Rubber bullets are not safe for use in controlling crowds, concludes a new Israeli medical report – and some of the bullets are much worse than others.

The report catalogues a frightening list of rubber-bullet injuries of 152 people brought to hospital after Israeli Arab riots in October 2000. That includes everything from bruising to blindness and three deaths – one from a hit to the sinuses, one from a strike to the eye that caused brain damage, and a third from complications during knee surgery.

All of the serious injuries were caused by a rubber bullet called RCC-95 – a blunt cylinder made up of three metal cores coated in hard rubber that splits after firing. The parts wobble in flight, sometimes striking victims sideways.

“This type of inaccurate ammunition and the resulting ricochets evidently make it difficult or impossible to avoid severe injuries,” says Michael Krausz, lead author of the study and a surgeon from the Rambam Medical Center in Haifa.


Rubber balls

Another type of bullet used to control crowds during the riots, the MA/RA 88, caused mild to moderate injuries. These bullets are made of 15 metal-cored rubber balls that have the same impact area as the RCC-95 but are only a third as heavy. These bullets spray out in a metres-wide circle from the gun, making them useful for dispersing a crowd but not for targeting individuals.

Since even these bullets caused injuries requiring a trip to the hospital, Krausz does not consider them safe. “New types of ammunition with higher accuracy and less force of impact are urgently needed for control of civil demonstrations,” he says.

Rubber and plastic bullets have been controversial ever since their first use in Northern Ireland in the 1970s. Police in the province switched to plastic bullets in 1975, and to a new model last June, in an attempt to find the safest ammunition. The new bullets fly straighter and are more accurate, but also cause more serious damage if they do hit the head or neck.

“They’ve killed 17 people, including nine schoolchildren,” says Clara Reilly, of the United Campaign Against Plastic Bullets in Belfast. “Hundreds have been injured, including paralysis, brain damage, loss of both eyes – the list is endless.”

Gel bullets

In the UK, plastic bullets are not used for crowd control. “They are only to be used when there is a very high level of violence involving serious risk of loss of life or serious injury,” according to the Home Office. But Reilly counters that those conditions leave room for wide interpretation.

Research continues to make a better, less lethal weapon. This includes using gel instead of plastic bullets, or modifying the speed at which a gun fires depending on the range of the target.

Others are investigating using water cannon that deliver electric shocks, or noise-generating weapons that stun victims.

In the meantime, Krausz says, police officers must comply with regulations to only fire rubber bullets at lower limbs, and he suggests it should always be from a distance of more than 40 metres.

Journal reference: The Lancet (vol 359, p 1759)