A report by Her Majesty's Inspectorate of Constabulary (HMIC), commissioned by the Home Secretary found that the use of plastic bullets in England as a means of crowd control was deemed ‘inappropriate and dangerous’ causing some anger among Northern Irish politicians.
The official review of police tactics into the August riots, which scarred many English cities, has recommended that serious consideration needs to be given to the use of plastic bullets and water cannon to deal with public disorder - for the first time outside of Northern Ireland.
The British Government pioneered the use of plastic bullets in Northern Ireland which, despite being found to be lethal at certain ranges, were still used extensively throughout the province. Between 1973 and 1981, some 42,000 baton rounds were fired killing fourteen people which included nine children.
Sinn Fein‘s policing spokesperson Elisha McCallion said the report highlights the stark hypocrisy of using such methods in Ireland and the blatant double standards over the use of plastic bullets.
Ms McCallion went on: “The report’s recommendations, along with that of senior police officers, clearly state that these are dangerous weapons and that their use could only inflame a riot situation. However in the north of Ireland we have the continued and unacceptable use of plastic bullets by the PSNI. This summer alone saw 338 plastic bullets fired.
The question then is - why are these lethal weapons in continued usage here?
“Sinn Féin has consistently called for plastic bullets to be banned. The Patten Commission called for them to be replaced. Even the former PSNI Chief Constable Hugh Orde accepted that plastic bullets should not be used in crowd control situations.
"This Westminster report only serves to emphasise the fact that plastic bullets should not be used as weapons in public order situations - neither in Britain nor in Ireland. I would urge the PSNI chief constable Matt Baggott to use this opportunity to take plastic bullets out of circulation, once and for all."
