Without special means, the police will not be able to protect citizens during the riots. What did the law classify in this category, and about which not a word is said in the normative acts? We will understand the article. Let's start with the regulatory framework governing this issue.
The laws
Interestingly, the term “special police means” is not in the law “On Police”. But the phrase appeared for a reason. The fact is that since 1988 the term has been used in legal acts of the former USSR. When is a policeman entitled to use special equipment? The police, unfortunately, often exceed their powers, which the media do not forget to mention.
Where is this thin line that divides the excess of self-defense and justified application? Let's try to figure it out ourselves, based on the laws of our country.
The concept
So what is meant by special police means? So called products and service animals, which are used in accordance with the law of our country. They are designed to exert a forced physical effect on objects of the material plane or people.
Today, the Ministry of Internal Affairs has thirteen types of special police equipment. And we are not talking about the fact that there can be many variations of this or that remedy. On the balance of the Ministry of Internal Affairs there are hand tools such as handcuffs or rubber sticks, and large-scale ones, such as armored vehicles or water cannons.
To understand what it is about, read on the description of each tool.
Types of Police Tools
In the Federal Law “On Police,” special tools are divided into several categories. So what are the means:
- Means of active defense.
- Means of individual armor protection.
- Means of providing special operations.
In turn, all funds are intended for several purposes:
- Reflexes of attack of violators, restrictions of their physical resistance, suppression of disobedience.
- Protecting employees from the effects of cold and firearms, strikes with metal rods, sticks, throwing objects.
- Psychophysiological effects on violators through acoustic and light pulses.
- Active exposure to offenders by irritation of the upper respiratory tract and mucous membrane of the eyes.
- Sudden destruction of barriers and door opening.
- Forced stopping of medium and light duty vehicles with pneumatic tires.
What else is written in the Federal Law “On Police” about special means? Definitions of each category are given.
Means of active defense
According to the Law on Police, the use of special means is aimed at short-term deprivation of the ability to resist. As you can see, the meaning of the funds is somewhat different from that adopted in society.
Such devices are called special-purpose weapons. The name seems to imply that employees cannot physically destroy people or cause bodily harm to violators. They are used only in the worst case, when non-violent methods of influence have not yielded any results.
This group includes stun guns, a special carbine, rubber sticks, gas weapons, tear gas "Lilac" and "Bird Cherry", handcuffs, rubber bullets and more.
Personal protective equipment
According to the law "On Police", the use of special means in this group is necessary in order to protect the health and life of the police officers. Devices are aimed at protecting human parts of the body.
These include helmets and helmets, bulletproof jackets, the Glove product, body armor, armor and shockproof shields.
If a police officer puts on all this at once, he will become practically invulnerable and will be able to fulfill his duty.
Special Operations Support Tools
These include the most powerful tools for dealing with intruders. They are applied only if there is no other way out, for example, when special or major operations are carried out or in an uncontrolled situation at security facilities. If everything is clear with the first situation, then questions arise about the second.
What about an uncontrollable setting? Firstly, these are armed or mass escape of prisoners. Secondly, hostage taking or rioting. And, thirdly, natural or man-made disasters.
The list of special tools in the arsenal of the police will be as follows:
- Knapsack apparatus "Cloud (AR-)".
- Small explosive devices.
- Light-noise devices and grenades.
- Fire tankers with water cannons.
- Armored vehicles.
- Special cars "Avalanche", "Hurricane".
- Coloring substances.
- Devices that provoke a forced stop of transport.
Let's talk about some of the tools in more detail.
Tear gas
The tear gas has been included in the list of special equipment armed with the police. It can be in a variety of forms: from hand grenades and sprayers to a knapsack and a semblance of a gun.
A police officer has the right to use special means with tear gas in situations where it is necessary to quickly repel an attack on police or civilians. In addition, this device helps to detain the offender, to stop resistance to an authorized employee.
With the help of tear gas, the police carry out the release of the hostages during the assault on both buildings and vehicles. Often, the tool is floated in riots or group illegal actions.
