The distribution and resolution of the ambiguities of technology, or why Bobby can't spray

Social Studies of Science

Volumn 31, Issue 4, 2001, Pages 557-591

  Rappert, Brian ^a  

^a UNIVERSITY OF NOTTINGHAM   (United Kingdom)

Author keywords

Chemical incapacitant sprays; Innovation; Police; Science and technology studies; Weapons

Indexed keywords

EID: 0035539244     PISSN: 03063127     EISSN: None     Source Type: Journal    
DOI: 10.1177/030631201031004004     Document Type: Article

References (142)

1. As is argued in this paper, the specific interpretation given to the 'capacities of a technology' is a matter of some debate within the literature. The abstract term 'capacity' is used in a general manner to indicate the properties and characteristics of technology that account for what it is and what it enables, constrains or otherwise influences.
2. See, for instance, Keith Grint and Steve Woolgar, 'Computers, Guns and Roses: What's Social about being Shot?', Science, Technology, & Human Values, Vol. 17, No. 3 (Summer 1992), 366-80; Steve Woolgar and Geoff Cooper, 'Do Artefacts Have Ambivalence?: Moses' Bridges, Winner's Bridges and other Urban Legends in S&TS', Social Studies of Science, Vol. 29, No. 3 (June 1999), 433-45; and especially Keith Grint and Steve Woolgar, The Machine at Work (Cambridge: Polity Press, 1997), Chapter 6.
3. See, for instance, Keith Grint and Steve Woolgar, 'Computers, Guns and Roses: What's Social about being Shot?', Science, Technology, & Human Values, Vol. 17, No. 3 (Summer 1992), 366-80; Steve Woolgar and Geoff Cooper, 'Do Artefacts Have Ambivalence?: Moses' Bridges, Winner's Bridges and other Urban Legends in S&TS', Social Studies of Science, Vol. 29, No. 3 (June 1999), 433-45; and especially Keith Grint and Steve Woolgar, The Machine at Work (Cambridge: Polity Press, 1997), Chapter 6.
4. See, for instance, Keith Grint and Steve Woolgar, 'Computers, Guns and Roses: What's Social about being Shot?', Science, Technology, & Human Values, Vol. 17, No. 3 (Summer 1992), 366-80; Steve Woolgar and Geoff Cooper, 'Do Artefacts Have Ambivalence?: Moses' Bridges, Winner's Bridges and other Urban Legends in S&TS', Social Studies of Science, Vol. 29, No. 3 (June 1999), 433-45; and especially Keith Grint and Steve Woolgar, The Machine at Work (Cambridge: Polity Press, 1997), Chapter 6.
5. Grint & Woolgar (1997), op. cit. note 2, 167.
6. Nick Lee, 'The Challenge of Childhood: Distributions of Childhood's Ambiguity in Adult Institutions', Childhood, Vol. 6, No. 1 (1999), 455-74.
7. Zygmunt Bauman, Modernity and Ambivalence (Cambridge: Polity Press, 1991).
8. See Janice McLaughlin, Paul Rosen, David Skinner and Andrew Webster, Valuing Technology: Organisations, Culture and Change (London: Routledge, 1999).
9. Bernward Joerges, 'Do Politics have Artefacts?', Social Studies of Science, Vol. 29, No. 3 (June 1999), 411-31.
10. The paper around which discussion swirls is Langdon Winner, 'Do Artifacts Have Politics?', originally published in Daedalus, Vol. 109, No. 1 (Winter 1980), 121-36, and since often anthologized.
11. It is important to acknowledge that while Winner might aptly be placed in a 'realist camp' in relation to others in S&TS, there is still a considerable difference between his approach and that of those coming to the field from other backgrounds. See, for example, Walter Vincenti, 'The Technical Shaping of Technology: Real-World Constraints and Technical Logic in Edison's Electrical Lighting System', Social Studies of Science, Vol. 25, No. 3 (August 1995), 553-74.
