Have you heard about RCAs?
Well, let me help you out then. RCA stands for Riot Control Agents. They are the non-lethal gears that agents used for riot control. There’s a whole bunch of riot control gear today. However, here are three of the most common ones.
- Shields
They are probably one of most effective tools for controlling riot situations. There are two kinds of shields that you can find on a riot ground: Ballistic shields and riot shields.
Ballistic shields offer protection against ballistic threats and bullet rounds. Riot shields are much lighter than ballistic shields, but they do not offer any form of ballistic protection.
- Pepper Spray
They are small enough to be carried around yet powerful enough to keep a person disoriented for hours.
Pepper spray typically comes in canisters, which are often small enough to be carried or concealed in a pocket or purse. Pepper spray can also be bought concealed in items such as rings. There are also pepper spray projectiles available, which can be fired from a paintball gun.
Having been used for years against demonstrators, it is increasingly being used by police in routine interventions. The active ingredient in pepper-spray is capsaicin, which is a chemical derived from the fruit of plants in the Capsicum genus, including chilies. This makes it powerful yet harmless to eyesight.
- Tear gas
Tear gas is a non-specific term for any chemical that is used to temporarily incapacitate through irritation of eyes and/or respiratory system. It is used as a hand-held spray or can be fired in canisters that heat up spewing out an aerosol cloud at a steady rate.
Although the use of tear gas in warfare is prohibited by various international treaties, its use as a riot control gear is not banned in the same manner.
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