Summary

The Defence and Security Accelerator (DASA) and the Defence Science and Technology Laboratory (Dstl) are scoping the potential for an innovation challenge to showcase, procure or develop mature concepts and technologies for less lethal weapon systems for law enforcement officers to deal with subjects at distance. To aid in the design of this type of equipment, we are undertaking market engagement in order to provide us with an understanding of current technologies available.

Please note that this request for information is not a commitment to subsequently launch a formal DASA competition or undertake any procurement activity.

Background

In armed, public order and conventional policing scenarios, officers are often required to use force to deal with a threat to the public, bystanders or police, from violent or armed subjects. This use of force may be by the police or the military in law enforcement roles. The force used to counter the threat must be reasonable, proportionate and discriminatory, and the availability of less lethal options can potentially enable officers to resolve a situation prior to it becoming absolutely necessary to use lethal force.

Currently the police have access to conducted energy weapons which use electricity to achieve an incapacitating effect from up to 6 metres, attenuating energy projectiles which are a kinetic energy based solution providing pain compliance/distraction effects at ranges of less than 40 metres, and irritant sprays which provide sensory irritation effects up to about 3 metres.

This market exploration will investigate technologies or approaches which can be used to provide the police and law enforcement officers with new less lethal capabilities which may augment the above capabilities. These techniques will be exploited directly in support of the UK’s law enforcement operations.

What we want

To identify new less lethal technologies that may assist law enforcement personnel when dealing with subjects at distance, we would like to focus on technologies or systems that are judged to have potential to provide the effects required by the police and be as good as or better than existing equipment. This may include technologies that have not been deployed operationally before or could include a combination of different technologies / mechanisms / techniques to provide augmented effects.

If officers were to have the capability to incapacitate and/or distract a subject at distance it would enable them to create a ‘safe’ area around the subject. This would then allow for other tactics to be considered such as negotiation for compliance. Additionally, the ability to mark a subject in order to ‘identify’ them at a later time would also be desirable for a system, especially for use in public order situations where the perpetrator of a crime may not be easy to apprehend at the time of the offence.

The key requirements for any such less lethal weapon system include:

• the system should be able to accurately temporarily neutralise the subject over 5 metres and ideally up to 50 metres (with stretch target of 1 metre to 70 metres)
• the system must be effective against a moving target
• the system must be of a size and weight commensurate with, or can be adapted to be carried / used for, normal dismounted policing duties including routine patrol, public order and firearms
• the system must be reliable in use and consistent when activated
• the system must have second or multiple shots readily available
• the system shall be able to operate within weather conditions typical for the UK including rain. Ideally this system should be able to be used in any Crown Dependencies or in support of international deployments.

We are particularly interested in solutions that are mature, either commercially available or near market. We have some interest in solutions that may require some development work to be applied to this scenario.

Submissions should be provided by teams with the experience and knowledge necessary to establish sound scientific evidence for any potential technology and associated hardware.

By completing the submission neither DASA, Dstl nor yourselves are committing to anything further. However, your submission may be used to help us focus the direction and shape the requirements for a possible procurement or DASA themed competition in the future.

Your submission will also help us to identify your interests, and where appropriate we can introduce you to your regional DASA Innovation Partner to discuss any future activity.

What we do not want

We are not interested in receiving ideas for literature reviews, plans for paper-based studies, emerging concepts or marginal improvements to existing capabilities.

While we are interested in solutions that may require some development to support this application, if your idea is of low maturity please consider the Innovation Focus Area (IFA) on Advancing less-lethal weapon capability.

This is not a competition and therefore we are not asking for costed proposals at this stage. This is a market engagement request for information exercise and we do not commit to subsequently launch a formal DASA competition or undertake any procurement activity.

How to submit a capability submission form

Responses to this market exploration must be submitted via the DASA submission service, for which you will be required to register.

Please only provide details of one product / capability per submission. If you have a number of potential solutions, then please submit these separately.

Submissions must be submitted by midday on 27 November 2019.

If you have any questions then please email accelerator@dstl.gov.uk with Less Lethal Weapons in the subject line.

How we use your information

Information you provide to us, that is not already available to us from other sources, will be handled in-confidence. By submitting a market exploration response you are giving us permission to keep and use the information for our internal purposes, and to provide the information onwards, in-confidence, within UK Government. The Defence and Security Accelerator will not use or disclose the information for any other purpose, without first requesting permission to do so.

Mr Joe Connell, IIJ Senior Investigations Adviser and a former senior UK Metropolitan Police counter-terrorism investigator at New Scotland Yard, stated:

It is always a pleasure to work with Cameroonian colleagues. Their professionalism and enthusiasm for continual improvement in an environment of serious and complex threats is very encouraging.

Mr Connell was joined in delivering the training by Dr Ian Stanier, who is also a former UK senior investigator and now a leading academic in the field, and Ms Maria Ladron de Guevara of the IIJ. Future training modules are scheduled to include electronic and digital information and evidence, financial investigation and joint operational practicing.

The training was hosted by His Excellency Rowan Laxton, British High Commissioner to Cameroon, and opened in the presence of the Head of the UK Diplomatic Service Sir Simon McDonald KCMG KCVO, Permanent Under-Secretary at the Foreign and Commonwealth Office of the government of the United Kingdom. The training is closely supported by Lt. Colonel Sid Purser, UK Senior Military Adviser to Cameroon, and his personnel.

