"Joke shop" ideas for Sussex bat-cops?

2:30pm Friday 5th September 2008

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Police officers are set to be armed with stink bombs and high-powered glue guns to help them catch dangerous criminals.

Other Batman-style crimefighting gadgets being developed by Home Office experts for Sussex officers include sticky nets and skinburning lasers.

In a “less lethal technologies” report by the Home Office Scientific Development Branch (SDB) it was revealed scientists were looking into equipping officers with an array of “less harmful” weapons than guns, Tasers and plastic bullets.

One Brighton police officer said he would “feel more like Batman” if the measures were implemented and added: “It sounds like their ideas came from the joke shop.”

According to industry magazine Police Review the report lists a variety of non-lethal weapons, including: Malodorants (stink bombs). To be used to disperse crowds by making them gag and run away from the vile smell.

The report says: “Malodorants are extremely bad-smelling compounds. They could be used to deter crowds, although unlikely to prevent a determined assailant.”

Immobiliser glue. Fired from a Ghostbusters-style backpack, with a reach of ten yards.

The gluey foam starts to set as soon as it hits the suspect, making it almost impossible for them to move.

However, the report warns: “The foam … poses a serious risk of suffocation if it comes into contact with the mouth.”

Sticky nets. Coated with adhesives of chemical irritants – or even a net with an electrical stun device – they would cause an offender to get tangled up and fall over when thrown over them.

Skin-burning lasers – or “directed energy weapons”.

Can be pointed at an offender’s skin, burning the outer layers and causing severe pain, although the lasers are currently “too expensive”.

The report says: “In the future, officers would be most likely to be using “directed energy weapons” to control violent and dangerous offenders”.

The SDB report notes at present officers are “well equipped” with non-lethal weapons but does not rule out the future use of the Batman-style gadgets.

The Association of Chief Police Officers (ACPO) said it was evaluating the devices but some officers complained they would turn them into “Inspector Gadget”.

One described it as “like Buckaroo” – the family game in which players stack lassos, rifles, hats and other items on a mule until it gets overloaded and bucks the whole lot off.

The beat officer said: “It’s all very well equipping us with these things but they all sound very fidgety. I’d feel more like Batman than a police officer and I’d probably have more special devices than he did.”

“It sounds like they have just gone down to the joke shop to get their ideas. What about sneezing powder or itching powder?”

A spokeswoman for ACPO confirmed “some” of the devices could be trialled by officers in the near future.

She said: “Less lethal options neutralise a threat without substantial risk of serious or permanent injury or death.”