ABSTRACT
The design and deployment of less-lethal weapons (LLWs) derives from the technical principle of pain compliance, whereby situations (mainly protests, demonstrations, and evictions) that do not warrant the use of conventional firearms are instead controlled by inflicting ‘minor’ injuries or discomfort to temporarily incapacitate individuals. Focussing on ocular trauma caused by kinetic impact projectiles during social upheavals in Chile and Colombia as an entry point, this chapter problematises this principle from the perspectives of criminology and disability studies. We argue that in avoiding lethality, the design of LLWs neglects to address their capacity for producing impairments and potential uses in torture. For this reason, in addition to their patterns of deployment in policing and inpatient settings, a disability justice perspective is needed for assessing these weapons, as they can exacerbate the exclusion of disabled people. We end by providing recommendations for practice and further research avenues resulting from our initial provocations on LLW, policing, and disability.
