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UP CLOSE Less-Lethal Options I Choosing Impact Munitions Look for the Durometer rating in the manufacturer���s fier or information. If you can���t fnd the Durometer scale rating in the product literature, don���t hesitate to contact the manufacturer to request that information. For comparison, one major munitions manufacturer has a 40mm round that is rated at a 35 on the Durometer scale. Tis same company ofers a 40mm round with multiple .45-caliber rubber pellets, with each pellet having a Durometer scale rating of 80. Applications When selecting your best compliance munition, you will need to take into consideration to increase the impact efect of any given round, the manufacturer must increase the weight and/or the velocity of the round. Te tightrope walk is the need to develop enough impact force to gain compliance or incapacitation, but not so much as to cause penetration or signifcant injury or death. For example, we won���t see a 60-gram 12-gauge bean bag round with a velocity of 500 fps. Such a round would generate too much ���force��� to be efective and more importantly, safe. Recently an agency in Idaho wished to clear several panes of glass from a window at a distance, during a tactical situation. To accomplish this, they frst attempted to remove the glass with the application of 12-gauge fexible impact munitions. Tey experienced p The variety of munitions available today can be surprising. Do your homework when it comes to selecting the most appropriate compliance munitions for your organization. some frustration when the fexible rounds did not clear the glass. Tis wasn���t the fault of the munitions. Tose munitions were being used in a manner inconsistent with the manufacturer���s intent and the operator���s training, not to mention common sense. A better choice would have been a hard, fn-stabilized rubber slug. Tese types of rounds have little report or recoil, are exceptionally accurate for a less-lethal round, and would easily have cleared the glass in the initial application, while presenting little risk to persons in the residence. Agencies must also be aware of the ranges at which the rounds will be used and apply them appropriately. A round designed and intended for close range may be excellent at delivering an impact round on a meth-head in a single-wide trailer at a range of about 6 feet. However, this same round may be woefully inadequate at ranges out to 20 yards. Similarly, long-range, fn-stabilized, hard rubber, slug-style rounds may accurately reach out to 50 yards. However, in that same single-wide trailer, such a round delivered at 5 feet would have tremendous penetration and high injury potential, if not lethal results. All impact munitions manufacturers publish minimum engagement distances, ideal operating ranges, and maximum engagement distances. First, follow these guidelines. Second, consider the munition with the widest operating range. In a high-stress encounter, distances are difcult to precisely judge and the distances are constantly changing. Tird, have some very close-range and some very long-range munitions on hand���properly labeled! Environmental Considerations p The shooting of actual Compliance Munitions on the range is a required, integral part of the training component for any Less-Lethal Program. 44 Tactical Response Mar-Apr 2013 During the 1999 WTO riots in Seattle, hundreds of less-lethal munitions of varying sorts and types were deployed against the rioters. Obvious to anyone watching the television coverage, some of these munitions had little efect on the targeted protestors and as we know, no deaths or serious injuries occurred. Why? November in Washington State is al-