12. Bryan Pfaffenberger, 'Technological Dramas', Science, Technology, & Human Values, Vol. 17, No. 3 (Summer 1992), 282-312.
13. Joerges, op. cit. note 7.
14. Examples include: Weibe Bijker and John Law (eds), Shaping Technology/Building Society (Cambridge, MA: MIT Press, 1992); Andrew Feenberg, Questioning Technology (London: Routledge, 1999); Donald MacKenzie, Inventing Accuracy (Cambridge, MA: MIT Press, 1990).
15. Examples include: Weibe Bijker and John Law (eds), Shaping Technology/Building Society (Cambridge, MA: MIT Press, 1992); Andrew Feenberg, Questioning Technology (London: Routledge, 1999); Donald MacKenzie, Inventing Accuracy (Cambridge, MA: MIT Press, 1990).
16. Examples include: Weibe Bijker and John Law (eds), Shaping Technology/Building Society (Cambridge, MA: MIT Press, 1992); Andrew Feenberg, Questioning Technology (London: Routledge, 1999); Donald MacKenzie, Inventing Accuracy (Cambridge, MA: MIT Press, 1990).
17. Steve Woolgar, 'The Turn to Technology in Social Studies of Science', Science, Technology, & Human Values, Vol. 16, No. 1 (Winter 1991), 20-50.
18. See Keith Grint and Steve Woolgar, 'On Some Failures of Nerve in Constructivist and Feminist Analyses of Technology', Science, Technology, & Human Values, Vol. 20, No. 3 (Summer 1995), 286-310.
19. Woolgar & Cooper, op. cit. note 2.
20. Rob Kling, 'Audiences, Narratives, and Human Values in Social Studies of Technology', Science, Technology, & Human Values, Vol. 17, No. 3 (Summer 1992), 349-65. For a related call for the formulation of a middle ground, see Rosalind Gill, 'Power, Social Transformation, and the New Determinism: A Comment on Grint and Woolgar', ibid., Vol. 21, No. 3 (Summer 1996), 347-53.
21. Rob Kling, 'Audiences, Narratives, and Human Values in Social Studies of Technology', Science, Technology, & Human Values, Vol. 17, No. 3 (Summer 1992), 349-65. For a related call for the formulation of a middle ground, see Rosalind Gill, 'Power, Social Transformation, and the New Determinism: A Comment on Grint and Woolgar', ibid., Vol. 21, No. 3 (Summer 1996), 347-53.
22. Rob Kling, 'When Gunfire Shatters Bone: Reducing Sociotechnical Systems to Social Relationships', Science, Technology, & Human Values, Vol. 17, No. 3 (Summer 1992), 381-85, at 384.
23. Langdon Winner, 'Upon Opening the Black Box and Finding it Empty: Social Constructivism and the Philosophy of Technology', Science, Technology, & Human Values, Vol. 18, No. 3 (Summer 1993), 362-78.
24. See Steven Lukes, Power: A Radical View (London: Macmillan, 1974), and Nina Eliasoph, Avoiding Politics (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1998).
25. See Steven Lukes, Power: A Radical View (London: Macmillan, 1974), and Nina Eliasoph, Avoiding Politics (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1998).
26. Ian Hutchby, 'Technologies, Texts and Affordances', Sociology, Vol. 35, No. 2 (May 2001), 441-56.
27. Woolgar & Cooper, op. cit. note 2, 443.
28. Grint & Woolgar (1992), op. cit. note 2, 368.
29. For a discussion of these issues in relation to social constructivism, see Ian Hacking, The Social Construction of What? (Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 1999).
