Yard unveils baton gun

Scotland Yard today unveiled the latest addition to their armoury - a gun which they hope will save lives rather than kill.

Firearms officers demonstrated the powerful baton gun - designed to incapacitate criminals armed with knives, swords and machetes. It has been introduced as a "less lethal option" to the conventional firearm.

However, the Heckler and Koch L104A1, which discharges 9cmx3cm plastic bullets at 160mph, can kill or cause severe internal injuries if fired at the wrong part of the body.

Chief Superintendent Paul Robinson, head of the Metropolitan Police firearms unit, said: "Anything that can replace the use of lethal force must be a good thing for the public and police. This will not replace conventional firearms but if it saves us shooting a person and saves lives, it is a vital piece of equipment."

Firearms officers from the SO19 unit have all been trained to use the weapon, which has a 25 metre range and is fitted with a "red-dot" sight for accuracy.

Officers are taught to aim at the belt buckle, but police admitted this has caused some difficulties in training because they have a natural instinct to aim for the upper body where the bullet could cause major injury. A suspect could be killed if he was hit in the head.

The Yard says the baton gun is easy to use and is a far more sophisticated model than previous baton guns. Met Commander Andy Baker recommended the weapon to the force after a year's research. He said: "It fires an impact round designed to put someone down, not to penetrate. We aim to neutralise the threat without using force, but sometimes force is necessary."

The Met has 60 baton guns which cost £1,500 each. SO19 officers will use the weapon after carrying out a threat assessment during an incident. It is highly unlikely the weapon will ever be used when a suspect is brandishing a firearm. The baton gun has already been fired twice on mainland Britain this year. In an incident in Colwyn Bay a knifeman was shot in the abdomen but the round failed to fell him. However, the weapon did incapacitate a man wielding a sword in a Surrey street. Police hope that its mere deployment in certain situations could lead to a criminal dropping their weapon.

A cruder version has been fired 120,000 times in Northern Ireland, causing 618 injuries and 17 deaths. However since 1994 the use of the new model has not killed anybody.

One of officers' major fears is that the bullet is fired at such force that it is prone to ricocheting off walls and could potentially injure innocent members of the public and officers.

The Met considered a range of other weapons including Tazers - a stun gun discharging a high-voltage electric current widely used in America - water cannon, glue guns, and weapons using sound and noise. None were considered sophisticated or safe enough.

During normal operational duties six baton guns will be divided between three armed response vehicles and will be available for use from 1 September. The weapon would also be used to control rioting crowds at football matches or during May Day demonstrations.