistic photograph, a boy and a girl sitting in what seems to be a living room whose ceiling has been shattered by federal troop bombardments during the São Paulo revolt gaze passively into the lens with rubble all around them (p. 185). Out-of-focus 16 millimeter frames by an amateur filmmaker register the burning of the National Student Union headquarters in Rio de Janeiro during the 1964 military takeover (pp. 394–95). Papers are scattered all over the ground. Two young men are hurling something (are they rocks or firebombs?) into the burning building.The authors of the essays show the varied political uses of these images as they appeared in magazines and newspapers. Their narratives leave no doubt that one of the purposes of this collection is to reveal the raw nature of political violence that challenged “the social question”—that is, the demands for economic, social, and regional inclusion for those cast to the margins by sectors of society and a state that favored other social classes.One regrets that the volume stopped in 1964. Perhaps the images of Brazil's most recent military dictatorship are too familiar to a generation of intellectuals who might purchase the book. Yet in a moment when elected politicians and a new president have become dictatorship deniers, those photos documenting police repression and brutality during the two decades of military rule regrettably will become germane again and more potent, perhaps, than they were in the immediate past.

A Study on Proper Use of Police Baton in the Korean National Police Agency: A Comparative Analysis of Police Baton Guidelines and Court Decisions in Korea and the United States

A Study on Proper Use of Police Baton in the Korean National Police Agency: A Comparative Analysis of Police Baton Guidelines and Court Decisions in Korea and the United States

‘Duties In Aid of the Civil Power’: The Deployment of the Army to Glasgow, 31 January to 17 February 1919

On 31 January 1919 a demonstration in Glasgow in support of an unofficial strike for a 40-hour working week descended into violence, the ‘Battle of George Square’, probably set off by an ill-judged police baton charge. Troops called by the Sheriff of Lanarkshire began to arrive late that evening, and six tanks arrived on the following Monday. The ‘Battle’ and the subsequent military deployment have entered the mythology of Scottish socialism and, more recently, of Scottish nationalism. The strike had an overtly political aim: to force the Government to step in to regulate industry. Many in government believed that it had a more profoundly political, or even revolutionary aim. No detailed account of the troop deployment has yet been written, and in this gap mythology has flourished. This paper is intended to fill that gap and to challenge the myths.

Almost Democratic

The Umbrella Movement in Hong Kong (2014) read like a living tale of David and Goliath. Peaceful demonstrators held flimsy umbrellas to defend themselves against tear gas, pepper spray, and police batons. While many observers applauded the spontaneity of the citywide protests, little attention has been paid to the involvement of the Christian church in the prodemocracy struggle. This article draws on field observations and media reports to examine the various societal networks, resources, and mechanisms that Christian and non-Christian actors employed for grassroots mobilization. The crux of discussion is the political and theological polarization of the church, as the Umbrella protest revealed a qualitative shift in the attitude of local Catholics and Protestants toward political awakening and civic engagement. Such findings throw light on the intersection of faith and politics in Hong Kong’s continuous struggle for democratic governance.

Implementing Istanbul Protocol standards for forensic evidence of torture in Kyrgyzstan

The Kyrgyz government declared a policy of “zero tolerance” for torture and began reforms to stop such practice, a regular occurrence in the country's daily life. This study presents the results of 10 forensic evaluations of individuals alleging torture; they represent 35% of all criminal investigations into torture for the January 2011–July 2012 period. All individuals evaluated were male with an average age of 34 years. Police officers were implicated as perpetrators in all cases. All individuals reported being subjected to threats and blunt force trauma from punches, kicks, and blows with objects such as police batons. The most common conditions documented during the evaluations were traumatic brain injury and chronic seizures. Psychological sequelae included post-traumatic stress disorder and major depressive disorder, which was diagnosed in seven individuals. In all cases, the physical and psychological evidence was highly consistent with individual allegations of abuse. These forensic evaluations, which represent the first ever to be conducted in Kyrgyzstan in accordance with Istanbul Protocol standards, provide critical insight into torture practices in the country. The evaluations indicate a pattern of brutal torture practices and inadequate governmental and nongovernmental forensic evaluations.

“Education Is Our Occupation”

When my berkeley colleague the poet robert hass wrote for the new york times an account of the occupy cal event of 9 november 2011, he described the “strange contingencies” that struck his mind (even as the police baton struck his body). Since that day, when I was arrested (the police used a technique they call a hair-pull takedown) for linking arms with students to protect tents erected in solidarity with Occupy and in defiance of the campus's no-tents policy, I too have felt those contingencies. My decision to participate was no accident; I wanted to resist the conceptual and practical attenuation of the ideal of education as a res publica. But at the time of my arrest I had not yet recognized how much Occupy resonates with issues I have made the center of my scholarly life: vagrancy, mobility, freedom. This brief essay considers the new inflection Occupy has given to my understanding of the work of education. To exercise freedom of thought is not merely to engage heterodox ideas; it is to make thinking take place and take its time. It is to refuse attempts to constrain, by regulations concerning time, place, and manner, the public exercise of thinking.

