Ecko Magazine 
The European police and Gendarmerie are being equipped with new Multi Task Handguns (MTH) : firearms (more specifically projectile-launchers, consisting of ceramic darts fired at high speed), Flashballs and high-voltage incapacitating discharge generators. On default mode, these guns shoot a laser beam that stuns the attacker through an electromagnetical discharge. If the gun detects a foam ball, it becomes a Flashball, and then, following a particular process called genetic detection of the weapon-bearer, the gun becomes a firearm. The police in the rest of the world have long since adopted this weapon. Europe hesitated over its adoption for historical reasons : Taser-related scandals in the years 2010-2020 were a major impediment in the eyes of relevant government institutions.
A considerable investment in technological development was required in order to create this new weapon. For its detractors, it was a cost- prohibitive device, while, its promoters thought the price well worth it. Three technological challenges presented themselves. First of all, it was necessary to find ways to set a highly powerful repeating energy source in a small space. Secondly, it was necessary to solve the problem of generating an electromagnetic beam able to incapacitate without killing. The last challenge was the easiest : detecting the fingerprints of the bearer of the weapon so that he becomes the only possible user. The authorities have declined to comment on the possibility of « bypassing” this limitation, so that another policeman could use the weapon in the presence of a stronger force. The fear of seeing these weapons invade the streets was an underlying concern.
This weapon increases the high-tech arsenal of the police forces (think of the Associated Intelligence, Bagheeras and other unmanned aircraft). The police unions are celebrating the arrival of the MTH, given that they now have more ways in which to react to acts of violence. Human rights NGOs have expressed concerns over this escalation of increasingly repressive tools. The fact that this weapon has been qualified as « non- lethal » by the police does not justify wild behavior like « shooting first, asking quesitons later,” one NGO spokesman warned.
In the middle of the twenty-first century, the old adage is still in force : the proper administration of justice is that which is rendered unnecessary.
© Olivier Parent – prospective.lecomptoir2.pro