Police officers have instructions that they must follow. One of the paragraphs prohibits re-firing at the scene of tear gas. You can’t aim at people, no matter how they break the law. This is due to the fact that some tear substances can be used only in an open area.
"Lilac"
Quite often, police resort to this particular tool. Why exactly it? The fact is that after spraying, the “Lilac” starts in a couple of seconds, and looks like a regular aerosol with a volume of 100 milliliters. By the way, it can be stored at temperatures up to 40 degrees, the lower threshold - 10 degrees.
The product is effective in the summer, in winter its performance is lower due to subzero temperatures. But even on warm days, the Lilac may not work at full strength if there is strong wind or rainfall.
Another argument in favor of adaptation is its versatility. That is, a police officer has the right to apply a special tool not only in open areas, but also indoors. Both there and there, “Lilac” equally well deprives the offender of his ability to resist for a certain time.
Before use, the employee must calculate the strength of the wind, make sure that there is no open fire nearby, in general, do everything to hit exactly the target. If the policeman ignores all this, then spraying the tool, he can neutralize himself and become the prey of the offender.
Lilacs can cause severe eye injuries. When the intruder, after 15 minutes, continues to complain of a sharp pain in the eyes, the policeman should provide first-aid or medical assistance.
By the way, in 1996 the law “On Weapons” came into force, which states that “Lilac” refers to gas weapons.
Handcuffs
Some special equipment is prohibited for a police officer. Do handcuffs belong here? Let's get it right.
On the balance of the Ministry of Internal Affairs there are handcuffs such as BR-S and BR. Police officers do not always use this tool, or rather, only in certain situations. So, handcuffs can be used during a person’s detention if he has committed a crime and is trying to hide, or the resistance of the offender. Handcuffs are also needed to deliver the detainee to the police station, as well as when escorting the arrested. This is especially true in situations where violators demonstrate a desire to escape or cause harm to civilians, to oppose police officers.
If for some reason there were no handcuffs, the police officer can use other means to bind, because the purpose of these actions is to limit the freedom of the offender.
The legal application of special means of police we have almost made out, but this does not mean that we have nothing to say.
There are certain nuances that every policeman should know. For example, it is the responsibility of the latter to check handcuffed locks every few hours. This must be done because the lock can be unfastened or, on the contrary, can be dragged out very much, and this threatens a hand injury.
Most often, the criminal or intruder is fastened to an immovable object with his hand or foot, or one part is fastened to the leg, and the other to the hand. So, such an appeal is considered inhumane and, if identified, the employee is charged with abuse of authority. Even if a policeman says that in a similar way he tried to stop the riot of the detainee, it sounds unconvincing. In most situations, a standard binding method is sufficient.
Light and sound means
A police officer is forbidden to use special means in certain situations, especially if the latter are very harmful. What about light and sound devices? They are used in situations where it is clear that the intruder is going to resist, during detention, during the release of hostages and the suppression of riots. Such devices can be used no closer than two meters from people, even if they are intruders.
Destruction of barriers
Such means include small-sized explosive devices. By the way, there are restrictions on the use of special tools by police officers here. For example, it is forbidden to use the device in rooms where hostages may be. Another prohibition is distance. The product can not be used closer than two meters from people.
Forced stop
There are limitations to the use of special tools by police officers here. We’ll talk about this later, and first we’ll analyze what the tool is.
In situations where the driver does not respond to the requirements of the police officer, special tools are used. They force the driver to stop regardless of his desire.
For example, in case of violation of the rules of the road, the driver is stopped using the speakerphone, the sweep of the wand or hand, special sound and light signals.
This is general information, now let's move on to the limitations. A police officer cannot demand a stop from the driver in conditions of limited visibility, after turning or in front of him. It is also forbidden to stop cars in front of the top of the lift or immediately after, in the zone of a railway crossing, at a crossroads, a pedestrian crossing, this also includes other dangerous places. But there is an exception to any rule, if an immediate stop is the only way out, then you have to stop.
