Posted on 02/08/2011 2:14:56 AM PST by lbryce
Prison guards might soon test an invisible laserlike beam that triggers a painful burning sensation as a new way to break up fights between inmates.
The project does not yet have the green light from its federal sponsor. But should it go forward, officials plan to set up the beam-emitting machine, known as Assault Intervention Device (AID) in a dormitory at the North County Correctional Facility at the Pitchess Detention Center in Castaic, Calif.
"This device allows us to stop a fight or lessen the severity of it without inflicting injury," said Cmdr. Bob Osborne of the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department.
Pain like a "hot stove" As a directed-energy weapon, the AID is laserlike in concept, though its beam is in the invisible millimeter range of the spectrum. The AID's ray penetrates one-sixty-fourth of an inch (0.4 millimeter) into the skin, down to the location of our pain receptors.
"In terms of pain, it's like brushing against a hot stove or an iron," Osborne said, who has experienced the AID's effects many times.
Yet the AID does not cause actual burning of the skin or nerve damage, according to Raytheon, the makers of the weapon and its parent device, the Silent Guardian, several units of which have been sold to the United States military.
"You instinctively yank your hand away, and then you look at [your hand] and there's nothing there," Osborne said. "You go, 'Boy, that’s hot, but I'm not injured,' and that's what we love about the device."
"All the other tools we have," Osborne said, such as batons or pepper spray, "hurt people.
(Excerpt) Read more at csmonitor.com ...
if you think this is about prisoners, you’re naive. this is about crowd control. “The right of the people to peacabley assemble shall not be infringed.”
Riots too.
Don’t forget the directed energy incontinence-inducing “crap cannon”.
“To avoid shining at a human target for longer than necessary or intended, the device only fires for a few seconds for each trigger press; to resume firing, the trigger must be released and depressed again, Osborne explained.”
-
I want one that’s full auto.
Why waste the money, just use lead bullets!
Working towards fully automated prisons? Push-button control from within a sealed security booth?
Does this mean no more waterboarding?
Nobody actually believes that this will be used on prisoners. It will be another so called non-lethal tool like the taser for police to have. After all, NOBODY ever died from a taser, did they?
I want one for the neighborhood teenagers!
Yes! And perhaps it would keep squirrels out of the bird feeder. Oh happy day.
The prison guards union has demanded personal use of AIDS weaponry on weekends so you might be in luck.
I agree—WHY NOT? And I add this ought be fully tested by using in on the US Congress when they are debating some commie program of the 0-zap every one of them -that way when they call it cruel and unusual punishment or vote to ban it from
use they will at least know what they are talking about.
What’s wrong with real guns?
if you think this is about prisoners, you’re naive. this is about crowd control.
********************
Absolutely correct. “Warm Feelings” from “Homeland Security”.
The most appropriate Star Trek reference for this thread are thrall obedience collars from The Gamesters of Triskelion.
I suppose the author would prefer that one of them get shanked in the fight?
That being said, we all know that eventually one of these guys will get paroled and some quack will certify that he has nerve damage that will be blamed on the ray, and they will become multi-millionaires at the expense of the taxpayers and Raytheon.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.