4 ms·

I want more efficient nonlethal weapons.. why is it such a small fraction of weapons research?

• pavel_lishin 13y ago
  There is a trade-off, there, however. Someone is more likely to use a non-lethal weapon than a lethal one, including police, etc - but non-lethal weapons are still very intimidating. With enough non-lethal weapons, it might make abuse of government power more likely, not less - training mace sprays and tazers on protesters is more acceptable than just mowing them down with bullets, but disperses crowds just as well.
  • Glide 13y ago
    I shudder at the thought that something like the Civil Rights movement would have been stopped if the police had better non-lethal weapons.
  • wrongc0ntinent 13y ago
    Another funny side effect of non-lethal weapons is very likely testimony against the perpetrator, by the victim.
• ufmace 13y ago
  It's pretty tough to reliably stop/disable somebody without at least a risk of killing them. Tasers still kill people every now and then, and their effectiveness is low enough that police usually only use them against unarmed people or with lots of backup armed with lethal weapons.