When the driver does not respond to the signal of the police officer, the latter regards this as failure to comply with the requirements of the representative of the authorities. In this case, a forced stop means is used. Moreover, in order for it to go into action, one driver failure is enough.
There are conditions for the use of special means by police officers. For example, in a situation where the driver does not respond to the demand to stop, while it poses a danger to people around. This state of affairs obliges the employee to use firearms to stop the car.
It is important to know that, in addition to restrictions, there are also bans. So, police cannot force stop public transport or a truck with people. The same applies to motor vehicles, transport of diplomatic missions, cars in low visibility conditions or on mountain roads. All these cases prohibit the use of devices, even if there are reasons for the use of special means by the police.
By the way, the ban applies to flyovers, bridges, railway crossings, tunnels and overpasses.
Large funds
This group includes water cannons, armored personnel carriers, reconnaissance combat patrol vehicle, and a special vehicle.
From this list of special equipment in the arsenal of the police, some of them can be used only with the direct permission of the head of the police department or the criminal police. It is important that the prosecutor be notified within 24 hours of the operation. By the way, this rule applies only to water cannons and armored vehicles. The first is used if you need to disperse the rioters or put out the fire. Special equipment of this kind cannot be used at sub-zero temperatures, even if it is -1 on the street.
Years earlier, fire engines were used for these purposes, but in 1994 the Law on Fire Safety was passed, which abolished the use of fire fighting equipment to disperse violators.
Armored vehicles are launched when it is necessary to detain atrocious masses or armed criminals. Special equipment is also used to block movement, to clear the passage to inaccessible places or to deliver employees to inaccessible places.
Chemicals
The Law “On Police” divides special means into several categories; chemicals are included in one of them. This is special ink, a solution of phenolphthalein, tetracycline, rivanol, fluorescent pencils. Some coloring agents may be installed on property, but this requires the owner to agree.
Service dogs
Oddly enough, but in the list of special means of police indicated service dogs. Animals can be kept both in muzzles and on leashes, and without them.
Those situations when dogs can be involved are prescribed in separate paragraphs and provisions of regulatory enactments. It is important to understand that all cases are indicated in the law.
Firearms
Among the special means that are armed with the police, firearms are traditionally indicated. No matter what situation it is used in, there must be permission to use it. Legislation is very tightly tracked with firearms, which means you should not joke with this.
Rubber sticks
Among the special tools in the arsenal of the police there are rubber sticks. At first it seems that a stick is a harmless thing, but is it really so? In practice, rubber sticks are the main weapon of a police officer. They are used in cases where it is necessary to repel an attack on civilians or police officers, to stop actions leading to disruption of communication, the operation of vehicles or organizations. Also, a policeman with a stick can stop the resistance or group action of violators.
But here, there are certain prohibitions that should not be ignored by the police officer. The use of physical force and special means by the police is excluded in cases of offensive tactics:
- In the neck.
- To the area of the clavicle.
- In the genital area.
- In the area of the head.
- In the abdomen.
But all these rules lose their force if the policeman defends himself. In an extreme situation, an employee can hit any organs.
In practice, the circumstances of the conflict are not always taken into account, although the law must take into account not only the number of participants in the fight, but also the physical development, age, circumstances and time of the conflict, the presence or absence of weapons.
If a group of people attacks, then the police have every reason to use special means.
Rights of detainees
Special means used by police should be used in such a way as not to violate the rights of detainees.
As for the handcuffs, the time of their conclusion is not specified anywhere. True, in some regulatory acts one can meet a two-hour period. Most often this concerns the arrest for petty hooliganism.
The police officer is obliged to record the time of use of the handcuffs in the prescribed form. For example, the protocol of detention must necessarily mention that the handcuffs were dressed on the offender and removed. By the way, time must be fixed. The protocol must also indicate the grounds for using a special tool.