Citizen Journalism vs. Traditional Journalism: A Case for Collaboration

IN JANUARY 2011, A NEWS RELEASE from Jamaica's Constabulary Communication Network (CCN) indicated that a man who attacked the police had been shot and killed. It was not long after, however, that a citizen of the country began circulating video footage which told a different story. The footage showed the man who was said to have attacked the police seemingly writhing in pain, being beaten with a police baton and finally shot and killed while still down, subdued and unarmed.The identity of that citizen who videotaped those images resulting in the arrest of the two policemen was never revealed, despite appeals from law enforcement officials. The action by that Jamaican citizen brought into sharp focus the fact that information and communication tools, such as mobile telephones and the Internet, are bringing about a level of access to information that is unprecedented. Blogs, forums, uploading of photographs or videos to the Internet, are now being labelled 'citizen journalism' as distinct from raditional, mainstream or professional journalism.The idea behind citizen journalism is that people without professional or formal training in journalism have an opportunity to use the tools of modern technology and the almost limitless reach of the Internet in order to create content that would otherwise not be revealed, as this kind of journalism goes far beyond the reach of professional journalism.1Citizen journalism, or participatory journalism as it is alternately labelled, is the act of a citizen or group of citizens involved in the process of collecting, reporting, analysing and disseminating news and other forms of information.2 The objective of this type of exercise is to provide independent, wide-ranging and relevant information that is crucial to democratic societies.Peter Dooley suggests that journalism is the outside looking in. journalism is the inside looking out. In order to get the complete story, it helps to have both points of view.3 Dooley's argument suggests that there is a place for this emerging phenomenon called citizen journalism, as well as for the profession that has been practised for decades called mainstream or traditional journalism.Citizen journalism, as we know it now, was popularised in the late 1990s as more and more people, in both the developed and developing worlds, became connected to the Internet. The term is viewed as an umbrella concept that covers blogging as well as other institutional practices - such as the opportunity provided by one of Jamaica's three free-to-air television stations, CVM Television, through its I-Watch Report segment that allows viewers to send in reports of events or activities in their location. Other definitions include any form of user-generated content or contribution to the debate that is taking place in the public sphere. These would include postings on personal websites and social networks such as Facebook, Twitter and MySpace. Radio stations in Jamaica, such as Nationwide News Network, have made these sites a regular part of their commentary as they solicit views from listeners and incorporate these in their current affairs programmes.While many researchers are in agreement that the term citizen journalism did not exist before the age of the Internet and that this phenomenon grew in tandem with the growth of the Internet, others posit a different view. According to Dan Gilmor, Citizen journalism has existed in the form of independent community papers and newsletters since the eighteenth century.4 It is only now, with the advent of the Internet, that more ordinary people have access to media and communication tools and facilities to make their opinions known and their voices heard, hence the focus is on citizen journalism.Gilmor further traces the roots of citizen journalism to the founding of the United States in the eighteenth century when pamphleteers such as Thomas Paine, who printed his own publications, became known. …

