Following Fairfax's lead, the Richmond's police department has bought into the snake oil known as BolaWrap.
The tool, a sort of high-tech lasso that restrains people by shooting out thin Kevlar cords that wrap around their body, is the latest craze in policing as departments look for new ways to get "non-compliant" individuals to fall in line without escalating situations further.
Last year, the Fairfax County Police Department acquired 450 BolaWraps, and now the Richmond Police Department has followed suit by buying 50 of its own. Of those, 42 were pushed out into the field last Friday, although no one has yet been wrapped. VCU Police have also said they are evaluating the technology.
Just 50 of these things cost the police $85,000 of taxpayer dough, and odds these will never wrap up anyone because they're just not that good. Just like a taser requires an ideal distance to the target, good hits on both barbs, no thick or loose clothes to get in the way, and that the target not immediately sweep one of the barbs free, these bolas require the target to more or less be standing still within an effective zone of 15 feet to get a good wrap.
On the /r/rva subreddit, a guy posted some news articles as well as thoughts from officers on reddit who have used them in the field.
Some police departments have tried and abandoned BolaWrap entirely.
The lackluster performance of the devices comes as police in other
jurisdictions such as Seattle and Los Angeles have abandoned them
because they haven't performed as hoped.
Many wonder why money's being spent on these things at all.
Parker said the overarching concern is using money for policing equipment that doesn't address underlying issues and needs. Funds should instead go toward resources, social services and mental health experts and crisis response teams trained in de-escalation, she said.
Some argue this only increases police violence towards citizens.
"If someone is experiencing an emotional crisis, overstimulation, hallucinations, or a flashback, it is absolutely a punitive tactic to use force or restraint against that person," Fukui told Motherboard. "It is dehumanizing and cruel to assume that the Houseless, Neurodivergent, Disabled, and Deaf must be subdued like cattle because we are in an altered state or do not communicate in a way [abled people] deem valid."
Even the manufacturer's warnings don't paint a great picture of its efficacy.
Target May Not Be Effectively Wrapped. Effective restraint generally requires entanglement in an area extending above the knees to the ankles. Deployment in other body locations, e.g. the waist, may not serve as effective temporary restraint. While wide latitude of center accuracy is possible an off center or full stride deployment may result in less effective barb engagement or the possibility only one or none of the barbs engage the target. Be prepared to refresh the device and redeploy and also be prepared for the possibility that a target is not adequately restrained to allow conventional agency approved control methods.
History shows that they will be used even when unnecessary.
This new weapon raises serious concerns. In the context of over-policing in the United States, there is great danger that police will use it more frequently than necessary, especially on people with mental health conditions, and, given historic police discrimination, black and brown people.
Many cops themselves are not convinced these things work.
Several agencies in our area tested them out but ultimately never invested. I never tested them but from what I remember the consensus was it would only be useful in very specific situations and the funds would be better spent on training. I've seen a few videos but I don't think I've managed to catch one where I thought the subject was really wanting a fight.
Are there any videos out there showing how a BolaWrap encounter will actually play out?
I'm routinely baffled at the amount of people who think it's a good idea. How did they not notice that all their test subjects were standing still and compliant with their feet together and hands to their side?
I'm also pretty sure this video, which is highlighted in a lot of the materials put out by Wrap Technologies Inc., is staged. I think they gave a few units to the PD and have some rookie dressed up like a bum outside the convenience store. The way the cop in the video perfectly says the name of the fucking thing makes it feel scripted to me.
I understand the desire to bring less-lethal means to potentially dire situations, but why all this fancy and expensive technology? Whatever happened to bear spray and batons? Why doesn't each cop car have a man catcher in it like they use in Japan? Surely a couple of (hopefully fit) cops can press someone into the ground or a wall with those until they calm down. More importantly, why are the cops so quick to resort to violence, less lethal though it may be, instead of better attempts at deescalation?
It's worth pointing out that tasers aren't particularly effective, are potentially dangerous and even deadly, and they're often deployed unnecessarily ⸺ and deployed more often against black and brown people where cops are more "scared for their lives" by default. In addition, the company that sells tasers goes out of its way to try to hide and litigate away all of the problems with their devices. They've gone so far as to convince folks of a fake medical diagnosis to avoid taking responsibility for their devices killing people!
The whole situation with tasers is fucking gross, and there's no reason to expect these bola bullshits to go any better.