Much attention has been given to the potential of chemical incapacitant sprays in alleviating many of the tensions police officers face when using force. This paper provides a detailed analysis of one assessment of the utility of such sprays in order to examine many of the general claims made about them. It is argued that significant areas of concern and uncertainty exist in relation to the deployment of incapacitant sprays. Those police forces considering such a use of force option are advised to do so with considerable caution and a healthy degree of scepticism regarding the benefits of these devices.
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