30. Robert Spitzer, The Politics of Gun Control (Chatham, NJ: Chatham Publishing, 1996), 181-87.
31. Grint & Woolgar (1992), op. cit. note 2.
32. For a comprehensive description of options, see John B. Alexander, Future War: Non-Lethal Weapons (NewYork: St Martin's Press, 1999), and Robert Bunker (ed.), Nonlethal Weapons: Terms and Reference, Institute for National Security Studies Occasional Paper 15 (Colorado Springs, CO: US Air Force Academy, 1996). The practicality of such weapons might appear to some to belong to the world of fantasy. More than one author has suggested that this is, indeed, where they do reside: see, for example, Jurgen Altman, 'Acoustic Weapons: Myths and Reality', Jane's Non-Lethal Weapons Conference (London, 1-2 November 1999).
33. For a comprehensive description of options, see John B. Alexander, Future War: Non-Lethal Weapons (NewYork: St Martin's Press, 1999), and Robert Bunker (ed.), Nonlethal Weapons: Terms and Reference, Institute for National Security Studies Occasional Paper 15 (Colorado Springs, CO: US Air Force Academy, 1996). The practicality of such weapons might appear to some to belong to the world of fantasy. More than one author has suggested that this is, indeed, where they do reside: see, for example, Jurgen Altman, 'Acoustic Weapons: Myths and Reality', Jane's Non-Lethal Weapons Conference (London, 1-2 November 1999).
34. For a comprehensive description of options, see John B. Alexander, Future War: Non-Lethal Weapons (NewYork: St Martin's Press, 1999), and Robert Bunker (ed.), Nonlethal Weapons: Terms and Reference, Institute for National Security Studies Occasional Paper 15 (Colorado Springs, CO: US Air Force Academy, 1996). The practicality of such weapons might appear to some to belong to the world of fantasy. More than one author has suggested that this is, indeed, where they do reside: see, for example, Jurgen Altman, 'Acoustic Weapons: Myths and Reality', Jane's Non-Lethal Weapons Conference (London, 1-2 November 1999).
35. John Barry and Tom Morganthau, 'Soon, "Phasers on Stun" ', Newsweek (7 February 1994), 26.
36. This point is made in the relatively short report by Amy Truesdell, The Ethics of Nonlethal Weapons (Lancaster, UK: Centre for Defence and International Security Studies, Lancaster University, 1996), and also runs through Alexander, op. cit. note 26: see, for example, Chapter 18.
37. This point is made in the relatively short report by Amy Truesdell, The Ethics of Nonlethal Weapons (Lancaster, UK: Centre for Defence and International Security Studies, Lancaster University, 1996), and also runs through Alexander, op. cit. note 26: see, for example, Chapter 18.
38. David Shukman, The Sorcerer's Challenge (London: Hodder & Stoughton, 1996), esp. 205-25.
39. For a critical overview of these issues, see Steve Wright, An Appraisal of Technologies of Political Control, PE 166 499 (Luxembourg: Scientific and Technological Options Assessment of the European Parliament, 1998), and Brian Rappert, 'Scenarios on the Future of Non-lethal Weapons', Contemporary Security Policy, Vol. 22, No. 1 (April 2001), 57-82.
40. For a critical overview of these issues, see Steve Wright, An Appraisal of Technologies of Political Control, PE 166 499 (Luxembourg: Scientific and Technological Options Assessment of the European Parliament, 1998), and Brian Rappert, 'Scenarios on the Future of Non-lethal Weapons', Contemporary Security Policy, Vol. 22, No. 1 (April 2001), 57-82.
41. Mike Doubet, The Medical Implications of OC Spray (Millstadt, IL: PPCT Management Systems, 1997), esp. 35-45.
42. Nick Lewer and Steven Schofield, Non-lethal Weapons (London: Zed Books, 1997), 66.
43. For contrasting views, see: P.A.J. Waddington, The Strong Arm of the Law: Armed and Public Order Policing (Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1990); Tony Jefferson, The Case Against Paramilitary Policing (Milton Keynes, Bucks, UK: Open University Press 1990); and Steve Wright, 'New Police Technologies: An Exploration of the Social Implications and Unforeseen Impacts of Some Recent Developments', Journal of Peace Research, Vol. 15, No. 4 (1978), 305-22.
