Operationalizing non-lethality: a Northern Ireland perspective.

'The troubles' over the last 33 years in Northern Ireland have claimed the lives of 3,636 people, including 302 police-officers and 644 soldiers. Of these deaths, 315 were attributed to the military and 52 to the police.(1) Formative experience of public disorder within the early parts of the conflict is reviewed. This article places the evolution, development and use of baton rounds (rubber and plastic bullets) in context and describes the training of police in their use. The development of a conflict management strategy which provides synergy with community based policing is discussed and the importance of understanding the underlying causes of a conflict for law enforcement personnel is emphasized.