Open Access Journal Article

The Value of Less-Lethal Weapons

by Johnathan Mun a,* orcid ,  Seth McAnally a ,  Jayden Mun a  and  Emma Mun a
a
Information Sciences Department, Naval Postgraduate School, Monterey, USA
*
Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
JEA  2024, 73; 3(3), 73; https://doi.org/10.58567/jea03030011
Received: 15 August 2023 / Accepted: 8 September 2023 / Published Online: 15 September 2024
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Abstract

Less-Lethal Weapons, including electric Tasers, velocity-reduction bullet-capture projectiles, rubber bullets, beanbag rounds, and other less-lethal projectiles used in police departments, federal and local law enforcement agencies, and military policing operations, as well as for private use, are topics of significant debate in recent years. These weapons can reduce collateral damage, reputational risk, and legal exposure while preventing wrongful and unnecessary deaths caused by conventional bullet wounds. Yet, opponents have highlighted concerns regarding the safety and effectiveness of these weapons, as well as their potential to cause injury or even death. While the primary duty of law enforcement officials is to preserve order and execute the law while protecting individual rights, they ultimately achieve these goals by exercising their coercive authority. Society expects police officers to rely on their professional training and judgment when using physical force to defend citizens and themselves or to apprehend criminal suspects. Because police officers must occasionally participate in physical acts of coercion, it is unavoidable that some of these interactions may result in bodily injuries to individuals, including the officers themselves. These injuries have real costs, such as medical treatment, lost wages, municipal liability, court claims and settlements, riots, and legal or even criminal exposure, as well as less-tangible collateral costs, such as the erosion of police legitimacy and public trust, which are more difficult to quantify but arguably more influential in shaping long-term public perceptions than personal injuries alone. Less lethal technology eliminates some of the concerns raised by lethal weaponry. This study reviews the advantages and disadvantages of these less-lethal weapon technologies versus traditional firearms for use by the police force, federal agencies, and military police while also performing advanced analytics to model the valuation and return on investment for a law enforcement organization implementing such technologies.

Keywords: Less-lethal weapons; return on investment; safety assessment; weapon efficacy;
Copyright: © 2024 by Mun, McAnally, Mun and Mun. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY) (Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

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ACS Style
Mun, J.; McAnally, S.; Mun, J.; Mun, E. The Value of Less-Lethal Weapons. Journal of Economic Analysis, 2024, 3, 73. https://doi.org/10.58567/jea03030011
AMA Style
Mun J, McAnally S, Mun J, Mun E. The Value of Less-Lethal Weapons. Journal of Economic Analysis; 2024, 3(3):73. https://doi.org/10.58567/jea03030011
Chicago/Turabian Style
Mun, Johnathan; McAnally, Seth; Mun, Jayden; Mun, Emma 2024. "The Value of Less-Lethal Weapons" Journal of Economic Analysis 3, no.3:73. https://doi.org/10.58567/jea03030011
APA style
Mun, J., McAnally, S., Mun, J., & Mun, E. (2024). The Value of Less-Lethal Weapons. Journal of Economic Analysis, 3(3), 73. https://doi.org/10.58567/jea03030011

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