44. For contrasting views, see: P.A.J. Waddington, The Strong Arm of the Law: Armed and Public Order Policing (Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1990); Tony Jefferson, The Case Against Paramilitary Policing (Milton Keynes, Bucks, UK: Open University Press 1990); and Steve Wright, 'New Police Technologies: An Exploration of the Social Implications and Unforeseen Impacts of Some Recent Developments', Journal of Peace Research, Vol. 15, No. 4 (1978), 305-22.
45. For contrasting views, see: P.A.J. Waddington, The Strong Arm of the Law: Armed and Public Order Policing (Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1990); Tony Jefferson, The Case Against Paramilitary Policing (Milton Keynes, Bucks, UK: Open University Press 1990); and Steve Wright, 'New Police Technologies: An Exploration of the Social Implications and Unforeseen Impacts of Some Recent Developments', Journal of Peace Research, Vol. 15, No. 4 (1978), 305-22.
46. See Committee on the Administration of Justice, Plastic Bullets: A Briefing Paper (Belfast: Committee on the Administration of Justice, 1998).
47. Gerry Northam, Shooting in the Dark (London: Faber & Faber, 1998), esp. Chapter 6.
48. For a discussion of prison standards and non-lethals, see Amnesty International, Cruelty in Control? The Stun Belt and Other Electro-shock Equipment in Law Enforcement, Report AMR 51/54/99 (London: Amnesty International, 1999).
49. Berkeley Police Review Commission, The Effectiveness of Pepper Spray (Berkeley, CA: BPRC, 1997); Doubet, op. cit. note 31.
50. Berkeley Police Review Commission, The Effectiveness of Pepper Spray (Berkeley, CA: BPRC, 1997); Doubet, op. cit. note 31.
51. Phil Messina, 'Chemical Deterrent Sprays: The Darker Side', Law Enforcement Technology (October 1993), 106-07.
52. Carol Ackroyd, Karen Margolis, Jonathan Rosenhead and Tim Shallice, The Technology of Political Control (London: Pluto Press, 1980), esp. Chapter 15.
53. By this I mean either actually using, or threatening to apply, force. For some (arguably contestable) figures, see John Hepburn, Marie Griffin and Matthew Petrocelli, Safety of Control in a County Jail: Nonlethal Weapons and the Use of Force (Phoenix, AZ: Department of Criminology, Arizona State University, 1997).
54. Grint & Woolgar (1992), op. cit. note 2, 368.
55. Jon Becker and Charles Heal, 'Less-than-Lethal Force', Jane's International Defense Review (February 1996), 62-64.
56. For an illustration of this line of argument, see Alexander, op. cit. note 26, Chapter 14.
57. Taken from Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI), Anti-personnel Weapons (London: Taylor & Francis, 1978), 92.
58. International Committee of the Red Cross, The Medical Profession and the Effects of Weapons: The Symposium (Geneva: International Committee of the Red Cross, 1996), 15-21.
59. Committee, op. cit. note 34, 3-7.
60. Doubet, op. cit. note 31, 26-27.
61. Eric Prokosch, The Technology of Killing (London: Zed Books, 1995), Chapter 6.
62. Sid Heal, 'The Evolution from "Non-Lethal" to "Less-Lethal" ' (cited 20 March 2001), available from URL: 〈http://www.airtaser.com/Web_2000/Feb/SidHeal.htm〉.
63. For example, Council on Foreign Relations Independent Task Force, Nonlethal Technologies: Progress and Prospects (Washington, DC: Council on Foreign Relations, 1999).
64. Douglas Lovelace and Steven Metz, Nonlethality and American Land Power (Carlisle, PA: Strategic Studies Institute, US Army War College, 1998), esp. 1-20.
65. Christopher Lamb, Non-lethal Weapons Policy: Department of Defense Directive (1 January 1995), 1.
66. For some instances of this, see Amnesty International, Annual Report 1999 (London: Amnesty International [International Secretariat], 1999).