Ecology, Ontology, and Pedagogy at Camp Coorong

Ecology, Ontology, and Pedagogy at Camp Coorong

Civil Liberties Need Humanities

On display at the museum of modern art in New York is a sculpture, a bright red quilted egg-shaped suit, that the South African artist Ralph Borland entitled Suited for Subversion. The caption indicates that this is a suit to be worn by street protesters for protection against police batons, [drawing] attention to the risks demonstrators face in order to defend their convictions. A wireless video camera mounted over the head acts as a witness, recording police action. A speaker in the center of the chest amplifies and projects the wearer's heartbeat. In a group action, when many people are wearing these suits, the increasing heartbeats become audible as tension and excitement mount, like a natural soundtrack arousing the crowd. At the same time, the heartbeat exposes the vulnerability of the individual and the fragility of the human body exploited as a shield--almost as a weapon--against police munitions. (1) I was fascinated by the suit as I was reviewing the events that occurred since my arrival at the Canadian Civil Liberties Association (CCLA): the mass arrests at the G20 in Toronto, the enactment of Bill 78 in Quebec, and the increased surveillance of environmental and Native groups. The imaginary suit seemed to capture dramatically the contradictory emotions around the right to peacefully protest: the fragility of dissent in any society, but its power as a collective action, the ways in which police actions are feared, but defiantly recorded, as protestors seek to gage indicators of society's reaction--approval, disapproval, tolerance, or repression. As I reflected on the piece, I longed for it to be on display in Canada, for a history of resistance art to be popularized, for knowledge about how public protests have mattered for human progress, for discussions about whether or not the lack of protests may be a precursor to decreased democratic engagement. In short, I longed for arts and humanities to support the mandate of CCLA on the issue of the right and value of peaceful protest. This is the theme of this paper: there are always debates on the role, usefulness, and relevance of humanities, and I want to argue here that humanities are useful to a society based on the rule of law. Indeed, I, like many others, think that democracies, as opposed to theocracies or dictatorships, require a certain kind of scholarship and teaching devoted to critical self-reflection. History, philosophy, language studies, film studies, art studies, and cultural studies contribute to developing the human capacity to challenge, or empower, decision-makers engaged in the pursuit of the common good. I am arguing that humanities are essential to democracy as it is meant to be lived, that is, committed to the rule of law and to civil liberties. Democracies require the full and meaningful exercise of civil liberties, and this paper discusses how such an exercise of civil liberties requires humanities scholarship. My text is in two parts. First, I argue that civil liberties are an essential element of democracies and require a healthy humanistic culture to survive because law is not enough. Second, I develop the role of humanities in framing interactions with the three audiences that are part of civil liberties discussions--the powerless, the powerful, and the indifferent--and in that context suggest some avenues for research that is sorely needed. I Civil Liberties Need More than Law Canada has signed multiple international agreements that impose commitments, from the Convention on the Rights of the Child (2) to the Convention against Torture, (3) yet for over ten years the young Omar Khadr was incarcerated and tortured at Guantanamo, an adult prison, and successive Canadian governments did not do anything about it. (4) We have signed the Convention on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination (5) and have strong constitutional commitment to equality, (6) yet disabled persons have trouble finding employment, immigrants face precarious treatment, and Aboriginal people continue to be overly incarcerated. …

Guido Beck e a noite dos bastões largos: algumas observações sobre a relação entre física e política no contexto argentino

O objetivo deste artigo consiste em apresentar, sem que haja pretensão de exaustão do tema, de que modo o físico Guido Beck (1903-1988) reagiu aos eventos políticos envolvendo a Universidade de Buenos Aires (UBA) ao longo do segundo semestre de 1966. Com isso, procuro expor algumas ideias de Guido Beck sobre a relação entre ciência, estado e sociedade no contexto sul-americano. Isso será feito por meio da descrição da sua reação ao episódio conhecido como 'noite dos bastões largos'. Beck sempre foi muito sensível às instabilidades políticas existentes no meio acadêmico argentino, uma vez que disputas político-ideológicas poderiam prejudicar o trabalho em prol da construção de uma comunidade de física naquele país. Como conclusão, defendo a tese de que, para Beck, os físicos da UBA avaliaram equivocadamente o valor que tinham para o governo argentino e para parte da população daquele mesmo país.

Torture and its sequel—a comparison between victims from six countries

The aim of the study was to compare torture victims from six different nations and analyse differences and similarities. From the files of the Centre for Trauma Victims in Stockholm (KTC), 160 patients were selected: 53 patients from Bangladesh, 21 from Iran, 16 from Peru, 24 from Syria, 25 from Turkey, and 21 from Uganda. The data was classified into: (i) information about social conditions and circumstances pertaining to alleged torture, (ii) type of trauma and torture methods, and (iii) acute and late sequel to torture. Descriptive and non-parametric statistics were used in the analyses. There was a strong male dominance in all but the Ugandan group where 43% were women. The majority in all but the Turkish group had college exams and/or university studies. Over 84% were members of a political organisation except in the Iranian and Syrian groups, where more than 40% had no political affiliation. The majority in all groups had travelled to Sweden alone to apply for asylum, but most refugees from Turkey, Iran, and Syria had close relatives already living in Sweden. The stories of circumstances and torture methods were similar within each group but differed a great deal between groups. Typically, in Bangladesh, Peru, and Turkey, the periods under arrest were short: from a few hours to 3 days. In Iran, Uganda, and Syria, the time in custody varied from several months to several years. A prison sentence preceded by trial was common only in Iran. Many patients, especially from Bangladesh and Turkey, had been arrested several times. Sensory deprivation by isolation and blindfolding was common in all countries except Uganda and Peru. Beating with fists, sticks, truncheons, etc. were reported in 100% in every group. In Bangladesh, police batons (lathi) were used more commonly than in any other group. Whipping with electric cords occurred frequently only in Iran and Syria. Rape was most often reported among the Ugandans. Genital torture was frequently alleged by patients from Bangladesh and Turkey. Suspension was common in all countries except for Uganda. Falaka, i.e. beating of the soles, and electric torture were common (>60%) in Bangladesh, Iran, Syria, and Turkey. Sharp injuries inflicted with knives and bayonets were often seen among the Bangladeshi and Ugandans. Burning injuries due to cigarettes were commonly seen only in patients from Bangladesh. Some methods were found to be almost exclusive for each country: “water treatment” (Bangladesh), the “tyre” (Syria), “telephono” and “submarino” (Peru). The sequel of torture differed in some respects between groups. Fractures were more common among Iranians. Patients from Uganda and Bangladesh had numerous scars. Subjectively reported symptoms were most frequent among Bangladeshi, especially joint pain and ear, nose, and throat symptoms and least frequent among Ugandans. PTSD diagnosed on the basis of a psychiatric interview and psychological tests was found in 69–92% of patients in all groups. The study shows significant differences between countries regarding circumstances, torture methods, and sequel to torture. This knowledge is of value to forensic specialists documenting alleged torture and essential for fair and valid forensic statements.

