Riot police of the Western world have recently come up against a succession of formidable threats. In Frankfurt for instance, German authorities were forced to square off against a legion of angry clowns who, in an effort to express their displeasure at austerity measures advocated by the ECB (which was at the time celebrating the completion of their new Frankfurt headquarters), set quite a few things on fire. Meanwhile, in the mean streets of Montreal, an “association of young communists” forgot to provide authorities with a protest itinerary, which led police to settle the matter with rubber bullets and sound bombs. Finally, in Quebec City, riot police were accosted by dozens of students who wanted, among other things, for the library to stay open longer, leaving authorities with no choice but to show protesters the meaning of “crowd control” via point-blank tear gas gun assaults. Here are the visuals:

Given that, and considering several recent contentious situations in Ferguson (Michael Brown) and New York (Eric Garner), it appears the Department of Homeland Security (via the US Customs and Border Protection dept) is intent on enhancing its ability to bring unruly crowds under control, so if you are a “less lethal” munitions supplier, you may want to check out the business opportunity the government has for you. Here’s the official summary:

U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) intends to solicit responses to Request for Information (RFI) 20082225-JTC for Less Lethal Specialty Munitions (LLSM) for use by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS). CBP is interested in incorporating commercial and industry practices that support this type of procurement. To accomplish this, CBP intends to make industry a partner in all facets of the acquisition process, specifically by considering existing market capabilities, strengths and weaknesses for the acquisition of this commodity. Responses to this RFI will allow CBP to incorporate industry input into the initial stages of the procurement. Note: RFI responses will NOT be shared with other industry suppliers and will solely be used as part of the procurement planning process.

In case you’re wondering what types of munitions Homeland Security is looking for, here’s a list: a variety of smoke canisters, an assortment of crowd management projectile cartridges, controlled noise and light distraction devices (Batman may also be looking to purchase some of these), and the always useful “ferret rounds,” which, for those unfamiliar, will blow apart any barriers protesters may be hiding behind and upon impact, will introduce chemical agents into the surrounding environment.

How all of this is useful for "border protection" we don't know, but for a more detailed breakdown, you can read the entire list below. There's also a helpful summary courtesy of SHFTPlan.com:

LLSM Item Requirements (Rev 1) 4-1-15 (1)