67. Robert Bunker, 'Nonlethal Weapons Concepts', in Bunker (ed.), op. cit. note 26, 32-45, at 37.
68. Lovelace & Metz, op. cit. note 51, esp. 1-17.
69. Mark Honigsbaum, 'Arms Firm Avoids Export Ban', The Observer (London, 17 January 1999), 1.
70. Douglas Pasternak, 'The Pentagon's Quest for Nonlethal Arms is Amazing. But is it Smart?', US News and World Report (7 September 1997), 5-9, available from URL: 〈http://www.usnews.com/usnews/issue/970707/7weir.htm〉; Becker & Heal, op. cit. note 42; Alexander, op. cit. note 26, Chapter 18.
71. Douglas Pasternak, 'The Pentagon's Quest for Nonlethal Arms is Amazing. But is it Smart?', US News and World Report (7 September 1997), 5-9, available from URL: 〈http://www.usnews.com/usnews/issue/970707/7weir.htm〉; Becker & Heal, op. cit. note 42; Alexander, op. cit. note 26, Chapter 18.
72. Douglas Pasternak, 'The Pentagon's Quest for Nonlethal Arms is Amazing. But is it Smart?', US News and World Report (7 September 1997), 5-9, available from URL: 〈http://www.usnews.com/usnews/issue/970707/7weir.htm〉; Becker & Heal, op. cit. note 42; Alexander, op. cit. note 26, Chapter 18.
73. Alexander is quoted in Anon., 'Nonlethal Weapons Give Peacekeepers Flexibility', Aviation Week and Space Technology (7 December 1992), 50-51.
74. Laura Spinney quotes Lewer making this point, in 'A Fate Worse than Death?', New Scientist (18 October 1997), 26-27.
75. Amnesty International, op. cit. note 36, 45.
76. The guiding philosophy behind electro-shock technology is just one instance of Amnesty's overall position in this area. Besides opposing outright equipment whose sole or primary use is to commit human right violations, the international Amnesty movement calls for laws and regulations which: suspend the use, manufacture, transfer and promotion of any type of equipment where credible evidence has shown that it may inherently lend itself to human rights abuse, pending the outcome of a rigorous, independent and impartial inquiry into the use and effects of that type of equipment; prohibit the transfer and use of any type of equipment where credible evidence has shown that it may inherently lend itself to human rights abuse unless the receiving party has established rules (including mechanisms which enable the effective monitoring and observance of the rules) which regulate the eventual legitimate use of it and which are based upon international human rights and humanitarian law standards. Amnesty International, Arming the Torturers: The Spread of Electroshock Technology (London: Amnesty International [International Secretariat], 1997), 22.
77. Lawrence Hinman, 'Stunning Morality: The Moral Dimensions of Stun Belts', Criminal Justice Ethics (Winter/Spring 1998), 3-13.
78. See Committee, op. cit. note 34.
79. Brian Wynne, 'Unruly Technology: Practical Rules, Impractical Discourses and Public Understanding', Social Studies of Science, Vol. 18, No. 1 (February 1988), 147-67, at 160.
80. For an attempt to establish objective criteria, see International Committee of the Red Cross, The SIrUS Project (Geneva: ICRC, 1997), 1-5.
81. Lee, op. cit. note 4, 464-65.
82. Grint & Woolgar (1992), op. cit. note 2, 368.
83. For a typical statement of these claims, see Steven Edwards, John Granfield and Jamie Onnen, Evaluation of Pepper Spray, National Institute of Justice: Research in Brief (Washington, DC: NIJ, 1997).
84. For the most comprehensive statement of such concerns, see Doubet, op. cit. note 31, 20-35.
85. Samuel Faulkner and Larry Danaher, Controlling Subjects: Realistic Training vs. Magic Bullets (Washington, DC: Federal Bureau of Investigation, 1997).