If the handcuffs were used by the officers of the patrol service, they are required to compile a report in writing. It is spelled out in the charter.
Of course, the law prescribes compliance with the rules, but in life not everything goes so smoothly. Typically, representatives of the law do not focus on such trifles or simply forget to reflect them in the documentation.
Application procedure
How are special products used? We will tell you now.
First of all, a policeman who is going to use special means or firearms must warn the violators. First you need to say that they are dealing with a representative of the law, and then indicate intentions. Time and opportunity should be given to violators to comply with law enforcement requirements. It is important that one of the employees of the unit working in the place of violation should warn.
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Representatives of law enforcement agencies can act only taking into account the degree of danger of violators, the situation, the nature of violators. During actions, the employee should be focused on the minimum use of special tools.
If, after using special means, the troublemaker became ill, the policeman should provide him with first or first aid. He is also obliged to call an ambulance in a short time.
When a person is injured, police officers notify the relatives and relatives of the victim. By the way, this takes only 24 hours.
If a person was injured or died due to the use of special equipment, then the police are obliged to notify the prosecutor about what happened. The term is the same - a day.
In the event of death or injury, the representative of the law should try not to touch anything at the scene.
On each situation when, as a result of the use of special means, harm was caused to violators, the employee, upon execution, is obliged to notify his boss or the head of the territorial body, police unit. This is done in writing (report) and within the same 24 hours.
As part of a group, they cannot use special equipment on their own. They need to wait for the order or order of the team leader.
Important points
There are points on which the law imposes a strict ban. What are we talking about? About people for whom prohibited means cannot be used.
Women with obvious signs of pregnancy, disability. This also includes young people. The ban does not apply to situations where these people show armed resistance, commit an attack, including a group attack, which threaten the health and life of civilians or police officers.
In addition, you cannot use special equipment during demonstrations, illegal gatherings, marches, rallies, pickets that are not endowed with a violent character. The same rule applies to events that do not interfere with the operation of transport, organizations, communications, and public order.
When not to think?
Sometimes it happens that the police have to use firearms and this is done unknowingly, because there is a direct threat to life. For example, you need to stop an aggressive animal. In such a situation, there is no time for thought.
Firearms can be used as a warning signal. So the policeman makes it clear that the offenders should stop. A shot can also be a call for help. To do this, the police officer must shoot up or to the other side from the violators.
With the help of weapons, you can try to destroy locks or structures that prevent entry into the room.
When is it forbidden to use firearms?
Here, everything is quite simple: you can not use pistols in relation to minors, citizens with signs of disability or pregnancy. The principle works until the aforementioned citizens decide to offer armed resistance or launch an attack that threatens the health and lives of civilians or police officers.
It is also forbidden to shoot in places where there are a lot of people. After all, a bullet can hit a random person.
An ATS officer can expose a weapon or bring it into action if there are reasons for this, as specified in article 23 of the special Federal Law.
If an intruder tries to touch a naked weapon or makes attempts to get closer to a policeman, the latter can let the weapon go.
Conclusion
As you can see, the armament of law enforcement agencies is very diverse. Police officers have the right to use special means not only to repel attacks or stop riots, but also to save the life of both themselves and others.
Of course, sometimes situations arise when police officers exceed their rights. This is very sad, because, as a rule, it is very difficult to prove abuse of authority. Rare citizens have the moral strength to fight.
Nevertheless, if it so happened that they used special means for you without any reason, try not to get away with it.
The sooner you start the fight, the more likely you are to win.
Remember that reckoning with the law enforcement structure does not give people the right, at their discretion, to manage the lives of ordinary citizens, even if the latter violated something. Special means on the balance of the police are needed in order to protect civilians from troublemakers, this is the mission of the police.
If people do lynching and at the same time hide behind epaulettes, this is the most vile thing that can be. Of course, our law enforcement system is imperfect, but there are fewer such cases, which means that everything is not as bad as it might seem. Remember that before the law everyone is equal regardless of gender, social status and condition.