Comparative analysis between police batons

The main purpose of this study was to compare various sizes of an extendible baton with the standard issue PVC duty baton. This project also included a side handle baton and a traditional wooden duty baton. Comparison was made on those quantifiable mechanical variables that were deemed significant with respect to trauma and the intended use of the baton as an intermediate weapon. These variables included impact force, impact pressure and movement kinematics while performing striking swings with these police batons. The three ASP expandable batons, the side handle baton and wood duty baton all produced smaller impact forces compared to that achieved with the PVC duty baton. In a model of impact pressure, the extendible batons produced, on average, higher impact peak pressures than those produced with the PVC duty baton. Differences were also observed between striking swing speed, frequency, and reach among the various batons tested which could influence an officer's ability to effectively utilize the batons as intermediate weapons.

Comparative analysis between police batons

The main purpose of this study was to compare various sizes of an extendible baton with the standard issue PVC duty baton. This project also included a side handle baton and a traditional wooden duty baton. Comparison was made on those quantifiable mechanical variables that were deemed significant with respect to trauma and the intended use of the baton as an intermediate weapon. These variables included impact force, impact pressure and movement kinematics while performing striking swings with these police batons. The three ASP expandable batons, the side handle baton and wood duty baton all produced smaller impact forces compared to that achieved with the PVC duty baton. In a model of impact pressure, the extendible batons produced, on average, higher impact peak pressures than those produced with the PVC duty baton. Differences were also observed between striking swing speed, frequency, and reach among the various batons tested which could influence an officer's ability to effectively utilize the batons as intermediate weapons.

Three-Dimensional Visualization and Image Processing in the Evaluation of Patterned Injuries

We used image processing to elucidate patterned injuries in a case of assault with a police baton. Three-dimensional visualization techniques were then used to correlate the location of patterned injuries with subjacent fracture and soft tissue damage. The visualization methods are discussed.

Impact characteristics of two types of police baton

A comparison study of the American style ASP extendible police baton with the conventional UK police wooden truncheon was performed. It was found that the ASP baton generated approximately twice the contact pressure than the conventional wooden trucheon. A discussion on the medical/legal aspects of the results are given.

The world's oldest tool for professional law enforcement: Historical and legal perspectives on the police baton

Abstract The widely viewed videotape of Rodney King's beating in March 1991, by Los Angeles police officers using batons, placed police brutality and the use of non‐lethal police weapons firmly under public scrutiny. This article traces the development of the baton, the oldest and most fundamental law enforcement tool. Included are the baton's physical evolution, expanded uses, court review of its application, potential for officer liability, and several existing training programs. The need is indicated for appropriate agency training and policies, as well as an understanding of the legal and ethical implications of employing this potentially lethal weapon.

Torturer Fired and Warned

On 6 December 1984, Zhang Xin, deputy warden of the Pu An County Public Security Bureau's detention center, abused his authority by repeatedly hitting female detainee Wang Xiulan with an electric shock police baton. Wang, a department store saleswoman detained on administrative charges, suffered traumatic injuries. She was hospitalized for three months and repeatedly lodged complaints with the authorities without getting their attention.

Thinking of Revolution: The New South Africa Inteligentsia

A group of students demonstrating against apartheid advance slowly toward a row of South African policemen blocking their path. When they ignore an order to disperse, the police charge, wielding whips and batons, pursuing the protesters all over the university campus.This article can also be found at the Monthly Review website, where most recent articles are published in full.Click here to purchase a PDF version of this article at the Monthly Review website.