86. Doubet, op. cit. note 31, 26.
87. For a discussion of this issue, see Rob Reiner, The Politics of the Police (London: Harvester Wheatsheaf, 1992).
88. P.A.J. Waddington and Malcolm Hamilton, 'The Impotence of the Powerful: Recent British Police Weapons Policy', Sociology, Vol. 31 No. 1 (February 1997), 91-109.
89. Robin Ballantyne, 'It'll All End in Tears', The Guardian (London, 11 January 1996), 8.
90. See John Steele, '2,500 Policemen to be Issued with CS Sprays Today', Electronic Telegraph (26 June 1998): www.telegraph.co.uk.
91. See, for example: Fraser Bell and Ben Thomas, 'Police Use of CS Spray: Implications for NHS Mental Health Services', Mental Health Care, Vol. 1, No. 12 (August 1998), 402-04; Owen Boycott, 'Guidelines for CS Gas "Ignored" ', The Guardian (14 May 1996), 7; David Brindle, 'Police Asked to Justify Use of CS Gas Spray on Boy, 14', The Guardian (8 January 1998), 10; and Duncan Campbell, 'Police Defend Their Use of CS Spray on Mother', The Guardian (28 August 1996), 4.
92. See, for example: Fraser Bell and Ben Thomas, 'Police Use of CS Spray: Implications for NHS Mental Health Services', Mental Health Care, Vol. 1, No. 12 (August 1998), 402-04; Owen Boycott, 'Guidelines for CS Gas "Ignored" ', The Guardian (14 May 1996), 7; David Brindle, 'Police Asked to Justify Use of CS Gas Spray on Boy, 14', The Guardian (8 January 1998), 10; and Duncan Campbell, 'Police Defend Their Use of CS Spray on Mother', The Guardian (28 August 1996), 4.
93. See, for example: Fraser Bell and Ben Thomas, 'Police Use of CS Spray: Implications for NHS Mental Health Services', Mental Health Care, Vol. 1, No. 12 (August 1998), 402-04; Owen Boycott, 'Guidelines for CS Gas "Ignored" ', The Guardian (14 May 1996), 7; David Brindle, 'Police Asked to Justify Use of CS Gas Spray on Boy, 14', The Guardian (8 January 1998), 10; and Duncan Campbell, 'Police Defend Their Use of CS Spray on Mother', The Guardian (28 August 1996), 4.
94. See, for example: Fraser Bell and Ben Thomas, 'Police Use of CS Spray: Implications for NHS Mental Health Services', Mental Health Care, Vol. 1, No. 12 (August 1998), 402-04; Owen Boycott, 'Guidelines for CS Gas "Ignored" ', The Guardian (14 May 1996), 7; David Brindle, 'Police Asked to Justify Use of CS Gas Spray on Boy, 14', The Guardian (8 January 1998), 10; and Duncan Campbell, 'Police Defend Their Use of CS Spray on Mother', The Guardian (28 August 1996), 4.
95. Police Complaints Authority, CS Spray: Increasing Public Safety? (London: PCA, 1999), 5-12.
96. See Martin Elliot, 'PCA Claims have Damaged the Reputation of CS Spray', Police Review (30 July 1999), 8, and Carol Jenkins, 'South East JBBs Criticise CS Report, Police Review (16 July 1999), 5.
97. See Martin Elliot, 'PCA Claims have Damaged the Reputation of CS Spray', Police Review (30 July 1999), 8, and Carol Jenkins, 'South East JBBs Criticise CS Report, Police Review (16 July 1999), 5.
98. Compare, for instance, David Graves and Philip Johnston, 'Police Tests on CS Gas to Go Ahead', Electronic Telegraph (4 January 1996): 〈www.telegraph.co.uk〉, and John Steele, 'Fears Linger as Police Take CS Gas on the Beat', Electronic Telegraph (26 June 1998): www.telegraph.co.uk.
