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Plastic Bullets
Plastic Bullets were introduced in the United Kingdom in 1973 to replace the rubber bullets, officially known as rubber baton rounds, which had entered the army arsenals in 1970 and was reputed to be a non-lethal weapon to knock out individual targets.
The replacement was partly motivated by three deaths, among which Frank Rowntree, an 11 years old boy from Belfast, caused by rubber bullets. The main reason however was that the rubber baton round was a unpredictable and uncontrollable piece of ballistic trash that was to be fired in front of a crowd at a range of more than 20 metres, causing the bullets to ricochet and hit the singled out rioter in the lower body. Due to the unpredictable character of the projectile the instructions were more often than not violated. Most, if not all, casualties were hit by a direct shot at the upper body from close range.
In total about 55,000 rubber baton rounds have been fired between 1970 and 1974.
Rubber (left) and plastic bullet
(authors collection)
Compared with the rubber bullet the first plastic baton round was only a slight improvement. With 142 gram the PVC projectile was just as heavy as its predecessor, but the force of impact was reduced due to a lower velocity at gun point. As a result the ricochetting was crossed out. On the downside however the plastic bullet was just as unstable as its rubber counterpart. Consequently the minimum firing range was often violated. In addition there are numerous reports of head and chest injuries inflicted by plastic baton rounds.
Furthermore the plastic bullet was, according the Rules Of Engagement (ROE), meant to be used in situations of potential violent disorder [...] and there must be no alternative other than the use of lethal force.. First of all it is highly questionable whether this regulation was observed at all times and secondly the phrase potential violent disorder was idle at the peak of The Troubles in Northern Ireland. It was left to the on scene commanding officer to decide whether the use of plastic bullets was absolutely necessary to protect own forces or others under their protection from physical violence.
The lack of stability, ambiguous and inadequate instructions, and the non-lethal reputation of the baton round, from which the impact was often compared with a blow from a hand-held baton, resulted in sloppiness and soon after its introduction the plastic bullet proofed its ability to inflict severe irreversible and even lethal damage to the human body.
There are no reliable figures concerning surviving victims of plastic bullets, but it is estimated that several hundred people in Northern Ireland are impeded to some extent in their daily routine due to psychiatric and neurological disorders, among which permanent blindness and paralysis, caused by injuries sustained by plastic baton rounds.
From its introduction in 1973 until 2002 the alleged non-lethal plastic baton round had claimed 17 causalities, among which comparatively many children. No less than seven children, including Julie Livingstone and Carol Ann Kelly who are memorised in a song written by Robin Dunwoody, were killed by plastic bullets. Unfortunately it appears that some of these children were struck on the head by a stray bullet intended to hit an adult in the lower body. Even so 14 of the killed victims were struck by a round fired from less than 20 metres and given the head, neck and chest injuries on adults the rule to aim at the lower body was also violated several times.
Initially only the British army was authorised to employ plastic bullets. In 1978 however this weapon system was added to the arsenals of police forces in the United Kingdom, including the Royal Ulster Constabulary (RUC). Nevertheless the use of the weapon was, apart from some rare and isolated incidents in Great Britain, restricted to Northern Ireland.
In de mid-1990's a new version of the plastic baton round was introduced. Contrary to the first baton round, which was fired with the same gun as the rubber bullets, the second generation of plastic bullets, the so-called L5A7, came along with a matching anti-riot gun, the H&K L104. No improvements had been made on the field of stability and, because it was replaced in 2001 by the acrylic L21A1 after just seven years of service, the L5A7 was most likely meant as in-between solution.
From day one onwards the third generation of plastic bullets is surrounded with controversies. The ballistic characteristics of the L21A1, and by that the accuracy, are definitely a change for the better through which this anti-riot system can be used over longer distances. This advantage however is nullified by the kinetic characteristics due to which the dumb-bell shaped acrylic bullet preservers its energy over longer distances. To put it differently: At the moment the projectile leaves the barrel of the H&K L104 the kinetic energy squeezed in the L21A1 is less than the energy stored in the L5A7. The new bullet is less susceptible to gravity and air resistance that soak up some of the energy during flight. Consequently the L21A1 will release more kinetic energy when fired over approximately 22 metres or more. Whether the amount of kinetic energy, measures in Joule, can be used to calculate the fatality of the bullet is debatable, but it is at least remarkable that the operational range of the L21A1 was set to 20-30 metres (House of Commons Hansard Written Answers for 8 May 2001). The second controversy in relation to the plastic baton round L21A1 relates to a giant order placed by the Royal Ulster Constabulary (RUC) just prior to the transition to the Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI). Already in the previous years the Royal Ulster Constabulary purchased considerable more rounds then actually had been fired, but to everybody's utter amazement they ordered 50,000 rounds in 2001, while only 89 rounds were used that year. Reliable statistics concerning plastic bullets stored in the arsenals are not available, but it is estimated that the arsenals of Northern Ireland contained 60,000 to 70,000 rounds at the end of 2001. For comparison reasons: between 1981 and 2001 about 40,000 rounds has been fired and about 7,000 rounds are used annually by the Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) for training purposes.
National and international opposition against plastic bullets are forcing law enforcement agencies to search alternatives. Possible options are chemical sprays and Electro-Muscular Disruption (EMD), popularly known as taser after the registered trademark of TASER International, a technology by which an electric pulse causes an uncontrollable contraction of the muscle tissue.
Plastic Bullets
| Title: Plastic Bullets |
| Lyrics by: Brian Warfield |
| Recorded by: Charlie and The Bhoys and The Wolfe Tones |
| Category: The Troubles |
Copyright Statement |
So you divided up my land
Six counties stayed in England's hand
And so you take my home
But you cannot take my mind
Then you tried to keep me down
With your tanks and guns in my streets and towns
And you shoot your plastic bullets
To keep your plastic state
In Ireland's troubled land
Each decade brings its rebel band
And forces of the crown
They try to bring them down
But the flowers will bloom again
And the people they will rise again
And then you shot him down
So all the world could see
Does it matter how you kill
You make the rules it is your will
But let your plastic bullets
To kill it's all the same
Oh I could not believe my eyes
You took those young lads by surprise
The way you shot them down
That day in Derry town
In Ireland's troubled land
Each decade brings its rebel band
And forces of the crown
They try to bring them down
But the flowers will bloom again
And the people they will rise again
And then you shot him down
So all the world could see
Oh some justice we did seek
A place for all to live in peace
An island in the sea
Where people could be free
But you can not be proud
The way you shot him to that ground
A nightmare you shot them down
That night in Belfast town
In Ireland's troubled land
Each decade brings its rebel band
And forces of the crown
They try to bring them down
But the flowers will bloom again
And the people they will rise again
And then you shot him down
So all the world could see
Then shoot me, shoot me down
Because I made my colours known
And I heard the mercy cry
Where people in fear do lie
In anger then he ran
With the banner stick all in his hand
And then you shot him down
And all the world could see
The day you shot Séan Dowd
That day in Belfast town