About IIJ

The International Institute for Justice and the Rule of Law (IIJ) is an international institute established in 2014 by 12 member states. Headquartered in Malta, the IIJ delivers rule of law-based capacity building and training to criminal justice practitioners, including lawmakers, police, prosecutors, judges, corrections officials, and other justice sector stakeholders, on how to address terrorism and related transnational criminal activities within a rule of law framework. Although the IIJ’s mandate is global in nature, the Institute’s geographic focus is partner countries in North, West and East Africa, and the Middle East. The IIJ is one of three Global Counterterrorism Forum (GCTF)-inspired institutes with a mandate of supporting the development, implementation and operationalisation of good practices to reduce the vulnerability of people worldwide to terrorism by preventing, combating, and prosecuting terrorist acts and countering incitement and recruitment to terrorism.

Reconditioned Gearboxes was incorporated in April 2015, with Kevin Woods (43), from Belvedere, South East London, appointed as Director.

The Erith-based car mechanics supplied and fitted reconditioned gearboxes. Just two years later, however, Reconditioned Gearboxes experienced difficulties and by March 2017, the business closed down before the company entered into Creditors Voluntary Liquidation.

An insolvency practitioner was appointed to wind-up the affairs of Reconditioned Gearboxes when they received a number of complaints from customers.

Complaints ranged from customers not receiving goods and services they had paid for, parts were faulty, and, in some cases, customers had to go to another mechanic to correct defective work

Some customers also reported their vehicles were damaged while they in the care of Reconditioned Gearboxes, while others said they had not been refunded for poor work.

These complaints were passed to the Insolvency Service and following enquires, investigators were able to establish several instances of further misconduct.

Reconditioned Gearboxes had taken prepaid orders which remained unfulfilled when the company went into liquidation and owed close to £127,000 in unpaid taxes at the point of insolvency.

And despite knowing the company was about to enter into liquidation and could not complete the work, Kevin Woods caused the company to continue taking payments from unsuspecting customers.

In September 2019, the Secretary of State accepted an 8-year disqualification undertaking from Kevin Woods. Effective from 27 September 2019, he cannot, without the permission of the court, be involved in the formation, promotion or management of a company, directly or indirectly.

David Brooks, Chief Investigator for the Insolvency Service, said:

Customer satisfaction was clearly not a priority for Kevin Woods. Not only did he provide a poor service while the company was trading but even when he knew the doors were about to close, he continued to take money from customers without being certain the work would be carried out.

Eight years is a significant amount of time to be banned from running a company and prevents Kevin Woods from causing any more harm to customers who simply wanted to fix their car.

Kevin Woods is of Royal Arsenal, South East London and his date of birth is January 1976.

Reconditioned Gearboxes Limited (Company number: 09547707).

Disqualification undertakings are the administrative equivalent of a disqualification order but do not involve court proceedings. Persons subject to a disqualification order are bound by a range of restrictions.

Further information about the work of the Insolvency Service, and how to complain about financial misconduct.

You can also follow the Insolvency Service on:

Ahead of her visit, UK Minister of State of Asia and the Pacific, Heather Wheeler MP said:

As the UK gets ready to leave the EU, its partnerships outside of Europe will take on an even greater significance and importance.

I am looking forward to visiting South Korea, Mongolia and Japan and learning more about the wealth of opportunities for international investment and trade in each of these countries, as well as their approaches to pressing international issues such as climate change and gender equality.

In Seoul, the Minister will highlight the UK and Korea’s shared historic, economic and cultural ties, including the recently signed UK-ROK continuity Free Trade Agreement, the first in Asia.

Alongside Korean Ministry for Foreign Affairs 2nd Vice Minister Lee Tae Ho, Minister Wheeler will launch a new Senior Economic Dialogue that will facilitate discussion on the ways the UK and Korea can deepen cooperation in areas such as finance, digital economy and climate change.

She will also urge Korean Climate Change Ambassador Yoo Yeon Chul to join the UK by raising Korea’s climate ambition ahead of COP26 in Glasgow and highlight the UK’s ambitious new commitment to reduce greenhouse gas emissions to ‘Net Zero’ by 2050.

With a focus on gender equality and female empowerment, the Minister will give a keynote speech at the Chevening Female Empowerment Reception held at the British Embassy Seoul and share her own views and experience as a successful politician.

On Wednesday, the Minister will travel to Ulaanbaatar, where she will meet several Ministers in the Mongolian government. Discussions will be broad-ranging and will cover trade and investment, democracy and media freedom, climate change, the Illegal Wildlife Trade and wider geo-strategic issues.

On Thursday Minister Wheeler will lead the official opening ceremony of its new Embassy office in the Shangri-La Office Tower and then spend the day visiting the world-class Oyu Tolgoi mine in the Gobi desert.

On Friday the Minister will travel to Tokyo, where she will meet with the Environment Minister to discuss climate change, and the Minister for Foreign Affairs to discuss security, trade, and the UK-Japan relationship following the UK’s exit from the EU.

Further information