99. Compare, for instance, David Graves and Philip Johnston, 'Police Tests on CS Gas to Go Ahead', Electronic Telegraph (4 January 1996): 〈www.telegraph.co.uk〉, and John Steele, 'Fears Linger as Police Take CS Gas on the Beat', Electronic Telegraph (26 June 1998): www.telegraph.co.uk.
100. In relation to the arguments presented here, see Alun Michael (former Home Office junior minister), 'CS Gas', Hansard, 16 June (London: HMSO, 1998): column 173.
101. For an overview of these concerns, see Shaun Trevisick, Dispatches: The Truth of CS (London: Channel 4 & Liberty Publication, 1996), 3-8.
102. Editorial, ' "Safety" of Chemical Batons', Lancet, Vol. 352 (18 July 1998), 159.
103. See Carol Jenkins, 'CS Spray Solvent "Too Toxic to be Safe" says PSDB-commissioned Report', Police Review (20 November 1998), 5, and Andrew Gilligan and Robert Evans, 'Warning on CS Gas Dangers Ignored by the Police', The Independent (London, 19 April 1998), 1.
104. See Carol Jenkins, 'CS Spray Solvent "Too Toxic to be Safe" says PSDB-commissioned Report', Police Review (20 November 1998), 5, and Andrew Gilligan and Robert Evans, 'Warning on CS Gas Dangers Ignored by the Police', The Independent (London, 19 April 1998), 1.
105. Department of Health, Statement on 2-Chlorobenzylidene Malononitrile and CS Spray, Report by the Committees on Toxicity, Mutagenicity, and Carcinogenicity of Chemicals in Food, Consumer Products and the Environment (London: HMSO, 1999).
106. The preceding account has only considered a limited range of the issues that could be discussed regarding the spray's health effects. Given the context of the concerns of this paper, suffice to say that the debate about the safety of the sprays is quite complicated and extensive. For more information, see: Peter Gray, 'Formulation Affects Toxicity', British Medical Journal, Vol. 321 (1 July 2000), 46;
107. Carol Jenkins, 'PAVA In, CS Out?', Police Review (9 April 1999), 22-24;
108. Robert Jones, 'Are CS Sprays Safe?', Lancet, Vol. 350 (30 August 1997), 606;
109. Jason Kossoff, 'Police Now Use CS Sprays More than Truncheons', Independent on Sunday (9 August 1998), 1-3;
110. Omega Foundation, Crowd Control Technologies, Report to the Scientific and Technological Options Assessment of the European Parliament, PE 168.394 (Luxembourg: European Parliament, 2000);
111. and A. Parneix-Spake, A. Theisen, J.C. Roujeau and J. Revuz, 'Severe Cutaneous Reactions to Self Defence Sprays', Archives of Dermatology, Vol. 129 July 1993), 913.
112. Egmont Kock and Bernard Rix, A Review of Police Trials of the CS Aerosol Incapacitant (London: Police Research Group Publication, 1996), 10.
113. PCA, op. cit. note 77, Chapter 4.
114. Philip Johnston, 'Police "Using CS Sprays Too Often" ', Electronic Telegraph (26 June 1998): 〈www.telegraph.co.uk〉.
115. See John Buttle, The Influence of the United States on the British Force Regarding the Use of Chemical Incapacitant Sprays (unpublished MA dissertation in Comparative Criminology & Criminal Justice, University of Wales, Bangor, 1999).
116. Steve Wright and Rob Evans, 'British Police Face a CS Gas Attack', The Guardian (8 July 1999), G4.
117. British Broadcasting Corporation News, 'CS Spray Complaints Rise', BBC News (8 July 1999): 〈news.bbc.co.uk〉.
118. See PCA, op. cit. note 77, 2.
119. Erving Goffman, The Presentation of Self in Everyday Life (New York: Doubleday, 1959), Chapter 1. For an elaboration of such issues, see, for example: Simon Holdaway, 'Discovering Structure: Studies of the British Police Occupational Culture', in Mollie Weatheritt (ed.), Police Research (Aldershot, Hants, UK: Avebury Press, 1979), 67-89.
