Loss of Privacy

Guards at the Los Angeles County jail complex in Castaic will start using a newfangled weapon that produces a deep burning sensation — which is not to be confused with a “warm fuzzy feeling” — in whomever it is aimed at.

The 7 1/ More..2-foot-tall “Assault Intervention Device,” which sheriff’s deputies demonstrated Friday at the Pitchess Detention Center, emits an invisible beam that causes an unbearable sensation, reported the Daily News.

The device will be mounted near the ceiling in a unit housing about 65 inmates, sheriff’s Cmdr. Bob Osborne of the sheriff’ Technology Exploration Program told the newspaper.

“We hope that this type of technology will either cause an inmate to stop an assault or lessen the severity of an assault by them being distracted by the pain as a result of the beam,” said Osborne. “So that we have fewer injuries, fewer assaults, those kinds of things.”
Deputies have tested the device on themselves and say the invisible beam is painful — especially when it’s not expected.

“I equate it to opening an oven door and feeling that blast of hot air, except instead of being all over me, it’s more focused,” said Osborne.

The pain stops when you move out of the beam’s path, which people do instinctively.

The device, developed by Raytheon, is controlled by a joystick and computer monitor and emits a beam about the size of a CD up to distances of about 100 feet.

The energy traveling at the speed of light penetrates the skin up to 1/64 of an inch deep. No one can stand being in the beam’s path for more than about three seconds, Mike Booen of Raytheon told the Daily News.

The device is being evaluated for a period of six months by the National Institute of Justice for use in jails nationwide.

Sheriff’s deputies are getting to try it out for free.

About 3,700 inmates are housed at Pitchess, where 257 inmate-on-inmate assaults occurred in the first half of the year

We were told that the pain ray was going to be used in other countries. Then, we were told it could be used here for crowd control. Now, it’s being tested for use in the Castaic jail in Los Angeles.

The 7½-foot-tall Assault Intervention Device emits a focused, invisible ray that causes an unbearable heating sensation in its targets – hopefully stopping inmates from fighting or doing anything other than trying to get out of its way, sheriff’s officials said.

“We hope that this type of technology will either cause an inmate to stop an assault or lessen the severity of an assault by them being distracted by the pain as a result of the beam,” Osborne said. “So that we have fewer injuries, fewer assaults, those kinds of things.”

Deputies have tested the device on themselves and say the beam is painful – especially when it’s not expected.

Gee, ya think? After all, it says pain ray right in the product’s name.  We’re using on prisoners though, so it’s okay.

“This device will allow us to quickly intervene without having to enter the area and without incapacitating or injuring either combatant,” said Sheriff Lee Baca in a statement.

“If you got in the way, you’ll know,” said Mike Booen, vice president of advance security at Raytheon, which has been working on the device for about 20 years. “You feel the effect in less than a second. No one can stand there for more than about three seconds because it really hurts.”

“With this device, we can affect people that we need to have experience that effect and not have anything happen to other people,” Osborne said. “And there’s nothing to clean up, and no injuries.”

If there are no injuries, why was it recalled from military use and never actually used? Have the police done any research on this device to see what it actually does to an individual or did they just see it as an easy way to control people and didn’t care about the consequences?

While the painful heat ray gun was still in development, the Israelis began working on a portable pain ray. After more testing, the US Army is now all too happy to use show off their gun in Afghanistan. The company had previously attempted to use it in the US, with the DHS wanting it, but little has come from it. The heat ray gun, as the Army claims, burns the skin, but doesn’t leave any permanent damage. Known as the active denial system (ADS), it has been in development for the military for a few years. The ADS is meant to disperse crowds and beat back the enemy.

It uses a focused invisible beam that causes an “intolerable heating sensation”, but only penetrates the skin to the equivalent of three sheets of paper.

The discomfort causes whoever it’s pointed at to immediately start moving away. They often scream but the US military says the chance of injury from the system is 0.1%.

The beam produced by the ADS can travel more than 500m (1,640ft) and is seen as an important new way to limit unnecessary deaths and minimise war zone casualties.

Developers also say it could also be adapted to other operations, like fighting drug smuggling at sea and general peacekeeping operations.

With all the recent border activity with Mexico, the DHS might be able to try and sell the ADS to the general public again, claiming that it will help in the fight against illegal immigration and drug smuggling.

The BBC also notes that the US is continuing its research into a portable device, such as the one the Israelis have developed. As I wrote three years ago, this device has serious implications for damage and injury to individuals.

What is likely to happen is that your retina is going to be cooked due to the heat if it’s overused. In a short span, it will probably just melt your contact lens onto your cornea. 1/64th inch is more than enough to cause permanent eye damage.

Law enforcement and the military will over use this weapon as they did with the taser. It will be touted as a safe weapon, so, instead of proper policing, they will rely on electrical gadgets that they don’t fully understand.

This is already a long range torture device. One should hope that it never becomes completely portable and backpack sized.

Israel has developed a portable pain ray at the low cost of $250,000. While this may seem expensive, it’s quite cheap, especially for oppressive tyrants in third world countries.

The Man-Portable Active Denial System, developed by researchers at the College of Judea and Samaria, can beam a microwave ray that causes skin surface to heat up to 130 degrees Fahrenheit, causing the nerve cells in the skin to think they’re on fire.

In tests of a similar project by the US military, “nobody [was] able to stay in the beam for more than a few seconds,” writes David Hambling at Wired.com.

The US version weighs over nine tons, making it impracticable to easily transport. The US is, however, continuing research into a portable version.

The Israelis wanted their own after seeing the enormous US version, which they now, apparently have.