120. Erving Goffman, The Presentation of Self in Everyday Life (New York: Doubleday, 1959), Chapter 1. For an elaboration of such issues, see, for example: Simon Holdaway, 'Discovering Structure: Studies of the British Police Occupational Culture', in Mollie Weatheritt (ed.), Police Research (Aldershot, Hants, UK: Avebury Press, 1979), 67-89.
121. See Jason Goldstein, 'Police Discretion Not to Invoke the Criminal Process: Low Visibility Decisions in the Administration of Justice', Yale Law Journal, Vol. 69 (1960), 543-94.
122. Association of Chief Police Officers, Police Trials of CS for Self-defence in England and Wales - 1996, ACPO Guidelines for Use (London: House of Commons Library, 1996), 5.
123. Ibid., 1, 2.
124. Personal interview with Neil Haynes (ACPO) (13 June 2000).
125. Association of Chief Police Officers, CS Incapacitant Spray: Notes for Guidance on Police Use (London: ACPO, 1999), 4.
126. Statements made by Neil Haynes: see note 97.
127. See PCA, op. cit. note 77.
128. See, for example, Jack Straw (then Home Secretary), 'Policing (London)', Hansard, 16 July (London: HMSO, 1999): column 691.
129. For a debate made within this frame of reference, see 'CS Gas', Hansard, 12 May (London: HMSO, 2000): columns 1185-90.
130. Peter Boatman, End of Year Use of Force Report (Northampton: Northamptonshire Police, 2000).
131. One informal use of force practice which has now become part of the taught repertoire of officers is 'kneeing': interview with Peter Boatman (11 July 2000).
132. Ibid.
133. All three anonymous referees of this paper were highly critical of a previous and slightly more extended discussion of the system in Northamptonshire. One referred to my analysis of it as relying on 'a panopticon of data', and another said it was theoretically and empirically disappointing. Certainly, I do not wish to take this system as unproblematic, or capable of resolving disputes about the use of force in an authoritative fashion through the mobilization of data. The amount of information gathered, and the potential for feedback, do hold the potential for Northamptonshire police to minimize (but not eliminate) uncertainties, and to learn from their experience. Arguably these basic measures are important considerations, whatever the lack of any radical change of organizational practices.
134. See, for example: Luc Mampaey, Prison Technologies: An Appraisal of Technologies of Political Control, PE 289.666 (Luxembourg: Scientific and Technological Options Assessment of the European Parliament, 2000); Alexander, op. cit. note 26, Chapter 18.
135. See, for example: Luc Mampaey, Prison Technologies: An Appraisal of Technologies of Political Control, PE 289.666 (Luxembourg: Scientific and Technological Options Assessment of the European Parliament, 2000); Alexander, op. cit. note 26, Chapter 18.
136. For some of the most insightful discussions, see Langdon Winner, Autonomous Technology: Technics-out-of-Control as a Theme in Political Thought (Cambridge, MA: MIT Press, 1978), esp. Chapter 7.
137. Wynne, op. cit. note 64.
138. Pfaffenberger, op. cit. note 10, 290.
139. This was a matter of concern at the time: see Ben Brown, Assaults on Police Officers (London: Police Research Group, 1994).
140. While much of the justification for the sprays has been pitched in terms of the benefits to officers in reducing injuries due to assaults, the possibility for negative health effects from the sprays is a major concern for officers. An unfortunate wind change, or the physical handling of recipients, quite often results in officers getting contaminated. While there are no centrally maintained figures on police injury, during the trials of the sprays 78% of officers experienced cross contamination: Kock & Rix, op. cit. note 86, 12. Indeed, the original trials of the spray in 1995 were called off due to serious injuries sustained by officers in training.
141. My 'thanks' to an anonymous reviewer who brought up this set of issues.
142. For a further discussion, see Lee, op. cit. note 4.